Colorado starts the SR-22 clock on the day you reinstate
Your arrest date does not set the length here. The DMV reinstatement FAQ counts forward from reinstatement. A first test result of .08 or more brings a nine month revocation. After that, you keep an SR-22 for nine months following reinstatement, or three years if there was an accident.
Repeat offenses go longer. A second .08 result means a one year revocation, and a third means two years. Both carry an SR-22 for three years following reinstatement. A BAC of 0.15 or more sets a three year minimum, crash or no crash. If your interlock period runs longer, that longer period wins.
Persistent Drunk Driver status adds an interlock
The DMV Reinstatements page lists two ways to earn a Persistent Drunk Driver label. One is a chemical test at or above 0.15. The other is refusing the blood or breath test at a traffic stop.
With that label, reinstatement can include an ignition interlock, a breath-test lock wired into your car. For a high BAC, the FAQ adds Level II education and treatment. You also carry an interlock restricted license for at least two years after reinstatement.
Drivers under 21 face their own schedule. A DUI or DWAI (driving while ability impaired) conviction means a one year revocation. The SR-22 then runs one year, or three years with a prior alcohol violation or a crash.
The DMV bill, and the 25/50/15 floor behind the form
Every reinstatement starts with a $95.00 fee paid to the Department of Revenue. An alcohol offense after January 1, 2022 adds a $25.00 DUI restoration fee. Point suspensions, unpaid tickets and child support holds list the same $95 on the reinstatement process page.
The policy behind your SR-22 has its own minimum. Legislative Council staff list $25,000 for injury or death of one person in a crash. They list $50,000 for everyone hurt in one crash, plus $15,000 for property damage.
Switch insurers before the old Colorado filing runs out
The SR-22 is a rider on a liability policy, not a policy by itself, says the DMV SR-22 page. Your insurer must tell the DMV about any cancellation. If the filing lapses while you still owe it, your license is suspended for that reason alone.
Changing companies has one rule: the new one must get its SR-22 filed before the old one expires. You can upload the form yourself at myDMV.Colorado.gov. You can also mail it with Form DR 2870, the Application for Reinstatement.
Mail a month ahead and watch your own end date
The process page asks you to send the application about 30 days before your eligibility date. It allows up to 20 business days to finish. A letter of clearance arrives once every requirement is met.
No reminder comes when your time is up. Your first DMV letter lists the start and end dates, so keep it. Suspension data is shared with all 50 states. No state may issue a license while another state shows an active hold, so moving away does not clear one.