2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 42 - VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC (§§ 42-1-101 — 42-21-106) › TAXATION (§§ 42-3-101 — 42-3-314) › Article 3 - REGISTRATION, TAXATION, AND LICENSE PLATES (§§ 42-3-101 — 42-3-314) › Part 1 - REGISTRATION AND TAXATION (§§ 42-3-101 — 42-3-127) › Section 42-3-113 - Records of application and registration - disability of a driver - rules - definitions

(1)
The department shall file each application received and, when satisfied that the applicant is entitled to register the vehicle, shall register the vehicle and its owner as follows:
(a)
The owner and vehicle are assigned a distinct registration number, referred to in this article as the "registration number". Each registration number assigned to a vehicle and its owner is designated "urban" if the owner resides within the limits of a city or incorporated town. Each registration number assigned to a vehicle and its owner is designated "rural" if the owner resides outside the limits of a city or incorporated town. The authorized agent of each county shall certify to the department as soon as possible after the end of the calendar year, but not later than May 1 of the following year, the total number of vehicles classified as "urban" and the total number of vehicles classified as "rural".
(b)
The registration shall be filed alphabetically under the name of the owner.
(c)
The registration shall be filed numerically and alphabetically under the identification number and name of the vehicle.
(2)
Except as provided in subsection (2.5) of this section, the department, upon registering a vehicle, shall issue to the owner two registration cards, each of which contains upon its face the following:
(a)
The date issued;
(b)
The registration number assigned to the owner and vehicle;
(c)
The name and address of the owner;
(d)
A notice, in type that is larger than the other information contained on the registration card:
(I)
That motor vehicle insurance coverage is compulsory in Colorado;
(II)
That noncompliance is a misdemeanor traffic offense;
(III) to (V)
Repealed.
(d.5)
A notice containing the minimum and maximum penalties for failing to have motor vehicle insurance coverage under section
42-4-1409
;
(e)
A notice that Colorado law provides for a one-month grace period after a registration is due for renewal;
(f)
A description of the registered vehicle, including the identification number;
(g)
If it was a new vehicle sold in this state after January 1, 1932, the date of sale by the manufacturer or dealer to the person first operating such vehicle; and
(h)
Such other statements of fact as may be determined by the department, but not the owner's signature.
(2.5)
Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, the department shall print one registration card without the owner's address and issue the card to the owner; except that, if the motor vehicle is a commercial vehicle, the department shall print both registration cards issued to the owner with the owner's address. The department shall print the following statement on each registration card that is printed without an address:
Thieves have been known to use the address from a registration card to steal from the vehicle's owner. For added security, you are encouraged to keep only this registration card in your vehicle. It does not contain your address.
(3)
A notice for renewal of registration shall include a notice, in type that is larger than the other information contained in the notice, that specifies that motor vehicle insurance coverage is compulsory in Colorado, that noncompliance is a misdemeanor traffic offense, that the minimum penalty for such offense is a five-hundred-dollar fine, and that the maximum penalty for such offense is one year's imprisonment and a one-thousand-dollar fine.
(4)
The department shall notify all registered owners of the provisions and requirements of subsections (2) and (3) of this section.
(5)
The department shall not require the owner to sign the registration card.
(6)
The registration card issued for a vehicle required to be registered under this article shall, at all times while the vehicle is being operated upon a highway, be in the possession of the driver or carried in the vehicle and subject to inspection by any peace officer.
(7)
Within thirty days after moving from an address listed upon a vehicle registration, a person shall notify the county of residence in which the vehicle is to be registered.
(8)
(a)
As used in this subsection (8):
(I)
"Eligible vehicle" means a motor vehicle that has a valid certificate of registration issued by the department of revenue to a person whose address of record is within the boundaries of the program area, as defined in section
42-4-304 (20)
. The term "eligible vehicle" does not include motor vehicles held for lease or rental to the general public, motor vehicles held for sale by motor vehicle dealers, including demonstration vehicles, motor vehicles used for motor vehicle manufacturer product evaluations or tests, law enforcement and other emergency vehicles, or nonroad vehicles, including farm and construction vehicles.
(II)
"Program area fleet" means a person who owns ten or more eligible vehicles. In determining the number of vehicles owned or operated by a person for purposes of this subsection (8), all motor vehicles owned, operated, leased, or otherwise controlled by such person shall be treated as owned by such person.
(b)
(I)
Upon the registration of an eligible vehicle, the owner shall report on forms provided by the department:
(A)
The types of fuel used by such vehicle; and
(B)
Whether such vehicle is dual-fueled or dedicated to one fuel.
(II)
The forms provided by the department shall include spaces for the following fuels: Gasoline, diesel, propane, electricity, natural gas, methanol or M85, ethanol or E85, biodiesel, and other.
(c)
Upon registration of a vehicle that is a part of a program area fleet, the owner shall report on forms provided by the department that such vehicle is owned by a program area fleet and shall list the owner's tax identification number.
(d)
Within a reasonable period of time and upon the request of a political subdivision or the state of Colorado or any institution of the state or the state's political subdivisions, the department shall provide a report listing the owners of eligible vehicles that use fuels other than gasoline or diesel, listing the fuel type of each such eligible vehicle, and identifying whether or not such eligible vehicles are part of a program area fleet.
