Crime Victim Compensation

You may be eligible to receive crime victim compensation if:

• You or your family are victims of a violent crime in Colorado, or
• You or your family are residents of Colorado who have been victimized in a state or country that does not have a victim compensation program or will not cover your loss.

To be eligible for victim compensation in Colorado, you must meet certain criteria from the Crime Victim Compensation Statute:

• The victim sustains mental or bodily injury, dies, or suffers property damage to locks, windows, or doors to residential property as a result of the crime.
• The victim cooperates with law enforcement officials.
• The police were notified within 72 hours after the crime occurred.
• The injury or death of the victim was not the result of the victim's own wrongdoing or substantial provocation.
• The victimization occurred on or after July 1, 1982.
• The application for compensation was submitted within one year from the date of the crime or within six months for property damage claims.

The local victim compensation board may waive some of these requirements for good cause or in the interest of justice. This includes application deadlines.

Losses directly related to the compensable crime are eligible for reimbursement, and may include:

• Medical Expenses
• Mental Health Expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of support to dependents
• Residential Property Damage to Exterior Windows
• Locks and Doors
• Funeral Expenses

Victims may be eligible to receive up to $30,000 for out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance or other collateral resources, or up to $2,000 in emergency funds directly related to the crime.

Funds to pay crime victim compensation claims do not come from taxpayers. These funds are collected from fines from criminals convicted of felony, misdemeanor, and some traffic offenses.

• 2022 Victim Compensation Report
• 2021 Victim Compensation Report
• 2020 Victim Compensation Report
• 2019 Victim Compensation Report
• 2018 Victim Compensation Report
• 2017 Victim Compensation Report
• 2016 Victim Compensation Report
• 2015 Victim Compensation Report
• 2014 Victim Compensation Report
• 2013 Victim Compensation Report
• 2012 Victim Compensation Report

• National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards
• Victim Compensation Statute 24-4.1 (Parts 1,2 &, 3)
• Victim Compensation Standards 
• Resources for Victim Compensation Administrators (Admin Only)

Nationwide, Colorado continues to rank 6th in the total amount of Crime Victim Compensation (CVC) funds disbursed to help victims though it is the 21st most populous state. As one of only two states with a decentralized Crime Victim Compensation program structure, local Colorado judicial district CVC programs assisted more victims in Federal Fiscal Year 2022 (FFY22) than 44 other states across the country (Source: OVC 2022 Federal CVC Grant Formula Chart; federal fiscal year: October 1 through September 30).

$12,160,981

funds paid by local CVC Programs for tangible financial losses incurred by 6,734 victims of crime. Crime related expenses incurred by domestic violence victims, and their children, consistently account for 27% of all CVC funds paid across the state. Crime related expenses incurred by child victims of neglect, physical and sexual abuse account for another 28% of all CVC funds paid across the state.

$10,759,830

funds collected for local CVC program expenditures. This is an approximate 29% increase from FFY21.