Colorado property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and Colorado's differ from its neighbors in ways that decide whether your document records or comes back. Here is the whole picture: which deeds exist here, how they have to be signed, what the recorder wants on the page, and what it costs.
- Recording office
- County Clerk and Recorder
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- $0.01 per $100 of consideration
- First-page margin
- 1″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$43 per document
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds Colorado recognizes
| Deed | What it does | Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed | Transfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title. | Yes |
| General warranty deed | Transfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows. | Yes |
| Special warranty deed | Transfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it. | Yes |
| Beneficiary deed | Names who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive. | Yes |
| Lady Bird Deed | An enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death. | No |
| Life estate deed | You keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you. | Yes, less common |
| Gift deed | Transfers property to someone as an outright gift, for no payment. | Yes, less common |
Colorado does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in Colorado
Colorado law does not make notarization a condition of a deed's validity or of recording (C.R.S. § 38-35-106), but an acknowledged deed is prima facie evidence that it was properly signed (§ 38-35-101), and title companies and lenders expect one. Deedly's Colorado documents include a notary certificate, so sign in front of a notary. No witnesses are needed.
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Notarization | Expected, though not a condition of recording (C.R.S. § 38-35-106). An acknowledged deed is prima facie evidence that it was properly signed (§ 38-35-101), and title companies expect one. Each signer appears before the notary and acknowledges the signature. |
| Witnesses | None |
| Preparer statement | Customary, not required |
| Grantee address on the deed | Required |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | A married owner can usually sign alone, because a Colorado homestead arises automatically and may be conveyed without the spouse's signature (C.R.S. § 38-41-202(3)). If either spouse has recorded a statement homesteading the property, both spouses must sign (C.R.S. §§ 38-41-202(4), 38-35-118(1)). |
Colorado document formatting rules
A safe layout for Colorado is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 1-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the county clerk and recorder's stamp, a 1-inch top margin on every later page, 0.5-inch margins on the other edges, and no type smaller than 10 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every Colorado document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.
- Colorado requires a top margin of at least 1 inch and left, right, and bottom margins of at least half an inch on every document; the clerk may refuse a nonconforming document (C.R.S. § 30-10-406(3)(a)). The statute sets no minimum type size; Deedly prints nothing smaller than 10 points.
Colorado transfer tax and recording fees
Colorado charges Documentary fee at $0.01 per $100 of consideration (0.01%), only when consideration exceeds $500. The fee is paid by whoever offers the deed for recording (C.R.S. § 39-13-102(1)). Colorado's constitution bars new real estate transfer taxes (Colo. Const. art. X, § 20(8)(a)), but towns that already had one still collect it, among them Aspen (1.5%), Telluride (3%), Winter Park (1%), Avon, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Frisco, Gypsum, Minturn, Ophir, Snowmass Village and Vail. Some towns and owners' associations charge a transfer fee of their own, and some towns must process the deed before it is recorded. Check with the town before you record.
Common exemptions: no consideration, or total consideration of $500 or less, counting any mortgage or other lien on the property (C.R.S. § 39-13-102(2)(a)), gift deeds (§ 39-13-104(1)(b)), deeds that confirm or correct an earlier recorded deed (§ 39-13-104(1)(f)), court decrees or orders that determine or vest title (§ 39-13-104(1)(l)), documents needed to transfer title because an owner died (§ 39-13-104(1)(m)), and deeds that convey only a future interest (§ 39-13-104(1)(k)).
A transfer declaration goes with a deed that owes the documentary fee
Colorado requires a Real Property Transfer Declaration (Form TD-1000) with every deed that owes the documentary fee: one whose consideration, counting any mortgage or other lien on the property, is more than $500 (C.R.S. §§ 39-13-102(2), 39-14-101(2), 39-14-102). The grantor or the grantee signs it, and it is neither notarized nor recorded. A gift deed and a beneficiary deed need none. A deed that arrives without it is still recorded, but the county assessor can then charge the grantee a penalty (§ 39-14-102(1)(b)).
Recording fees run about $43 per document. Colorado sets the recording fee by statute at $40 per document, whatever its length, since July 1, 2025 (C.R.S. § 30-1-103(1)), plus a $1 surcharge and a surcharge of up to $2 collected on every document (§ 30-10-421(1)), so clerks typically charge $43 in total. The documentary fee is added for a deed with consideration over $500.
See how Colorado's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in Colorado
- Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
- Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
Where to record a deed in Colorado
Deeds are recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property is located. Colorado has 64 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.
El Paso · Denver · Arapahoe · Jefferson · Adams · Douglas · Larimer · Weld · Boulder. all Colorado recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in Colorado
- Colorado calls a transfer-on-death deed a beneficiary deed (C.R.S. § 15-15-401).
- Colorado bars Medicaid that the state could later claim back, such as long-term care at 55 or older, while the person has a beneficiary deed in effect, and counts the property as a resource (C.R.S. § 15-15-403). Revoke the deed, or get elder-law advice, before applying for long-term care.
- Colorado's documentary fee is one cent per $100 of consideration. It is not charged when there is no consideration or the total, counting any mortgage or other lien on the property, is $500 or less, and gift deeds are exempt (C.R.S. §§ 39-13-102(2), 39-13-104(1)(b)). A family transfer where the grantee takes over the mortgage can owe it. Whoever offers the deed for recording pays it (§ 39-13-102(1)); the statute names neither the grantor nor the grantee.
- Several Colorado resort municipalities impose their own real estate transfer tax of 1–3%. Check the town, not just the county.
- Colorado's statutory warranty deed form under C.R.S. § 38-30-113 carries full covenants in a short form.
From $29. Every Colorado rule above is applied automatically, and you read the finished document before you pay.
Common questions
You sign a deed, have it notarized, and record it with the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property sits. Which deed depends on what you're doing: a quitclaim for family transfers and adding or removing a name, a warranty deed for a sale, and a transfer-on-death deed for probate avoidance.
No. Colorado does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed. Use one when ownership is disputed, when the owner has died and the estate has not been probated, when the estate is large enough to owe tax, or when Medicaid planning is involved.
About $43 per document. Colorado also charges documentary fee at $0.01 per $100 of consideration (0.01%), only when consideration exceeds $500.
Yes. The statute is C.R.S. § 15-15-401 et seq. Colorado calls it a beneficiary deed. It must be recorded before the owner's death to be effective.
Keep reading
- Colorado quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Colorado general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Colorado special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Colorado beneficiary deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- Colorado recording officesWhere to file in each county, with fees and contact details.
- Compare all 51 jurisdictionsWitness rules, transfer taxes, and recording fees side by side.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.