(1) (a) No person shall make, issue, or knowingly use any imitation or deceptively similar or counterfeit certification of emissions control form.
(b) No person shall possess a certification of emissions control if such person knows the same is fictitious, or was issued for another motor vehicle, or was issued without an emissions inspection having been made when required.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this subsection (1) is guilty of a class A traffic infraction.
(2) (a) No emissions inspector or emissions mechanic shall issue a certification of emissions control for a motor vehicle which does not qualify for the certification or verification issued.
(b) Any emissions inspector or emissions mechanic who issues a certification of emissions control in violation of subsection (2)(a) of this section commits a class 2 misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501.
(3) (a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle registered or required to be registered in this state, nor shall any person allow such a motor vehicle to be parked on public property or on private property available for public use, without such vehicle having passed any necessary emissions test. The owner of any motor vehicle that is in violation of this paragraph (a) shall be responsible for payment of any penalty imposed under this section unless such owner proves that the motor vehicle was in the possession of another person without the owner's permission at the time of the violation.
(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2001, p. 1025, � 11, effective June 5, 2001.)
(c) Any vehicle owner who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor traffic offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars payable within thirty days after conviction.
(d) Any nonowner driver who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor traffic offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of fifteen dollars, payable within thirty days after conviction.
(e) The owner or driver may, in lieu of appearance, submit to the court of competent jurisdiction, within thirty days after the issuance of the notice and summons, the certification or proof of mailing specified in this subsection (3).
(f) Any fine collected pursuant to the provisions of this subsection (3) shall be retained by the jurisdiction in whose name such penalty was assessed.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of any municipality, city, county, or city and county to adopt and enforce an ordinance or resolution pertaining to the enforcement of emissions control inspection requirements.
(h) to (j) Repealed.
(4) (a) For the emissions program, a contractor who is awarded a contract to perform emissions inspections within the emissions program area shall be held accountable to the department of public health and environment and the department of revenue. Any such contractor shall be subject to civil penalties in accordance with this section or article 7 of title 25, C.R.S., as appropriate, for any violation of applicable laws or rules and regulations of the department of revenue or the commission.
(b) (I) Pursuant to the provisions of article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., the executive director may suspend for a period not less than six months the license of any operator or employee operating an inspection-only facility, fleet inspection station, or motor vehicle dealer test facility or may impose an administrative fine pursuant to subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (b), or may both suspend a license and impose a fine, if any such operator or employee, inspection-only facility, fleet inspection station, or motor vehicle dealer test facility engages in any of the following:
(A) Intentionally passing a failing vehicle;
(B) Performing any test by an unlicensed inspector;
(C) Performing a test on falsified test equipment;
(D) Failing a passing vehicle;
(E) Flagrantly misusing control documents; or
(F) Engaging in a pattern of noncompliance with any regulations of the department of revenue or the commission.
(II) The contract for operation of enhanced inspection centers shall specify administrative fines to be imposed for the violations enumerated in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (b).
(c) Pursuant to the provisions of article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., the executive director shall impose administrative fines in amounts set by the executive director of not less than twenty-five dollars and not more than one thousand dollars against any operator or employee operating an inspection and readjustment station, an inspection-only facility, or a motor vehicle dealer test facility, or any contractor operating an enhanced inspection center or clean screen contractor that engages in two or more incidents per person, station, facility, or center, of any of the following:
(I) Test data entry violations;
(II) Test sequence violations;
(III) Emission retest procedural violations;
(IV) Vehicle emissions tag replacement test procedural violations;
(V) Performing any emissions test on noncertified equipment;
(VI) Wait-time and lane availability violations;
(VII) Physical emissions test examination violations;
(VIII) Knowingly passing failing vehicles; or
(IX) Knowingly failing passing vehicles.
(5) A person that violates this section violates section 18-5-121 and, in addition to any other penalty, is subject to the penalties of section 18-5-121 (6).
Source: L. 94: (4)(a) amended, p. 2813, � 590, effective July 1; entire title amended with relocations, p. 2308, � 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 2001: (1)(a), (1)(b), (2), (3)(a), (3)(b), (4)(a), and (4)(c) amended, p. 1025, � 11, effective June 5. L. 2006: (3)(h), (3)(i), and (3)(j) added, p. 1029, � 8, effective July 1. L. 2012: (3)(h), (3)(i), and (3)(j) repealed, (SB 12-034), ch. 107, p. 365, � 6, effective August 8. L. 2021: (1)(c) and (2)(b) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3304, � 726, effective March 1, 2022. L. 2025: (5) added, (HB 25-1076), ch. 16, p. 61, � 3, effective August 6.
Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former � 42-4-315 as it existed prior to 1994, and the former � 42-4-313 was relocated to � 42-4-311.
(2) Amendments to subsection (4)(a) by House Bill 94-1029 were harmonized with Senate Bill 94-001.
(3) Section 18(2) of chapter 16 (HB 25-1076), Session Laws of Colorado 2025, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed or to the issuance, acceptance, or use of identification documents on or after August 6, 2025.
Cross references: (1) For the penalty for a class A traffic infraction generally, see � 42-4-1701 (3)(a)(I); for the penalty and surcharge for emissions inspections violations of subsections (3)(c) and (3)(d), see � 42-4-1701 (4)(a)(I)(E).
(2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2001 act amending subsections (1)(a), (1)(b), (2), (3)(a), (3)(b), (4)(a), and (4)(c), see section 1 of chapter 278, Session Laws of Colorado 2001. For the legislative declaration contained in the 2006 act enacting subsections (3)(h), (3)(i), (3)(j), see section 1 of chapter 225, Session Laws of Colorado 2006.
42-4-314. Automobile emissions control systems - tampering - operation of vehicle - penalty - rules. (1) A person shall not knowingly disconnect, deactivate, or otherwise render inoperable a motor vehicle's emissions control system that has been installed by the manufacturer of any automobile of a model year of 1968 or later, except to repair or replace a part or all of the system.
(2) A person shall not operate on a highway an automobile described in subsection (1) of this section knowing that the emissions control system installed on the automobile has been disconnected, deactivated, or rendered inoperable.
(3) (a) A person who violates subsection (1) or (2) of this section commits a class A traffic infraction and shall be fined thirty-five dollars pursuant to section 42-4-1701 (4)(a)(I)(N). The department shall not assess any points under section 42-2-127 for a conviction pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) of this section.
(b) A person who violates subsection (6) of this section commits a class A traffic infraction and shall be fined one hundred dollars pursuant to section 42-4-1701 (4)(a)(I)(N). The department shall not assess any points under section 42-2-127 for a conviction pursuant to subsection (6) of this section.
(4) The air quality control commission may adopt rules and regulations pursuant to sections 25-7-109 and 25-7-110, C.R.S., which permit or allow for the alteration, modification, or disconnection of manufacturer-installed air pollution control systems or manufacturer tuning specifications on motor vehicles for the purpose of controlling vehicle emissions. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the alteration or the conversion of a motor vehicle to operate on a gaseous fuel if the resultant emissions are at levels complying with state and federal standards for that model year of motor vehicle.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the adjustment or modification of motor vehicles to reduce vehicle emissions pursuant to section 215 of the federal Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. sec. 7549.
(6) (a) Nuisance exhibition of motor vehicle exhaust - prohibition. A person shall not engage in a nuisance exhibition of motor vehicle exhaust, which is the knowing release of soot, smoke, or other particulate emissions from a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of fourteen thousand pounds or less into the air and onto roadways, other motor vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians, in a manner that obstructs or obscures another person's view of the roadway, other users of the roadway, or a traffic control device or otherwise creates a hazard to a driver, bicyclist, or pedestrian.
(b) The prohibition set forth in subsection (6)(a) of this section does not apply to:
(I) A commercial vehicle, as defined in section 42-1-102 (17.5);
(II) A common carrier, as defined in section 40-1-102 (3)(a)(I);
(III) A motor carrier, as defined in section 40-10.1-101 (10);
(IV) A motor carrier of passengers, permitted pursuant to section 40-10.1-302;
(V) A motor carrier of towed motor vehicles, permitted pursuant to section 40-10.1-401;
(VI) A motor carrier of household goods, permitted pursuant to section 40-10.1-502;
(VII) A motor vehicle used for agricultural purposes; or
(VIII) Any other vehicle used for commercial activities.
(7) If a motor vehicle's emissions control system has been disconnected, deactivated, or rendered inoperable, the division may notify the executive director that the owner of the motor vehicle has violated subsection (1) or (2) of this section.
Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2311, � 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 2017: (3) amended and (6) added, (SB 17-278), ch. 323, p. 1742, � 1, effective June 5. L. 2025: (1) and (2) amended and (7) added, (SB 25-321), ch. 387, p. 2176, � 5, effective June 3.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 42-4-1210 as it existed prior to 1994, and the former � 42-4-314 was relocated to � 42-4-312.