(9)
Except for vehicles owned by a trust created for the benefit of a person with a disability, for purposes of enforcing disabled parking privileges granted pursuant to section
42-4-1208
, the department, when issuing a registration card under this section, shall clearly indicate on the card if an owner of a vehicle is a person with a disability as defined in section
42-3-204
. If the vehicle is owned by more than one person and the registration reflects that joint ownership, the department shall clearly indicate on the registration card which of the owners are persons with disabilities and which of the owners are not.
(9.5)
(a)
Upon completion of the application created pursuant to subsection (9.5)(b) of this section, when registering or renewing the registration of a vehicle pursuant to this section, the department shall collect information that the owner of a vehicle voluntarily discloses about the disability of a person who is either authorized to drive, or a regular passenger of, the registered vehicle for a person who has a disability as defined in the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990",
42 U.S.C. sec. 12101
et seq., and the disability interferes with the person's ability to effectively communicate with a peace officer. The department shall make this information immediately available to a peace officer who queries information about the registered vehicle.
(b)
(I)
The department shall promulgate a rule creating an application and renewal form that is signed by a professional, under penalty of perjury, to affirm that the driver or regular passenger of a vehicle has a disability and the disability interferes with the person's ability to effectively communicate with a peace officer and setting out the penalties for affirming before verifying that the person has a disability that interferes with the person's ability to effectively communicate with a peace officer.
(II)
As used in this subsection (9.5)(b), "professional" means a physician licensed to practice medicine under article
240
of title
12
or practicing medicine under section
12-240-107 (3)(i)
, a physician assistant licensed under section
12-240-113
, a mental health professional licensed or certified under article
245
of title
12
, an advanced practice registered nurse registered under section
12-255-111
, a person with a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, or a physician, physician assistant, mental health professional, or advanced practice registered nurse authorized to practice professionally by another state that shares a common border with Colorado.
(c)
The department shall not charge a fee for collecting or making this information available to peace officers.
(d)
An owner of a vehicle may choose to no longer have the information regarding a disability available to a peace officer who queries the vehicle registration. At an owner's request, the department shall remove the disability information attached to the owner's vehicle registration. The department shall not retain any disability information for an owner who chooses to remove disability information from the owner's vehicle registration.
(e)
By January 15, 2023, and each year thereafter, the department shall report to the house of representatives health and insurance committee and transportation and local government committee and the senate health and human services committee and transportation and energy committee, or their successor committees, on the percentage of persons registering a vehicle who have disclosed disability information in accordance with this subsection (9.5) in the previous calendar year.
(10)
(a)
Whenever a person asks the department or any other state department or agency for the name or address of the owner of a motor vehicle registered under this section, the department or agency shall require the person to disclose if the purpose of the request is to determine the name or address of a person suspected of a violation of a state or municipal law detected through the use of an automated vehicle identification system as described in section
42-4-110.5
. If the purpose of the request is to determine the name or address of such a suspect, the department or agency shall release such information only if the county or municipality for which the request is made complies with section
42-4-110.5
.
(b)
No person who receives the name or address of the registered owner of a motor vehicle from the department or from a person who receives the information from the department shall release such information to a county or a municipality unless the county or municipality complies with state laws concerning the use of automated identification devices.
(11)
The department shall not place an expiration date on the registration card for a Class A commercial trailer or semitrailer registered in Colorado.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 406, § 4, eff. 7/1/2022.
Amended by 2017 Ch. 101, § 14, eff. 8/9/2017.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 388, § 2, eff. 7/1/2014.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 114, § 1, eff. 4/8/2013.
L. 2005: (2) amended, p. 395, § 2, effective July 1; entire article amended with relocations, p. 1095, § 2, effective August 8. L. 2010: (7) amended, (HB 10-1045), ch. 1480, p. 1480, § 5, effective 7/1/2011. L. 2012: (11) added, (HB 12-1038), ch. 1456, p. 1456, § 4, effective June 8. L. 2013: (2)(d)(III) and (2)(d)(IV) repealed, (2)(d.5) added, and (2)(e) and (3) amended, (SB 13 -081), ch. 389, p. 389, § 1, effective April 8. L. 2014: IP(2), (2)(h), (5), (7), and (8)(a)(I) amended, (2)(d)(V) repealed, and (2.5) added, (SB 14-131), ch. 1942, p. 1942, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2017: IP(1) and (1)(a) amended, (HB 17 -1107), ch. 368, p. 368, § 14, effective August 9. L. 2021: (9.5) added, (HB 21-1014), ch. 2697, p. 2697, § 4, effective 7/1/2022.
(1) This section is similar to former § 42-3-112 as it existed prior to 2005, and portions of the former § 42-3-113 were relocated to §§
42-3-201
and
42-3-301
.
(2) Subsection (2) was originally numbered as §
42-3-112(2)
, and the amendments to it in House Bill 05-1140 were harmonized with § 42-3-113(2) as it appears in House Bill 05-1107.
2021 Ch. 406, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
For the legislative declaration in the 2012 act adding subsection (11), see section 1 of chapter 276, Session Laws of Colorado 2012. For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1014, see section 1 of chapter 406, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.