2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 42 - VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC (§§ 42-1-101 — 42-21-106) › DRIVERS LICENSES (§§ 42-2-101 — 42-2-604) › Article 2 - DRIVERS' LICENSES (§§ 42-2-101 — 42-2-604) › Part 4 - COMMERCIAL DRIVERS' LICENSES (§§ 42-2-401 — 42-2-409) › Section 42-2-409 - Unlawful possession or use of a commercial driver's license

(1)
(a)
A person shall not have in his or her possession a lawfully issued commercial driver's license knowing that the license has been falsely altered by means of erasure, obliteration, deletion, insertion of new information, transposition of information, or any other means so that the license in its altered form falsely appears or purports to be in all respects an authentic and lawfully issued license.
(b)
A person shall not fraudulently obtain a commercial driver's license.
(c)
A person shall not have in his or her possession a paper, document, or other instrument that falsely appears or purports to be in all respects a lawfully issued and authentic commercial driver's license knowing that the instrument was falsely made and was not lawfully issued.
(d)
A person shall not display, or represent as being his or her own, a commercial driver's license that was lawfully issued to another person.
(e)
A person shall not fail or refuse to surrender to the department upon its lawful demand a commercial driver's license issued to the person that has been suspended, revoked, or canceled by the department. The department shall notify in writing the district attorney's office in the county where the violation occurred of all violations of this paragraph (e).
(f)
A person shall not permit the unlawful use of a commercial driver's license issued to the person.
(g)
A person shall not photograph, photostat, duplicate, or in any way reproduce a commercial driver's license or facsimile thereof for the purpose of distribution, resale, reuse, or manipulation of the data or images contained in the commercial driver's license unless authorized by the department or otherwise authorized by law.
(2)
(a)
A person who violates subsections (1)(a) to (1)(f) of this section commits a petty offense.
(b)
A person who violates subsection (1)(g) of this section commits a class 2 misdemeanor.
(3)
(a)
Upon receipt of a notice of conviction under this section, the department shall permanently revoke the person's right to receive a commercial driver's license.
(b)
A notice of revocation under this section shall be mailed to the person by the department in compliance with section
42-2-119 (2)
.
(c)
Upon receipt of the notice of revocation, the person or the person's attorney may request a hearing in writing. The department, upon notice to the person as provided in section
42-2-119 (2)
, shall hold a hearing as soon as practicable at the district office of the department closest to the residence of the person; except that, at the discretion of the department, all or part of the hearing may be conducted in real time by telephone or other electronic means in accordance with section
42-1-218.5
.
(d)
The order of the hearing officer is the final agency action and may be appealed under section
42-2-135
. A petition for judicial review must be filed within thirty-five days after the date of the order.
(4)
A court shall not accept a plea of guilty to another offense from a person charged with a violation of this section; except that the court may accept a plea of guilty to another offense upon a good faith representation by the prosecuting attorney that the attorney cannot establish a prima facie case if the defendant is brought to trial on the original offense.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 462, § 717, eff. 3/1/2022.
L. 2006: Entire section added, p. 165, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2015: (3)(d) amended, (HB 15 -1021), ch. 64, p. 64, § 5, effective August 5. L. 2021: (2) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 3303, p. 3303, § 717, effective 3/1/2022.
Section 803(2) of chapter 462 (SB 21-271), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.
2021 Ch. 462, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
For the penalty for a misdemeanor, see § 18-1.3-501 ; for the penalty for a petty offense, see § 18-1.3-503 .