Colorado automated camera notices: CDOT Speed Enforcement vs local AVIS

Do not treat “Colorado camera ticket” as one object. Colorado uses automated vehicle identification systems (AVIS) under C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5 for mailed civil notices. A CDOT Colorado Speed Enforcement Program notice on a state highway is not the same paper as a local county or municipal AVIS mailing, and neither is an officer-issued Colorado speeding ticket. Read the agency and statute named on the paper. Confirm what your paper says.

US overview: What a mailed camera notice is. Contrast: What an NYC camera notice is · Three different California camera notices · Florida Notice of Violation vs Uniform Traffic Citation · Maryland school-zone speed monitoring vs SafeZones.

An officer-handed Colorado speeding citation is a different track. See What a Colorado speeding ticket is.

1. What C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5 says (statewide AVIS frame)

C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5 (Colorado Revised Statutes 2024 Title 42 PDF, retrieved 17 Sep 2026): the General Assembly declares that enforcement of traffic laws through automated vehicle identification systems under this section is a matter of statewide concern and that uniform state standards are necessary. An “automated vehicle identification system” means a system that automatically detects a traffic-regulation violation and simultaneously records a photograph of the vehicle and the license plate, and for which a notice of violation or civil penalty assessment notice may be issued to the registered owner. The term includes systems used to detect speed violations, disobedience to traffic signals or signs, the overtaking of a stopped school bus with actuated visual signal lights, and bus-lane or bicycle-lane restrictions. That is the statute’s statement. From 12 August 2026, 2026 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 234 (House Bill 26-1318) adds systems used to detect a moving traffic violation in a school zone or along a safe route to school, and ch. 309 (Senate Bill 26-152) provides that the term does not include automated license plate reader systems. That is the acts’ statement in plain words.

C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(2)(a) (retrieved 17 Sep 2026): if the state, a county, a city and county, or a municipality detects an alleged violation through AVIS, it shall issue (or cause its vendor to issue) a notice of violation to the registered owner by first-class mail or an equivalent or superior delivery service: within thirty days after the alleged violation if the vehicle is registered in Colorado, or within sixty days if registered outside Colorado. The notice must state the civil-penalty amount, the deadline to pay or dispute, and how to dispute in a hearing or pay. That is the statute’s statement, not an instruction from us.

Same subsection: the deadline on the notice of violation to pay or request a hearing must be not less than forty-five days after the issuance date on the notice. If neither payment nor a written hearing request arrives by that deadline, the agency shall issue a civil penalty assessment notice no later than thirty days after that deadline. Failure to request a hearing by the notice-of-violation deadline waives the right to contest; failure to pay the assessment notice leads to a final order of liability, which may be appealed de novo to the county or municipal court named in the statute. Collection of unpaid AVIS penalties may not begin unless the owner is personally served the notice of violation or the final order. That is the statute’s statement. We do not tell you whether to pay or request a hearing.

C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(3) (retrieved 17 Sep 2026): the department has no authority to assess any points against a license under § 42-2-127 for a conviction or judgment for a violation detected through AVIS, and shall not keep a record of such violation in the official records under § 42-2-121. C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(2)(b): the state, county, city and county, or municipality shall not report such a conviction or judgment to the department. That is the statute’s statement for AVIS detections under this section. Do not write “Colorado camera tickets never add points” as a slogan covering every mailing or an officer-issued ticket.

2. Amounts the statute caps — and where it does not set a face dollar

2026 Colo. Sess. Laws, ch. 309 (Senate Bill 26-152, approved June 2, 2026; effective 12 August 2026 per the General Assembly’s SB26-152 page, retrieved 10 Oct 2026) amended § 42-4-110.5, including subsections (4) and (4.5)(a), and repealed subsection (1.5). Section 3(2) of the act states: “This act applies to conduct occurring or contracts entered into or renewed on or after the applicable effective date of this act”. The session law prints the amended text with insertions in capitals and deletions struck through, and the Colorado Revised Statutes PDF this page cites is the 2024 edition, which predates the act, so this section states the changes in plain words rather than quoting the amended text. The red-light cap in (4.5)(a) below stays seventy-five dollars before 1 January 2035 (ninety-five dollars from 1 January 2035, a future amount). That is the act’s statement.

For AVIS speeding violations on or after 12 August 2026, ch. 309 § 2 provides in § 42-4-110.5(4)(a): under six miles per hour over the reasonable and prudent speed, the agency may mail a warning and may not impose a penalty or surcharge, unless the violation occurs within a school zone as defined in § 42-4-615 or a maintenance, repair, or construction zone designated under § 42-4-614, where the maximum penalty, including any surcharge, is forty dollars. For a first violation of at least six and less than ten miles per hour over, the agency must mail a warning and may not impose a penalty or surcharge; in a school zone or such a work zone, the maximum penalty for that first violation is forty dollars before 1 January 2035 (fifty dollars from 1 January 2035, a future amount). That is the act’s statement in plain words.

