Jury Duty in Colorado: Pay, Exemptions, Excuses and What to Expect (2026)

Colorado's courts summon jurors at random from a statewide list built each year from voter registration, driver's license, state ID and state income tax records. If you are a U.S. citizen, 18 or older, live in the county more than half the time, and can read, speak and understand English, you are qualified. A felony conviction doesn't keep you off a trial jury.

Colorado splits the bill for jury duty. If you have a regular job, your employer must pay your regular wages, up to $50 a day, for the first 3 days. From the fourth day on, the state pays $50 a day. Service lasts one day or one trial, and recent service disqualifies you for a while. Your job is protected, and knowingly ignoring a summons is a petty offense.

The rules are in the Colorado Uniform Jury Selection and Service Act, article 71 of title 13 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The official, annotated statutes are published online through a commercial vendor under its terms of use, so this page cites the Colorado General Assembly's own downloadable 2026 edition of the statutes, published by the Office of Legislative Legal Services. Everything below is current as of November 2026.

Colorado jury duty at a glance

Who can serve

The Act starts from the premise that jury service is a duty every qualified person must perform when selected, and that jurors must be drawn at random from a fair cross section of the community (§ 13-71-104). The basic test is short. C.R.S. § 13-71-105(1):

Any person who is a United States citizen and resides in a county or lives in such county more than fifty percent of the time, whether or not registered to vote, shall be qualified to serve as a trial or grand juror in such county.

Your citizenship and residence on the day of service are what count. Military members aren't exempt: the Judicial Branch says that if you live in the county where you were summoned at least half the time, you must report.

Disqualifications. Under § 13-71-105(2), you are disqualified if you:

• are under 18;
• can't read, speak and understand English;
• have a physical or mental disability that prevents satisfactory service (the jury commissioner may ask for a letter from a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice nurse or Christian Science practitioner; the test is whether you could do a sedentary job requiring close attention for three business days, six hours a day);
• are solely responsible for the daily care of a person with a permanent disability in your household, and serving would seriously risk that person's health (this doesn't apply if you regularly work somewhere else);
• live outside the county with no plan to return in the next twelve months;
• sat as an impaneled trial or grand juror in any municipal, tribal, military, state or federal court in the past twelve months, or are scheduled to serve in the next twelve; or
• already appeared as a prospective juror in a Colorado state court this calendar year (except in an emergency call-up).

For the last two, you must send proof of the other service, such as a letter from that court.

Felony convictions. A felony conviction doesn't disqualify you from a trial jury. It does disqualify you from a grand jury (§ 13-71-105(3)). The Judicial Branch notes that the lawyers may still weigh a conviction during jury selection.

Disabilities. A person with a disability serves unless a disqualification applies or the court finds the disability prevents the person from doing a juror's job, and before dismissing anyone on that ground the court must interview the person about reasonable accommodations (§ 13-71-104(3)). The Judicial Branch asks for ADA requests at least 5 days before your service date. Deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind jurors may be given a qualified interpreter or other auxiliary services provider (§ 13-71-137).

Exemptions and excuses

Colorado has no exemptions. The Act says a person may not be exempted or excluded because of "race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, economic status, or occupation" (§ 13-71-104(3)(a)). The Judicial Branch adds that exemptions aren't based on profession, employment status, school enrollment, finances, religion or age. Students aren't automatically excused either.

What you can get is an excuse, and most are temporary.

Physical hardship. C.R.S. § 13-71-119.5(2)(a)(I):

A person shall be excused temporarily from service as a juror if his or her jury service would cause undue or extreme physical hardship to him or her or to another person under his or her direct care or supervision.

The statute limits this to two situations: you would have to abandon someone in your care because you can't find a substitute caregiver, or serving would cause you physical hardship that could lead to illness or disease. You must get a decision before your report date, and you may support the request with medical statements, proof of dependency or guardianship, or similar papers, which are not public records. A judge or the jury commissioner decides. A permanent excuse is possible only if the grounds are permanent.

Breastfeeding. A person who is breastfeeding a child and can't, or chooses not to, leave the child to serve must be excused temporarily, for up to two consecutive twelve-month postponements; the judge or jury commissioner may ask for a medical statement (§ 13-71-119.5(2.5)). The Judicial Branch says to send a statement on official letterhead from a doctor, nurse, physician assistant, lactation professional or other medical professional, listing your appearance date and juror number.

