Colorado earns a C for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Somewhat higher bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must provide clear and convincing evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 75% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (50% to law enforcement directly and 25% to a law enforcement community services fund that funnels proceeds back to law enforcement; the remaining 25% goes to drug rehabilitation programs).
The letter grade reflects Colorado’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Colorado?
Under Colorado law, the government’s, owners’, and court deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 175 days, but there is no deadline for the show cause order and possible extensions may add to the wait. While you wait, the government has your property, and you have no way to seek its return.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $121 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Colorado Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $623,651 | $639,942 | $17,000 | $1,280,593 |
| 2001 | $2,210,838 | $5,013,103 | $69,000 | $7,292,941 |
| 2002 | $1,454,868 | $1,348,887 | $48,000 | $2,851,755 |
| 2003 | $1,193,625 | $1,288,769 | $111,000 | $2,593,394 |
| 2004 | $249,179 | $1,712,673 | $28,000 | $1,989,852 |
| 2005 | $609,354 | $2,944,760 | $215,000 | $3,769,114 |
| 2006 | $1,106,608 | $5,159,744 | $83,000 | $6,349,352 |
| 2007 | $783,888 | $4,799,505 | $336,000 | $5,919,393 |
| 2008 | $761,082 | $4,211,955 | $22,000 | $4,995,037 |
| 2009 | $1,553,586 | $4,494,751 | $496,000 | $6,544,337 |
| 2010 | $351,442 | $3,808,573 | $330,000 | $4,490,015 |
| 2011 | $739,151 | $3,220,174 | $261,000 | $4,220,325 |
| 2012 | $533,111 | $5,773,624 | $643,000 | $6,949,735 |
| 2013 | $628,239 | $3,817,589 | $1,885,000 | $6,330,828 |
| 2014 | $491,773 | $3,974,765 | $228,000 | $4,694,538 |
| 2015 | $390,766 | $5,066,151 | $1,746,000 | $7,202,917 |
| 2016 | $577,292 | $3,110,770 | $303,000 | $3,991,062 |
| 2017 | $798,118 | $7,018,719 | $316,000 | $8,132,837 |
| 2018 | $343,450 | $4,402,065 | $877,000 | $5,622,515 |
| 2019 | $1,657,322 | $1,287,556 | $40,000 | $2,984,878 |
| 2020 | $741,764 | $3,562,176 | $217,000 | $4,520,940 |
| 2021 | $2,126,725 | $2,504,743 | $711,000 | $5,342,468 |
| 2022 | $5,196,718 | $2,431,519 | $1,579,000 | $9,207,237 |
| 2023 | $1,818,948 | $2,492,979 | $52,000 | $4,363,927 |
| Totals | $26,941,498 | $84,085,492 | $10,613,000 | $121,639,990 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Since August 2017, Colorado has prohibited equitable sharing unless the assets are worth more than $50,000 and there is an associated criminal case. IJ’s analysis (see https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-4/equitable-sharing/evaluating-efforts-to-reform-equitable-sharing/) found that, relative to non-reform states, the reform resulted in both immediate and long-term reductions in the sharing of below-threshold assets and assets overall. However, below-threshold assets were still consistently shared in the long run. From 2018 to 2023, Colorado law enforcement agencies generated more than $20 million in equitable sharing proceeds. And on average from 2019 to 2023, 76 Colorado agencies, or an estimated 34% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Colorado Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$2,387
From 2019 to 2023, half of Colorado’s currency forfeitures were worth less than $2,387.
Property Types
From 2019 to 2023, more than 80% of Colorado’s forfeitures were of currency.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Colorado does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Median Time to Forfeiture
9 months
From 2019 to 2023, half of Colorado’s forfeitures took more than nine months, while one-quarter took more than 15 months.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
B+Statewide Forfeiture Reports
APenalties for Failure to File a Report
C*Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
AAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
A*Agencies must file even when they have nothing to report.
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide, property-level forfeiture data for 2017–2023 were downloaded from the Department of Local Affairs’ website. Data for earlier years were obtained via public records requests to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. All figures are in calendar years. Revenues for 2019–2023 were calculated using the value of forfeited currency and property reported in a year, while those for earlier years were calculated using the proceeds agencies reported in a year. Legislation expanded the definition of a reporting agency in 2019, requiring about 20 more agencies to report. This likely accounts for some of the increase in revenues since 2019. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. See Appendix C, available online at ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-4/appendix-c-equitable-sharing-methods/, for details of the equitable sharing reform analysis. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Clear and convincing evidence.
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-13-307(1.7)(c) (public nuisance), -505(1.7)(c) (contraband), -509 (currency), 18-17-106(11) (racketeering).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-13-303(5.1)(a), (5.2)(c), 16-13-504(2.1)(a), (2.2)(c).
Financial incentive: 75% (50% to law enforcement, 25% to a grant fund that distributes money to law enforcement). The remaining 25% goes to drug rehabilitation programs.
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-13-311(3)(a)(VII), -506(1), 18-17-106(2)(d).
Note: This restriction does not apply to funds received through federal equitable sharing, which is available only in cases where more than $50,000 is seized.
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-13-306.5, -504.5, -601.
Process: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-13-501 et seq. (forfeiture procedure).