Colorado transfer on death deed
A transfer on death deed lets you name who inherits your Colorado property without probate, while you keep full control, including the power to sell or mortgage it without anyone's signature. Here is exactly what Colorado requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- Recording office
- County Clerk and Recorder
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None when recorded
- First-page margin
- 1″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$43 per document
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a transfer on death deed does in Colorado
A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.
In Colorado the governing statute is C.R.S. § 15-15-401 et seq. Colorado requires the beneficiary deed to be recorded before the owner's death in the county where the property sits.
The Colorado law behind this deed
Start with C.R.S. § 15-15-401 et seq. if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Transfer on death deeds specifically | C.R.S. § 15-15-401 et seq. |
| Statutory deed forms (warranty, special warranty, bargain and sale, quitclaim) | C.R.S. § 38-30-113 |
| Recording with the County Clerk and Recorder | C.R.S. § 38-35-109 |
| Transfer tax | C.R.S. § 39-13-102 |
When Colorado homeowners use a transfer on death deed
- Leave a house to your children without probate
- Keep real estate out of a will contest
- Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
- Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
- Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation
What Colorado requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules county clerks and recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What Colorado says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | County Clerk and Recorder |
| 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 required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Must appear on the face of the deed. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| Preparer statement | Not required, but customary. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, a 1-inch clear space at the top of every page, 0.5-inch margins on the other edges, nothing under 10pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
| Accompanying form | None when you record it. |
| Also required | If the legal description is new, not copied from a recorded deed (for example, after a lot split), the deed must give the name and address of the person who wrote it, usually the surveyor (C.R.S. § 38-35-106.5). Add a line such as "Legal description prepared by:" with that name and address under the description before you sign. Without it the deed can still be recorded. |
| Timing | Must be recorded before the owner's death. Recording it afterwards has no effect. |
Colorado: a beneficiary deed can cost you Medicaid
Colorado law says that a person who applies for or receives Medicaid that the state could later claim back, which includes Medicaid paid to anyone 55 or older or living in an institution such as a nursing home, is not entitled to it while they have a beneficiary deed in effect, and that signing one makes the property a countable resource (C.R.S. §§ 15-15-403, 25.5-4-302(2)). If you receive Medicaid or may apply for long-term care, talk to an elder-law attorney before you record this deed. You can end it at any time before your death by recording a revocation (§ 15-15-405). After your death, your beneficiaries' interest is also subject to the state's claim to recover Medicaid paid for you (§ 15-15-407(4)).
How to complete and record it in Colorado
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Clerk and Recorder can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 1-inch first-page margin used for Colorado deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Record it with the County Clerk and RecorderFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell your beneficiaries where it isAfter your death they record proof of it, such as a certified death certificate or an affidavit of death, with the County Clerk and Recorder so the land records show them as the owners.
What it costs in Colorado
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | About $43 per document |
| Transfer tax | None when recorded |
| Notary | A Colorado notary may charge up to $15 per document, or up to $25 instead for the notary's electronic signature (C.R.S. § 24-21-529). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
A beneficiary deed conveys nothing until death and needs no consideration (C.R.S. § 15-15-402(1)), so no documentary fee is due and no TD-1000 goes with it.
Where to record it in Colorado
Colorado deeds are recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 64 counties in Colorado.
Many Colorado recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.
Recording offices we cover in Colorado: El Paso, Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams, Douglas, Larimer, Weld, Boulder. See all Colorado recording offices.
What a transfer on death deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
- It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
- It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in Colorado it can cost you Medicaid. Colorado law says that a person who applies for or receives Medicaid that the state could later claim back, which includes Medicaid paid to anyone 55 or older or living in an institution such as a nursing home, is not entitled to it while they have a beneficiary deed in effect, and that signing one makes the property a countable resource (C.R.S. §§ 15-15-403, 25.5-4-302(2)). If you receive Medicaid or may apply for long-term care, talk to an elder-law attorney before you record this deed. You can end it at any time before your death by recording a revocation (§ 15-15-405). After your death, your beneficiaries' interest is also subject to the state's claim to recover Medicaid paid for you (§ 15-15-407(4)).
- The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
- In Colorado, a beneficiary's children do not step into a share. If a beneficiary dies before you and you named no backup, that share goes to your other beneficiaries in proportion to their shares, and if none of them survives you, the gift fails (C.R.S. § 15-15-407(5)). Colorado's form lets you name a backup, which the statute calls a successor beneficiary (§ 15-15-401(5)).
Quirks of Colorado law that catch people out
- 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.
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Colorado's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Colorado has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the County Clerk and Recorder. Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect around $43 per document. A beneficiary deed conveys nothing until death and needs no consideration (C.R.S. § 15-15-402(1)), so no documentary fee is due and no TD-1000 goes with it. 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.
No. Colorado requires no witnesses. Notarization is not strictly required either (C.R.S. § 38-35-106), but sign in front of a notary so the deed proves its own signing (§ 38-35-101). Deedly's deed includes the notary certificate.
With the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Colorado has 64 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
Yes. Transfer on death deeds are revocable during your lifetime. You can record a revocation, record a new one naming different beneficiaries, or simply sell the property. You don't need your beneficiary's permission for any of it.
Usually, for this property, but Colorado's own form for this deed warns that it may not avoid probate (C.R.S. § 15-15-404). If none of your beneficiaries, and no backup you named, survives you, the gift fails and the property passes through your estate (§ 15-15-407(5)). Your creditors and the state's claim to recover Medicaid paid for you can also reach the property after your death (§§ 15-15-407(4), 15-15-411). On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the County Clerk and Recorder so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
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 life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for ColoradoRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Colorado recording officesWhere to file in each county.
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.