If you or someone you love has a conviction in Colorado and is looking for a pardon or other clemency relief, this guide is written for you. Colorado's process has a significant waiting period built into it, requires review by a seven-member advisory board before the Governor acts, and typically takes one to three years from application to decision. One important thing to know going in: pardons in Colorado do not seal or expunge the record, but they do restore civil rights including firearms, and that makes them the only practical route for some people who cannot access Colorado's record sealing statutes. I have been through the system myself, and most of the fear comes from not knowing how the process works. So let me walk you through it in plain language. None of this is legal advice, and every case is different, so treat this as a map and lean on a lawyer for the turns.
A current note about the transition between Governors
As of December 2025, the Colorado Department of Corrections posted a notice that the Office of Executive Clemency and Governor Polis stopped accepting new clemency applications after April 3, 2026. Applications submitted after that date will be held for the next Governor, who takes office in January 2027. If you are reading this around or after that date, the timeline for a new application will depend on the process the incoming Governor establishes. This is a normal part of Colorado's clemency history: the program has been more or less active depending on the sitting Governor, and each new administration sets its own approach. The process described below reflects how the program has operated under Governor Polis's administration and what to expect when the program is active. The incoming Governor will establish their own procedures, which may mirror what is described here or may differ in some respects.
What Colorado offers: the forms of clemency
Colorado's constitution, Article IV, Section 7, gives the Governor the exclusive power to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons after conviction for all offenses except treason and impeachment. A pardon is a public forgiveness for a crime after the sentence has been completed. It is awarded in recognition of proof of rehabilitation, demonstrated by a useful, productive, and law-abiding life after serving the sentence. A commutation of sentence is the shortening of a prison term while the sentence is still being served; it is the relief available to incarcerated people. A reprieve is a temporary delay in punishment, most relevant in capital cases.
Who decides: the Executive Clemency Advisory Board and the Governor
The Governor has final discretion on all clemency decisions in Colorado. Before the Governor acts, all pardon applications are reviewed by the Executive Clemency Advisory Board, which makes recommendations. The Board was re-created by Governor Polis in 2019 after the pardon power had been largely dormant in Colorado for many years. The Board consists of seven unpaid members appointed by the Governor, who typically have backgrounds in law enforcement and criminal justice. A majority of the Board, meaning at least four of the seven members, must vote to recommend a pardon before it is forwarded to the Governor. The Board's recommendation is advisory; the Governor retains final authority to grant, deny, or table any application.
There is no formal public hearing in Colorado's pardon process. The standard review is a paper-based evaluation, though applicants are sometimes called for a personal interview with the Board or the Governor. The Clemency Coordinator at the Governor's office plays a key role: the Coordinator seeks input from the district attorney who prosecuted the case, the judge who presided over the sentencing, the prosecuting attorney, and the victim if there is one and they can be located. This input is gathered before the application goes to the Board.
Who is eligible for a pardon in Colorado
Colorado's eligibility requirements for pardons are clear and should be verified before applying. First, you must have completed your sentence in full, including any period of parole or community supervision. An applicant who is currently incarcerated or serving a life sentence is not eligible for a pardon; commutation is the appropriate form of relief in those situations.
Second, and critically, ten years must have passed since you completed the full sentence, including any parole period. Colorado does not accept pardon applications from people who have been off paper for fewer than ten years. Exceptions are rarely granted and generally only in cases where the sentence has been vacated by the courts through a separate legal proceeding. This ten-year threshold is one of the longer waiting periods in the country, and it is a hard gatekeeping requirement, not a guideline.
Third, applicants must affirmatively demonstrate full rehabilitation and reintegration into society. This means a clean record in the years since the sentence was completed, stable employment, stable housing, and positive community ties. The Board evaluates each application through that lens, and the strength of the evidence matters as much as the duration of time since the conviction.
Reapplication after a denial is allowed, but applicants must wait four years from the date of official notification of denial before reapplying.
The application process step by step
Step one: obtain the application. Pardon applications can be obtained from the Colorado Department of Corrections clemency page, or by contacting the Clemency Coordinator at the Governor's office: Executive Chambers, 136 State Capitol, Denver, Colorado 80203-1792. The Coordinator can also be reached by phone at 303-866-2471.
