Your home state of Colorado and Washington State are both members of the Drivers License Compact (DLC) so your home state of CO will be notified of the WA moving violation if you are convicted of the offense.
Colorado statute CRS 24-60-1101 talks about the DLC. This Colorado Revised Statute states that the licensing authority of a party state shall report each conviction of a person from another state back to the home state of the licensee. The report needs to include a description of the violation as well as what action was taken.
When the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles receives this out of state violation conviction information, they will decide what to do with it. They have the right to give such effect to the offense as if it occurred in the home state.
It appears if it is a major offense, such as drunk driving, that CO does regard the violation as if it happened in state and thus it incurs penalties. But this CRS says, as the home state issuing the license, Colorado will not take adverse action regarding minor traffic infractions.
[Let CarInsurance.com help you find affordable auto insurance now.] We contacted the CO DMV to find out what they do regarding minor moving violation convictions they receive in from out of state. The CO DMV representative we heard from stated that if you do not have a CDL and just a regular Colorado driver license, as long as you pay an out of state citation it will not go onto your Colorado driver's record. Since it will not go on your Colorado driving record it will not be assigned points either.
If you do not want to have a moving violation against you in the State of Washington though then they do offer deferrals on some moving violations. Once every seven years, a person can receive a deferred finding in WA. On the most part, with a deferred finding, you can have your ticket dismissed if you keep your record clear for one year. However, if you receive another traffic violation within the one-year deferred period, you can be penalized for both tickets.
Washington Statute (RCW) 46.63.070 paragraph subsections (5)(a) and (b) discuss deferrals. Here it states:
(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this subsection, in hearings conducted pursuant to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the court may defer findings, or in a hearing to explain mitigating circumstances may defer entry of its order, for up to one year and impose conditions upon the defendant the court deems appropriate. Upon deferring findings, the court may assess costs as the court deems appropriate for administrative processing. If at the end of the deferral period the defendant has met all conditions and has not been determined to have committed another traffic infraction, the court may dismiss the infraction.
(b) A person may not receive more than one deferral within a seven-year period for traffic infractions for moving violations and more than one deferral within a seven-year period for traffic infractions for non-moving violations.
You can verify with the CO DMV that your specific Washington State moving violation would not appear on your driving record or be assigned points if you do not choose to ask for or are not granted a deferred finding and are convicted of the WA offense.
In Washington State if you have received a traffic infraction, you may be eligible for a Deferred Finding. You qualify for a Deferred Finding if you have not taken this option on a traffic ticket within the last seven years. Upon successful completion of the deferral conditions your ticket will be dismissed. You may defer only one moving infraction and only one non-moving infraction each seven years. So if you drive in Washington on a regular basis you should be aware that if you take the deferral for this ticket you could not take this option for another 7 years.
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According to the WA Department of Licensing (DOL) deferred prosecutions are kept on your driving record for life (99 years) so the courts will know if you have previously taken a deferred finding.
You will need to ask the Washington court listed on your citation if you are eligible for the deferred finding since you are from out of state and if this is a wise option for you to take being from out of state. The clerk of the court should be able to help you by giving you information on your options regarding the WA ticket while having a CO license.
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