What Is the Difference Between DUI and DWAI in Colorado?

Colorado is one of the few states with two separate impaired driving charges. Most states have a single offense with a single number attached to it. Here, you can be charged with DUI or with DWAI, and the difference between them can decide whether you keep your license.

That second charge, DWAI, is also the most common way a DUI case ends up resolving. Understanding how the two compare is worth more than most people realize.

What Does DUI Mean in Colorado?

DUI stands for driving under the influence. Under C.R.S. § 42-4-1301, it applies when alcohol, drugs, or a combination leaves a driver substantially incapable of safely operating a vehicle, either mentally or physically.

There are two routes to a DUI conviction:

• Per se: Your BAC is 0.08 or higher. The number alone establishes the violation.
• Impairment: You were substantially incapable of driving safely, regardless of the number.

DUI covers drugs as well as alcohol, including marijuana and prescription medication.

What Does DWAI Mean in Colorado?

DWAI stands for driving while ability impaired. The threshold is much lower: your ability to drive is affected to the slightest degree.

A BAC above 0.05 but below 0.08 creates a permissible inference of DWAI, which means a jury is allowed to conclude you were impaired but is not required to. Unlike DUI, DWAI has no per se limit, so the number never settles the question by itself.

Two things people commonly get wrong:

• A DWAI is a criminal offense, not a traffic ticket. It creates a permanent criminal record.
• A DWAI can be charged below 0.05. The statute is about impairment, and a BAC at or under 0.05 supports a presumption that you were not impaired, but drug cases in particular can still produce a DWAI charge.

How Do DUI and DWAI Penalties Compare?

Both are misdemeanors for a first offense, but the penalties separate clearly.

First DUI:

• 5 days to 1 year in jail, with the minimum often suspendable through alcohol education
• $600 to $1,000 in fines
• 48 to 96 hours of community service
• Up to 2 years of probation

First DWAI:

• 2 days to 180 days in jail
• $200 to $500 in fines
• 24 to 48 hours of community service

One rule applies to both: if your BAC was 0.20 or higher, C.R.S. § 42-4-1307 imposes a 10-day mandatory minimum jail sentence, even on a first offense. And a BAC of 0.15 or higher brings a persistent drunk driver designation with added requirements.

How Does Each Charge Affect Your Driver’s License?

This is the single biggest practical difference, and it catches people off guard because two separate systems are at work. The criminal court handles the charge. The DMV handles your license.

• DUI: A first conviction generally brings a 9-month license revocation and 12 points on your driving record.
• DWAI: There is no automatic revocation, but the conviction adds 8 points.

Eight points does not suspend an adult license on its own, since the threshold for drivers 21 and over is 12 points in 12 months. But if you already have points from speeding or other violations, a DWAI can push you past the limit and cost you your license anyway.

Two more things worth knowing:

• Refusing a chemical test triggers a revocation under the express consent law regardless of how the criminal case turns out.
• A BAC of 0.08 or higher starts an administrative revocation process separate from the charge, and you have only 7 days to request a DMV hearing.

Does a DWAI Count as a Prior Offense?

Yes, and this is where the “lesser charge” framing becomes misleading. Colorado treats DUI and DWAI convictions interchangeably when counting priors, and there is no lookback period.

That means:

• A DWAI today counts as a prior if you are charged again in fifteen years
• Second and third offenses carry mandatory minimum jail regardless of which charge they were
• Four or more impaired driving convictions in a lifetime make a new charge a class 4 felony, and prior DWAI convictions count toward that total

Accepting a DWAI as a resolution can be a good outcome. It should still be done with an understanding of what it means for any future case.

Can a DUI Be Reduced to a DWAI?

Yes, and it is one of the most common favorable outcomes in Colorado impaired driving cases. Because DWAI is a lesser included offense of DUI, prosecutors can and do offer it as a reduction.

A reduction becomes realistic when:

• Your BAC was close to the 0.08 line, where testing margin matters
• There are problems with the traffic stop or the reason for the contact
• Breath machine calibration or maintenance records show irregularities
• The blood draw or chain of custody has gaps
• Roadside test performance can be explained by injuries, nerves, or conditions
• There is no prior record and no accident

The practical benefit of a reduction is usually the license. Moving from a DUI to a DWAI can mean the difference between a 9-month revocation and keeping your ability to drive to work.

Does DWAI Apply to Drugs and Prescriptions?

Yes. Both charges cover impairment from drugs, not just alcohol, and the drug version of the lesser charge is sometimes called DWAID.

This reaches further than most drivers expect:

• Marijuana, including legal recreational and medical use
• Prescription medication taken exactly as directed
• Over-the-counter medicine that causes drowsiness
• Any combination of these with alcohol

Having a valid prescription or being legally entitled to use marijuana is not a defense to an impaired driving charge. And because drug cases have no per se limit comparable to 0.08 for alcohol, prosecutors rely on officer observations, roadside testing, and blood results instead. That reliance on subjective evidence is often where a strong defense begins.

Which Charge Should You Expect in Your Case?

That depends on your BAC, the officer’s observations, whether drugs were involved, and how the evidence holds up once someone examines it. What matters most early is protecting the license through the DMV deadline while the criminal case is still developing.

Dawson Law handles DUI and DWAI cases throughout Boulder and the Front Range. Contact us to review your test results, the stop, and whether a reduction is realistic in your situation.