Extreme hardship, decided by the court. Every trial juror is expected to be prepared to serve three trial days. Beyond the hardships above, the court may excuse a trial juror only on a finding of extreme hardship (§ 13-71-119). If a trial is expected to last more than three trial days, the court must tell you before the jury is seated and may excuse you from that trial for hardship or inconvenience; you then finish your day of service (§ 13-71-121).

How to ask. Use the disqualification or postponement request forms on the Judicial Branch's jury page, or contact your county's jury commissioner. If your questionnaire answers show you're disqualified or entitled to an excuse, the court leaves you out of the jury pool and tells you so (§ 13-71-115(3)).

Postponing jury duty

You have a right to one postponement. C.R.S. § 13-71-116(1):

A trial juror shall have the right to one postponement of the term of juror service. The postponement must not last more than six months, but may extend into the next calendar year;

Some details:

• College students out of state. If you are a Colorado resident attending college in person outside Colorado, your postponement can last up to twelve months, so you can serve during a break.
• How. Ask the jury commissioner by phone or in writing. The Judicial Branch also takes postponement requests online and by email or mail using the postponement section of your summons. The commissioner may pick the new date.
• Small employers. If you work for an employer with five or fewer full-time employees and a co-worker has been summoned for the same period, the commissioner must postpone and reschedule your service when you give notice. This doesn't use up your one postponement (§ 13-71-116.5).
• Away from home. The Judicial Branch says jurors who will be out of the county on their date but back within 6 months should be postponed to a date when they're home. Colorado students at an in-state school can postpone or ask to serve in the county where they attend school.

Juror pay

Colorado's policy is to keep jury duty from causing financial hardship, and to put a juror who does suffer hardship back where they would have been (§ 13-71-125). Pay depends on how long you serve and whether you have a job.

Days 1 to 3: your employer pays. See the next section. If you are self-employed, or your employer convinces the court that paying you would be a financial hardship, the court excuses the employer and the state pays you reasonable compensation instead, up to $50 a day, for those first three days (§ 13-71-127).

Days 1 to 3 if you aren't employed. Retirees, homemakers, students, unemployed people and anyone else not regularly employed may apply to the jury commissioner on the first day for reimbursement of reasonable travel, child care and other out-of-pocket costs, except food, up to $50 a day for the first 3 days. Jury service will not cost you your unemployment benefits (§ 13-71-128).

Day 4 on: the state pays. C.R.S. § 13-71-129:

The state shall pay each trial or grand juror who serves more than three days for the fourth day of service and each day thereafter at the rate of fifty dollars per day. A trial or grand juror receiving payment under this section shall not be entitled to additional reimbursement for travel or other out-of-pocket expenses.

A few more details:

• Only days you appear count. Holidays and days a trial is recessed are excluded (§ 13-71-130).
• Payment is quick. The state must process trial juror payments by check or electronic transfer within ten days after your service ends; grand jurors are paid at least monthly (§ 13-71-132(3)).
• Public transit. In judicial districts with public transportation, the state court administrator must work with transit officials on a plan for jurors to ride free to and from the courthouse (§ 13-71-129.5). The Act sets no mileage rate.
• Special cases. A court may make special awards for unusual circumstances and special arrangements for physically impaired and elderly jurors (§ 13-71-131). Ask the jury commissioner about hardships and expenses.

Your job is protected

Your employer must pay you for the first three days. C.R.S. § 13-71-126:

All regularly employed trial or grand jurors shall be paid regular wages, but not to exceed fifty dollars per day unless by mutual agreement between the employee and employer, by their employers for the first three days of juror service or any part thereof. Regular employment shall include part-time, temporary, and casual employment if the employment hours may be determined by a schedule, custom, or practice established during the three-month period preceding the juror's term of service.

In plain terms: your employer owes your regular pay, capped at $50 a day unless the two of you agree to more, for the first 3 days, even partial days. Part-time and temporary workers are covered if their hours follow a schedule or pattern set over the past three months. The Chief Justice's letter to employers describes the duty as applying if you were scheduled to work on those days.