Step two: complete the application packet. The application requires a detailed personal history, information about the conviction or convictions you are seeking a pardon for, evidence of rehabilitation, letters of support from employers, community members, and others who can speak to your conduct since completing your sentence, and a personal letter to the Governor explaining your specific reasons for requesting the pardon. The application must be thorough; incomplete applications will not advance in the process.
Step three: input from the district attorney, judges, and victims. After the application is submitted, the Clemency Coordinator reaches out to the district attorney who prosecuted the case, the sentencing judge, the prosecuting attorney, and any identifiable victim. Their input is gathered and included in the review package. Applicants do not control this process, but submitting a thoughtful application that honestly addresses the nature of the offense, what led to it, and the depth of the change since then helps provide context for any opposition that may arise. If you know that the original DA or the victims are likely to oppose the pardon, acknowledging that directly in your personal letter and explaining why the pardon is still warranted tends to be more effective than hoping the issue doesn't come up.
Step four: Board review and recommendation. The Executive Clemency Advisory Board reviews the complete application package. The Board may call the applicant for a personal interview; if that happens, dress professionally and bring family members, employers, and community supporters if permitted. This is not the time to be understated about who you have become. The people in that room are experienced in criminal justice, and they have seen a lot of applications; what distinguishes a successful one is specificity and depth, not just the passage of time. After review, the Board votes. At least four of the seven members must vote in favor of a recommendation for it to be forwarded to the Governor. If the Board does not recommend, the application does not advance to the Governor for a grant.
Step five: the Governor's decision. The Governor reviews the file and makes a final decision. The Governor may grant, deny, or table the application. The entire process from submission to decision typically takes twelve to thirty-six months. Applicants with pending applications can submit supplemental materials at any time while the application is under review.
What a pardon does and does not do in Colorado
A Colorado pardon restores civil rights lost to the conviction, including the right to vote, to serve on a jury, to hold public office, and firearms rights. This restoration of firearms rights is significant in Colorado because the state's record sealing laws, while relatively robust for some conviction types, do not restore firearms rights for many felony offenses. For people whose primary need is to restore the ability to possess a firearm and who cannot access that restoration through other statutory paths, a pardon is often the only available route.
Under federal law, a state pardon that expressly restores civil rights, including firearm rights, removes the federal firearms disability for that state conviction under 18 USC 921(a)(20). This means a Colorado Governor's pardon can restore both state and federal firearms rights for state convictions.
Voting rights in Colorado were expanded in 2019 under HB 19-1266 to be automatically restored upon completion of the prison sentence including parole. This means that for most people applying for a pardon, voting rights have already been restored and the pardon is not needed to address that particular disability.
A pardon does not seal or expunge the conviction from your record. The conviction will still appear on background checks after a pardon. A pardoned conviction can also still be used as a predicate offense in future criminal proceedings. If your primary goal is clearing your background check rather than restoring civil rights, you should explore Colorado's record sealing statutes separately, as those provide the record-clearing function a pardon does not. Colorado has expanded its sealing laws in recent years, and many misdemeanor and some felony convictions are eligible for sealing through the courts after applicable waiting periods. A pardon and a record seal are complementary tools for those who qualify for both, and understanding which path addresses which specific problem is the right way to approach the situation. An attorney who handles Colorado post-conviction matters can walk you through both options and help you determine the most efficient sequence.
A note on federal convictions
If the conviction is a federal conviction rather than a Colorado state conviction, the Colorado Governor cannot help you. Federal clemency is granted by the President of the United States, and applications go through the Office of the Pardon Attorney within the United States Department of Justice. The federal and state processes are completely separate.
Where this leaves you
Colorado's pardon is meaningful but requires genuine patience. The ten-year waiting period is not negotiable in standard cases, and the twelve-to-thirty-six-month processing time adds further to the overall timeline. If you are approaching or past the ten-year mark since completing your sentence, the time to start preparing is now, not when you file. Gather the documentation, build the application, and make the case for your rehabilitation comprehensively. The Board is looking for people who have not just stayed out of trouble but who have built something: stable careers, family stability, community contribution. If what you need most is firearms restoration and no other path is available to you, a pardon is the specific mechanism that accomplishes that under both state and federal law, and making that case clearly in the application and personal letter is the right approach. Be direct about what you are asking for and why it matters for your life and your family. Applications that are vague about the need for a pardon tend to get less traction than ones that explain exactly how the conviction has continued to affect you and exactly what the pardon would change.