Colorado regulators grant Waymo two-year relief from eight driver-focused rules

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved two-year relief for Waymo from eight driver-focused transportation rules for its autonomous-vehicle operations, while leaving the company subject to all other Commission requirements for its permit type.

The commission approved the petition in part during its Aug. 12 meeting. The meeting recording shows that Waymo sought relief from rules involving daily vehicle inspection reports, driver qualifications and files, medical-fitness documentation, hours of service, criminal-history checks, passenger-vehicle conditions, and operations and prearrangement.

Staff also discussed Rule 6111, which concerns verification of hours of service. It was not part of the relief because staff said the rule does not apply to Waymo’s current permit type. The commission approved the remaining relief as proposed by staff.

The authorization lasts two years from the effective date of the disposition, rather than creating an indefinite exemption. A Transportation staff member said an indefinite waiver would effectively make the exemption permanent without the formal rulemaking required for lasting changes. Public materials reviewed did not provide the effective date or a precise calendar expiration date.

The available record does not identify a narrower geographic or service-area limit, additional Waymo-specific reporting duties, vehicle limits or passenger restrictions. It describes the relief as applying to Waymo’s autonomous-vehicle operations in Colorado. Waymo remains responsible for complying with all other Commission rules and regulations applicable to its permit type. The commission’s transportation-rules framework includes the 6000, 6100 and 6200 series governing common and contract carriers.

Separately, the commission adopted temporary rules implementing House Bill 26-1326’s fingerprint-based criminal-history-check requirements. Under the enacted law, an individual who drives for a carrier holding a taxicab-service certificate or a Part 2 contract-carrier permit must submit fingerprints for a fingerprint-based criminal-history check. Fingerprints may be taken by a local law-enforcement agency or a third party approved by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The law also covers drivers for specified Part 3 limited-regulation carriers and Part 7 large-market taxicab carriers.

The public record reviewed does not provide the temporary rules’ rule number, submission deadline, fingerprint-retention process, verification timeline or Waymo-specific implementation instructions. It also does not establish whether the fingerprint requirement applies to Waymo’s autonomous operations when no human driver is operating the vehicle; the statute refers to an individual who drives for a covered carrier.

Before the two-year relief expires, the Commission could consider lasting changes through formal transportation rulemaking. The law requires the Commission to study regulation of intrastate common and contract carriers, submit findings and recommendations to legislative committees by Nov. 1, 2027, and publish the study by Jan. 1, 2028. The PUC’s carrier information page provides existing fingerprint resources and carrier-regulation information.