Getting paid. Give your employer your juror service acknowledgment, which shows how many days you served. The Judicial Branch posts an electronic Juror Service Certificate online one business day after your service ends; your employer needs your juror number, last name, county and reporting date to look it up (§ 13-71-132). An employer claiming hardship must ask for a court hearing in writing, and the hearing must be held within thirty days after you give it the information (§ 13-71-127). If your employer hasn't been excused and doesn't pay within thirty days after you give it the information, you can sue. Hardship is no defense, and the court may award treble damages and attorney fees for willful misconduct (§ 13-71-133).

Your employer can't punish you. C.R.S. § 13-71-134(1):

An employer shall not deprive an employed juror of employment or any incidents or benefits thereof, nor shall an employer harass, threaten, or coerce an employee because the employee receives a juror summons, responds thereto, performs any obligation or election of juror service as a trial or grand juror, or exercises any right under any section of this article. An employer shall make no demands upon any employed juror which will substantially interfere with the effective performance of juror service.

You can sue for damages, an injunction or both; the court may award treble damages and attorney fees for willful misconduct, and the case is tried by a judge, not a jury. An employer who willfully violates the section commits willful harassment of a juror, a class 2 misdemeanor (§ 13-71-134(2); § 18-8-614). For offenses since March 1, 2022, that carries up to 120 days in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both (§ 18-1.3-501(1)(a.5)).

What happens if you don't show up

Not appearing is a crime only if you do it knowingly and without a good excuse. C.R.S. § 18-8-612:

(1) A juror commits failure to obey a juror summons if he receives a summons to serve as a trial or grand juror as provided in section 13-71-110, C.R.S., and knowingly fails to obey the summons without justifiable excuse. (2) Failure to obey a juror summons is a petty offense.

A petty offense committed on or after March 1, 2022, carries a fine of up to $300, up to 10 days in county jail, or both (§ 18-1.3-503(1.5)). The statute on what a summons must say (§ 13-71-111) still describes the offense as a class 2 misdemeanor, but the criminal code section itself was changed to a petty offense effective March 1, 2022.

In practice the first step is a letter. The jury commissioner may mail a delinquency notice, whose purpose is to tell you you're delinquent and fix the problem, and the commissioner has discretion to resolve it (§ 13-71-122). The Judicial Branch says that notice arrives by mail as an official document titled Failure to Appear Notice. If you won't appear, the court may take action to compel you (§ 13-71-123). If you missed your date, call your county's jury commissioner. Lying on the juror questionnaire is a separate offense, a class 2 misdemeanor (§ 18-8-613).

Your first day

The Colorado Judicial Branch's jury page describes the routine:

• Check whether you still need to report. Each county posts jury information and a night-before phone number; find yours through the county search on the jury page or your county courthouse page.
• Arrange child care. Children aren't allowed at jury service.
• Tell your employer and ask for the time off. Court staff can help you get a certificate of service.
• Fill out the juror questionnaire and bring it with you. It isn't a public record, and the parties must return their copies after jury selection (§ 13-71-115).
• Bring a book or something to do. There is waiting.
• Plan for security screening, similar to an airport, at most courthouses. Food and drink rules vary by county.
• What happens inside. You'll go to a jury assembly room and watch a video about trials, and a judge may come to thank you. Staff call juror numbers; if yours is called, you go to a courtroom, where the judge and lawyers ask questions to make sure you can be fair before the jury is seated.

Trial juror service is a one-day term, so if you aren't assigned to a trial, your service ends that day. Jurors awaiting assignment must be released as early as possible once they aren't needed (§ 13-71-120). A juror who finishes one trial with a verdict can't be required to sit on a second trial that day.

Grand jury service

Grand juries investigate crimes and decide whether to return indictments. Counties of 100,000 or more people must summon one each year; elsewhere the court calls one when it orders or the district attorney asks (C.R.S. § 13-72-101). A grand jury has twelve members, or twenty-three on the district attorney's motion (§ 13-72-102). Grand jurors serve a twelve-month term, which the court may shorten or extend, but never past eighteen months (§ 13-71-120). The pay rules are the same as for trial jurors. Anyone with a felony conviction is disqualified, and the court may excuse a grand juror for hardship or inconvenience, considering the length of the term (§ 13-71-119(2)).

