State law file · verified June 2026
Colorado idling law: the 5 minutes per hour rule
Colorado’s state idling standard (CRS §42-14-105, enacted by HB11-1275 in 2011) bars commercial diesel vehicles of 14,000+ lbs from idling more than 5 minutes in any 60-minute period — but it works as a floor that local governments adopt and enforce through ordinances at least as strict.
Exceptions that actually matter
- Extreme weather conditions
- Necessary maintenance and operational situations defined in the statute
Penalties
The state standard delegates enforcement to local governments, so penalty amounts vary by city/county ordinance (Denver, among others, enforces its own idling rules). We don’t quote a single statewide figure because none exists.
Who enforces it — and how to report
Local governments under ordinances at least as stringent as the state standard; several Front Range cities enforce their own rules.
Report to the city or county code/air-quality enforcement office where the idling occurs; there is no citizen reward.
Can you get paid for reporting in Colorado?
No. Colorado has no citizen reward — complaints are civic, not paid. The only major program that pays complainants is New York City's idling bounty, where citizens keep 25% of collected fines and our enforcement data shows what that produces: hundreds of thousands of cases and an estimated eight-figure sum paid to filers. If a paid program launches in Colorado, this page will say so.
Frequently asked questions
What is Colorado’s idling law?
CRS §42-14-105 sets a 5-minutes-per-hour standard for commercial diesel vehicles of 14,000+ lbs, with weather and maintenance exemptions — enforced locally, by ordinances that must be at least as strict as the state standard.
Can you get paid for reporting idling in Colorado?
No — reports go to local code enforcement with no reward. NYC remains the only major paying program.
Sources
This summary was checked against the following official sources on the date shown above. Laws change — verify before relying on specifics.
- CRS §42-14-105 — statute text (Justia)
- Colorado General Assembly — HB24-1341 (state idling standard history)
Other state law files
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General legal information, not legal advice. Statutes and penalty schedules summarized from the sources above as of June 2026.