EVERY DEADLINE
43 periods Colorado law measures, gathered out of the guide and put in order, shortest first. Each one says what starts it, whose period it is, and what the law attaches to it. The shortest here is at least 24 hours before. The longest is 6 years.
Every period on this page is stated by a section of the guide and carries that section's own authority. None of it is a calculation: a period that turns on facts, on service, or on a court's discretion is described the way the section describes it and no further.
43 deadlines
Being stopped1
14 days
Executing a search warrant
- From
- The date of the warrant
- Whose
- The officers executing it
A search warrant is executed within fourteen days after its date.
Impaired driving1
7 days
Asking for a hearing on a license revocation
- From
- The day the notice of revocation is received
- Whose
- The driver
A written request for a hearing is due within seven days after the day the notice is received, and the revocation takes effect seven days after receipt.
Court and money22
At least 24 hours before
Posting notice of a local public meeting
- From
- The meeting, counted back
- Whose
- The local public body
A local public body gives full and timely notice by posting it, with agenda information where available, no less than twenty-four hours before the meeting on a public website.
24 hours
Seeing a patient representative during a hold
- From
- The person's request
- Whose
- The facility
A person on a hold may see a patient representative with no clinical, administrative or financial responsibility for them within twenty-four hours after asking.
72 hours
An emergency mental health hold
- From
- The hold being placed or ordered
- Whose
- The facility
A facility may detain a person on an emergency mental health hold for evaluation for no more than seventy-two hours.
3 working days
Answering a public records request
- From
- The request, for records not readily available
- Whose
- The records custodian
A reasonable time to make records available for inspection is presumed to be three working days or less, and may be extended where extenuating circumstances exist.
3 business days
Cancelling a home solicitation sale
- From
- Signing the agreement or offer to purchase
- Whose
- The buyer
The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing, by written notice to the seller at the address in the agreement.
3 days, not counting weekends, legal holidays or days the shop is closed
Picking up a repaired vehicle before storage charges
- From
- Notice that the authorized repairs are complete
- Whose
- The customer
Storage charges may begin on the fourth day if the vehicle is not picked up within three days after notice of completion, not counting Saturday, Sunday, legal holidays or days the facility is closed.
7 days
The employer's copy of an injury notice
- From
- The employer receiving the written notice
- Whose
- The employer
The employer marks the date and time it received the written notice of injury and makes a copy available to the employee within seven days.
10 days
Collecting a small estate by affidavit
- From
- The death
- Whose
- The successor
A successor may collect the decedent's personal property by affidavit once at least ten days have passed since the death, with no personal representative's appointment pending or granted.
10 days
Written notice of a work injury to the employer
- From
- The injury
- Whose
- The injured employee
An employee injured in an accident notifies the employer in writing within ten days, though the posted notice says an employee who does not report promptly may still pursue a claim.
14 days
Paying wages after a written demand
- From
- The written demand being sent, or a claim or lawsuit being served
- Whose
- The employer
An employer that does not pay all earned wages within fourteen days owes a penalty of the greater of two times the unpaid amount or $1,000, or for a willful failure the greater of three times the amount or $3,000.
20 days
Curing a missed payment before repossession
- From
- The notice of right to cure being given
- Whose
- The consumer
After a default that is only a missed payment, the creditor may not accelerate or take the collateral until twenty days after the notice, and the consumer may cure until then by paying the sums due.
30 days
Notice of a data breach
- From
- The determination that a breach occurred
- Whose
- The business holding the data
Affected Colorado residents, and the attorney general where five hundred or more are affected, are notified without unreasonable delay and no later than thirty days after determining a breach occurred.
90 days
The wait after a notice of claim to a public entity
- From
- Filing the notice of claim
- Whose
- The person with the claim
No action is started until the public entity denies the claim or ninety days pass after the notice is filed, whichever is first.
91 days
The wait before a divorce decree
- From
- The court acquiring jurisdiction over the respondent
- Whose
- The court
A decree of dissolution is entered only once ninety-one days or more have passed since the court acquired jurisdiction over the respondent, by service or by joining or appearing.
182 days
Notice of a claim against a public entity
- From
- Discovery of the injury
- Whose
- The person injured
A written notice of the claim is filed within one hundred eighty-two days after the injury is discovered. It is a jurisdictional prerequisite, and without it the action is forever barred.
300 days
A charge of discrimination at work
- From
- The discriminatory or unfair employment practice
- Whose
- The person discriminated against
A charge is filed with the civil rights commission within three hundred days after the practice occurred, or it is barred.
1 year
Suing for assault, battery, false arrest or libel
- From
- The cause of action accruing
- Whose
- The person harmed
Actions for assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, libel and slander, and against sheriffs, police officers and other law enforcement, are commenced within one year.
2 years
Filing a claim for workers' compensation
- From
- The injury, or a death resulting from it
- Whose
- The injured employee, or the dependents
The right to compensation is barred unless a notice claiming compensation is filed with the division within two years, with longer periods for certain occupational diseases.
2 years
Suing in tort, including negligence, property damage or a wrongful death
- From
- The cause of action accruing
- Whose
- The person injured, or the family after a death
Tort actions, including negligence and trespass, and actions for wrongful death, are commenced within two years, apart from motor vehicle torts.