Jury duty scams

Scammers call pretending to be from the sheriff's office or the court and demand money for a missed jury summons. The Colorado Judicial Branch says law enforcement and courts will never call to demand money for a missed summons, and that a real notice about a missed summons comes by mail as an official legal document. You'll never be asked for your Social Security number by phone or email, or told to wire money or buy gift cards to avoid arrest. Report suspicious calls to your local sheriff and to the Colorado Attorney General's Stop Fraud Colorado site. Read the Judicial Branch's jury scam warning and the federal courts' juror scam page.

Recent and pending changes

We found no change to juror qualifications, pay, excuses or employer duties enacted in 2024, 2025 or 2026; the 2026 edition of article 71 shows the last such amendments in 2022. Changes worth knowing:

• H.B. 22-1032, effective August 10, 2022. Allowed Colorado residents attending college in person out of state to postpone jury service for up to twelve months.
• S.B. 21-271, effective March 1, 2022. As part of a rewrite of Colorado's misdemeanor and petty offense penalties, made failure to obey a juror summons a petty offense, and reset the class 2 misdemeanor penalty that applies to employers who harass jurors.
• H.B. 26-1422 (2026), effective July 1, 2027. Changes the fee a party pays to demand a civil jury trial in district court from $231 to $226, plus a new court security surcharge. It doesn't affect jurors.

We found no pending jury bills as of November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does jury duty pay in Colorado?

For the first three days, a regularly employed juror gets regular wages from the employer, up to $50 a day. Starting on the fourth day, the state pays every juror $50 a day. Self-employed jurors can ask the court for up to $50 a day for the first three days, and jurors without a job can be reimbursed for travel, child care and other expenses up to $50 a day.

Can my employer fire me for jury duty in Colorado?

No. Under C.R.S. § 13-71-134, an employer can't fire you, take away benefits, or harass, threaten or coerce you for being summoned or serving. You can sue for damages and, for willful violations, treble damages and attorney fees, and a willful violation is also a class 2 misdemeanor. Your employer must also pay your regular wages, up to $50 a day, for your first three days.

How do I get out of jury duty in Colorado?

Colorado has no exemptions for your job, your age or being a student. You may be disqualified if you can't read, speak and understand English, have a disability that prevents service, are the sole caregiver for a disabled person at home, or served recently. You can be excused temporarily for undue or extreme physical hardship or while breastfeeding, and every juror has the right to one postponement of up to six months.

What happens if I miss jury duty in Colorado?

Usually you'll get a delinquency notice in the mail, and the jury commissioner can work with you to fix it. Knowingly ignoring a summons without a good excuse is a petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $300, up to 10 days in jail, or both. If you missed your date, contact your county's jury commissioner right away.

How often can you be called for jury duty in Colorado?

You can be summoned often, especially in small counties, but you can't be required to serve too often. You are disqualified if you sat on a jury in any court in the past twelve months, or if you already reported as a prospective juror to a Colorado state court this calendar year. Send the court proof of that earlier service.

Is there an age limit for jury duty in Colorado?

You must be at least 18. There is no upper age limit and no age-based exemption; the Judicial Branch says exemptions aren't based on age. An older juror with a disability or health condition that prevents service can ask to be disqualified, with a letter from a medical provider, or be excused for physical hardship.

Where these rules live

• C.R.S. § 13-71-105 — qualifications and disqualifications
• C.R.S. § 13-71-116 — the right to one postponement
• C.R.S. § 13-71-119.5 — excuses for hardship and breastfeeding
• C.R.S. § 13-71-120 — one day or one trial
• C.R.S. §§ 13-71-126 to 13-71-133 — employer pay and state pay
• C.R.S. § 13-71-134 — employment protection
• C.R.S. § 18-8-612 — failure to obey a juror summons
• Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, downloadable titles (Office of Legislative Legal Services)
• Colorado Judicial Branch: About the Colorado Jury System and FAQs
• Colorado Judicial Branch: Information for Employers

For the rules that govern Colorado civil trials themselves, see the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. Another Colorado guide: Colorado law schools. To compare states, visit the jury duty hub.