2021 Colorado Code
Title 42 - Vehicles and Traffic
Article 2 - Drivers' Licenses
Part 1 - Drivers' Licenses
§ 42-2-115. License, Permit, or Identification Card to Be Exhibited on Demand

1. No person who has been issued a driver's or minor driver's license or an instruction permit or an identification card as defined in section 42-2-301 (2), who operates a motor vehicle in this state, and who has such license, permit, or identification card in such person's immediate possession shall refuse to remove such license, permit, or identification card from any billfold, purse, cover, or other container and to hand the same to any peace officer who has requested such person to do so if such peace officer reasonably suspects that such person is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a violation of article 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 of this title.
2. Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense.

History. Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2124, § 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 2000: (1) amended, p. 1351, § 20, effective July 1, 2001.

This section is similar to former § 42-2-113 as it existed prior to 1994, and the former § 42-2-115 was relocated to § 42-2-117 .

Annotator's note. Since § 42-2-115 is similar to § 42-2-113 as it existed prior to the 1994 amending of title 42 as enacted by SB 94-1, relevant cases construing that provision have been included with the annotations to this section.

The clear intent of this section is simply to permit the officer to demand the license of the driver whose vehicle has been stopped for an otherwise proper purpose. People v. McPherson, 191 Colo. 81 , 550 P.2d 311.

This section requires an operator of a motor vehicle to display his operator's license upon demand by a police officer. Martinez v. People, 169 Colo. 366 , 456 P.2d 275 (1969) (decided prior to § 13-4-13 , C.R.S. 1963, as amended, 1973).

This section does not confer upon a police officer unlimited discretionary authority to stop any car at any time for any reason as long as he asked contemporaneously for display of a driver's license. People v. McPherson, 191 Colo. 81 , 550 P.2d 311 (1976).

A construction of this section which would give to police officers carte blanche authority in stopping cars would be inconsistent with section 16-3-103 , which specifically limits an officer's authority to stop persons for investigation in the absence of probable cause to arrest. People v. McPherson, 191 Colo. 81 , 550 P.2d 311 (1976).

When demand to present license proper. The demand for defendant to present his license was proper only if the officers properly stopped him in the first place. People v. McPherson, 191 Colo. 81 , 550 P.2d 311 (1976).

There is no requirement that an individual must produce a driver's license when such individual is not the driver of a vehicle. Enright v. Groves, 39 Colo. App. 39, 560 P.2d 851 (1977).

Applied in People v. Pinyan, 190 Colo. 304 , 546 P.2d 488 (1976); People v. Clements, 665 P.2d 624 (Colo. 1983).