3 years
Suing on a contract
- From
- The cause of action accruing
- Whose
- The person suing
Contract actions, actions for fraud or breach of trust, and actions for taking, detaining or converting goods are commenced within three years.
3 years
Suing over a crash for injury or property damage
- From
- The cause of action accruing
- Whose
- The person injured, or the owner of the property
Tort actions for bodily injury or property damage arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle are commenced within three years.
6 years
Suing to recover a debt
- From
- The cause of action accruing
- Whose
- The creditor
An action to recover a liquidated debt or a determinable amount of money due, or arrears of rent, is commenced within six years.
Your home10
24 hours
Starting repairs to a danger to life, health or safety
- From
- The landlord's notice of the condition
- Whose
- The landlord
Where a condition materially interferes with the tenant's life, health or safety, remedial action begins within twenty-four hours after the landlord has notice.
72 hours
Starting repairs to an uninhabitable condition
- From
- The landlord's notice of the condition
- Whose
- The landlord
Where the premises are uninhabitable, remedial action begins within seventy-two hours after the landlord has notice.
7 days
The landlord's time after a demand for the deposit
- From
- The landlord receiving the tenant's demand and notice of intent to sue
- Whose
- The landlord
A tenant may sue for treble damages, attorney fees and costs only if the landlord does not return the deposit, or the part withheld, within seven days after receiving the demand.
7 calendar days
When a late fee may be charged
- From
- The rent falling due
- Whose
- The landlord
No late fee may be charged unless the rent payment is late by at least seven calendar days, and the fee may not exceed $50 or five percent of the past due rent, whichever is greater.
7 calendar days
When a repair to a danger is presumed late
- From
- The landlord's notice of the condition
- Whose
- The landlord
A landlord is presumed to have failed to repair within a reasonable time where a condition that materially interferes with life, health or safety is not remedied within seven calendar days after notice.
10 days
A demand for unpaid rent or possession
- From
- Service of the written notice
- Whose
- The tenant
After a default in rent, ten days' notice in writing requires payment of the rent or delivery of possession before the landlord may treat the tenant as holding over.
10 days
A demand to comply with the lease or leave
- From
- Service of the written notice
- Whose
- The tenant
Where a material condition of the lease is broken, ten days' notice in writing requires either compliance or delivery of possession.
14 days
The hearing on a permanent protection order
- From
- The temporary protection order and citation issuing
- Whose
- The court
The hearing on a permanent protection order is set not more than fourteen days after the temporary order issues, and the temporary order is extended if the respondent cannot be served in time.
14 calendar days
When a repair to an uninhabitable condition is presumed late
- From
- The landlord's notice of the condition
- Whose
- The landlord
A landlord is presumed to have failed to repair within a reasonable time where an uninhabitable condition is not remedied within fourteen calendar days after notice.
30 days, or up to 60 if the lease says so
Returning the security deposit
- From
- The lease ending or the premises being surrendered, whichever is later
- Whose
- The landlord
The landlord returns the full deposit, or the balance with a written statement of the exact reasons for keeping any of it, within thirty days, or a longer period the lease sets that does not exceed sixty days.
Carrying a firearm1
5 years
A concealed handgun permit's life
- From
- The permit being issued
- Whose
- The permit holder
A permit to carry a concealed handgun is valid for five years after it issues and may be renewed.
Charges and penalties7
6 hours
Release once bond is ready
- From
- A personal recognizance or cash bond being set and ready, with the person back at the jail
- Whose
- The jail
The jail releases the person within six hours, unless extraordinary circumstances exist, and a lack of staff is not one.
48 hours
Before a court for bond after an arrest
- From
- Arrival at the jail or holding facility
- Whose
- The arresting jurisdiction
A person held in custody is brought before a court for bond setting as soon as practicable, and no later than forty-eight hours after arriving at the jail, at a hearing where the person is present.
6 months
Charging a petty offense
- From
- The commission of the offense
- Whose
- The prosecution
A petty offense is charged within six months after it is committed.
1 year
Charging a class 1 or 2 misdemeanor traffic offense
- From
- The commission of the offense
- Whose
- The prosecution
A class 1 or 2 misdemeanor traffic offense is charged within one year after it is committed.
18 months
Charging a misdemeanor
- From
- The commission of the offense
- Whose
- The prosecution
A misdemeanor is charged within eighteen months after it is committed.
3 years
Charging most felonies
- From
- The commission of the offense
- Whose
- The prosecution
A felony other than those with longer or no limits is charged within three years after it is committed, with the time paused while the person is out of the state.
5 years
Charging vehicular homicide, or leaving a fatal crash
- From
- The commission of the offense
- Whose
- The prosecution
Vehicular homicide, and leaving the scene of a crash that caused a death, are charged within five years.
How you carry yourself1
10 days
An officer's written report of excessive force
- From
- The use of force the officer witnessed
- Whose
- A peace officer who witnessed it
An officer who witnesses another use force beyond what the section permits reports it in writing to a supervisor within ten days, and failing to report it is a class 2 misdemeanor.
MyRightz is legal education, not legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney client relationship. Applying the law to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Colorado attorney.