Same act, § 42-4-110.5(4)(b) and (4)(c): before 1 January 2035, the maximum penalty, including any surcharge, is forty dollars for a second or later violation of at least six and less than ten miles per hour over, or for a violation of at least ten and less than twenty-five miles per hour over (fifty dollars from 1 January 2035, a future amount). If such a violation occurs within a school zone or a designated maintenance, repair, or construction zone, the maximum penalty is doubled. The act deletes former (4)(b)(III), which said (4)(b)(I) did not apply in those zones. For a violation of twenty-five miles per hour or more over, the maximum penalty, including any surcharge, is one hundred twenty dollars before 1 January 2035 (one hundred fifty dollars from 1 January 2035, a future amount); former subsection (1.5), which excluded those violations from § 42-4-110.5, is repealed. That is the act’s statement in plain words.

Prior text (the act applies to conduct on or after 12 August 2026). C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(4)(a) (2024 text, retrieved 17 Sep 2026): for a first AVIS speeding violation of less than ten miles per hour over the reasonable and prudent speed, the agency may mail a warning and shall not impose any penalty or surcharge for that first violation.

Prior text, C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(4)(b)(I) (2024 text, retrieved 17 Sep 2026): for other AVIS speeding violations described in that paragraph, the maximum penalty the agency may impose, including any surcharge, is forty dollars, except as may be permitted in (4)(b)(II). Subsection (4)(b)(II) states that if a violation described in (4)(b)(I) occurs within a school zone as defined in § 42-4-615, the maximum penalty that may be imposed shall be doubled. Subsection (4)(b)(III) states that subsection (4)(b)(I) does not apply within a maintenance, construction, or repair zone designated under § 42-4-614 or a school zone as defined in § 42-4-615(2). That is the statute’s statement of both texts — this page does not reconcile how doubling and non-application interact. UNKNOWN from the statute alone what face dollar a given school-zone or work-zone AVIS notice shows. Confirm the dollar amount printed on your notice and what the issuing agency states. Do not treat CDOT FAQ program dollars as every local amount.

C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(4.5)(a) (retrieved 17 Sep 2026): for disobedience to a traffic control signal detected by AVIS, the maximum civil penalty, including any surcharge, is seventy-five dollars. Subsection (4.5)(b) states that (4.5)(a) does not apply within a designated maintenance, construction, or repair zone or a school zone as defined in § 42-4-615(2). That is the statute’s red-light / signal track — do not mix it with the speed caps above.

UNKNOWN from the statute alone for many local programs: the exact face amount on a specific city’s or county’s notice, including in a work zone or school zone, or when the agency sets an amount at or under the statutory caps. Confirm what your paper and issuing agency state.

3. CDOT Colorado Speed Enforcement Program (state highways — unmix from local)

CDOT Colorado Speed Enforcement Program FAQ and program pages (codot.gov/programs/speedenforcement, retrieved 17 Sep 2026): CDOT operates camera-based speed enforcement using AVIS on state highways. CDOT FAQ: local speed-enforcement programs are not run by CDOT; all automated speed programs in Colorado are made possible by the same legislation, C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5. Information specific to state program implementation is described by CDOT as found in subsection 2.5 of that statute. That is CDOT’s statement.

CDOT program overview / FAQ / camera-locations pages (retrieved 17 Sep 2026): drivers exceeding the speed limit by 10+ mph in an active Colorado Speed Enforcement corridor are issued a $75 civil penalty (average speed calculated between cameras). CDOT FAQ also states: the civil penalty for speeding in a work or school zone is $75; the civil penalty for speeding in designated AVIS corridors is $40. Notices of violation are sent within 30 days for Colorado-registered vehicles or 60 days for out-of-state vehicles. CDOT FAQ: these civil penalties do not add points on the driver’s license. CDOT FAQ: if unpaid / undisputed within 45 days of the original notice of violation, a civil penalty assessment follows (pay within 30 days; then a final order of liability if unpaid). Payment details are pointed to coloradospeedenforcement.com. That is CDOT’s statement for this state program, not an instruction from us.

CDOT camera-locations page (retrieved 17 Sep 2026) lists active $75 civil-penalty work-zone corridors (including CO 119, I-25 North Mead–Berthoud, and I-25/US 50B Pueblo as of that retrieve). Locations and warning periods change; confirm current CDOT listings and what your notice names.

C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(2.5) (retrieved 17 Sep 2026): the state may use AVIS on any portion of a state highway; CDOT may promulgate rules, including establishing civil-penalty amounts for CDOT-detected violations subject to the caps in subsections (4)(b) and (4.5) and other law. Local agencies implementing AVIS on state or U.S. highways coordinate with CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol as CDOT’s Local Agency Implementation page describes (retrieved 17 Sep 2026).

Paths the paper / statute describe (not which to choose)

Statute and CDOT FAQ describe paying the civil penalty per the notice or disputing / requesting a hearing by the deadline on the notice. We do not tell you whether to pay or dispute.

Violation.com does not collect Colorado fines. If you upload the notice, we summarize what the notice shows. It is not legal advice.

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Sources retrieved 17 Sep 2026 (SB26-152 and HB26-1318 session laws and bill pages retrieved 10 Oct 2026):

Not legal advice. Not a law firm. Not affiliated with a government agency. Information Only.

Information on this page was last checked against official sources on October 10, 2026.