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Friday, Apr. 24, 2026

Is a $100 fine the only penalty for driving with expired tags?

Cassis Tingley, The Colorado Sun
no

Though Colorado caps late fees for driving with expired registration at $100, Colorado drivers must also pay all back-taxes from the time their registration expired when they renew their registration.

The Department of Motor Vehicles charges drivers $25 per month in late fees, up to $100. Drivers must also pay all back-taxes and fees at a prorated rate for the period their registration was expired. Exact rates vary by county. 

Driving with expired tags is a Class B traffic violation, and drivers can receive tickets from state or local law enforcement typically ranging from $15-$100. For more serious violations like modifying tags to hide the expiration date, drivers can face up to $300 in fines and possible jail time.

In 2025, more than 1.6 million vehicles were registered for the first time in Colorado, and the state had roughly 5 million renewals.

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The Colorado Sun is a journalist-founded, award-winning and nonprofit news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself. In this way, we believe we can contribute to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado. We are committed to fact-based, in-depth and nonpartisan journalism. We cover everything from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education. Our goal is to produce the best possible journalism. We do that with the help of you, our readers, and community backers. We launched on Sept. 10, 2018.

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