Selling a house in Colorado: the paperwork

Every document a Colorado sale commonly touches, who usually produces it, and the law behind it. In most sales the seller's own share is small, and this page shows you which part that usually is.

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11 documents · 7 questions · about a 13 minute read · free, and we don't ask for your email

4documents are usually the seller's

out of 11 in a Colorado sale

Tell us about your sale

Answer what you know. Skip what you don't. Every answer takes something off your list or explains why it stays on.

The home

Was the home built before 1978?

Older homes carry a federal lead paint disclosure. It's the same in every state.

You and the title

Are you married?

Some states need a spouse's signature even when they're not on the title. Many don't.

Did you inherit the home, or is it in probate?

How the home came to you decides which deed you can sign.

Do you file U.S. taxes as a citizen or resident?

If you don't, the buyer has to hold back part of the price and send it to the IRS.

Will you be at the closing yourself?

Signing from a distance takes a power of attorney, and it has to be arranged early.

Its history

Has there been mold, structural repair, or environmental testing here?

What you know, you generally have to say. What you don't know, you don't have to go find.

Are the mineral, oil, or gas rights separate from the land?

In some states these are sold off separately, and the deed has to say so.

Usually the seller's to produce

In most sales nobody else prepares these. Whether each one applies to you depends on your home, your title, and your buyer.

Contract to Buy & Sell Real Estate (Residential) — CBSIn the purchase agreement itselfOn your list because did you inherit the home, or is it in probate
Seller's Property Disclosure (SPD)Pre-listing / seller's disclosure packet
Source of Water AddendumAttached to the purchase agreement
Lead-based paint disclosure (pre-1978)Attached to the purchase agreementOn your list because was the home built before 1978

Usually drafted for you to sign

These commonly arrive already written. Read them, and ask about anything that looks wrong before you sign.

Special District Public Disclosure / district websiteAttached to the purchase agreement

Usually somebody else's to prepare

Commonly handled by a title company, an attorney, a lender, or the county. Listed so none of them is a surprise.

CCIOA resale disclosure / status letterIn the HOA resale package
Deed (general/special warranty, etc.)Recorded with the county after closing
Closing Instructions (CREC)In the title/escrow closing packet
DR 1083 / DR 1079 (non-resident withholding)Filed with a government agency post-closingOn your list because do you file u.s. taxes as a citizen or resident
Local transfer tax return (resort towns)Municipal certificate obtained pre-closing
1099-SFiled with a government agency post-closing

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What catches Colorado sellers out

The things people find out late here. None of this is a ruling on your sale, and every one of them ends with somebody who can actually answer it for you.

A metro district can be adding thousands to the tax bill

Many newer Colorado subdivisions sit inside a metropolitan district that borrowed to build the roads and pipes. That debt is repaid through a per-property charge on the tax bill, and it can be larger than the base property tax. Colorado law generally requires the seller to give buyers the district's own website, where the numbers live. Buyers who only read the listing usually never see it.

The rule behind it: C.R.S. § 32-1-104.8 (recording); § 38-35.7-111 (website delivery)
Who can answer it: Your county assessor can tell you whether your address sits in a district.

Colorado's seller disclosure form is free and public

In a lot of states the standard forms belong to a Realtor association and cost a membership. Colorado's Commission-approved forms are published by the state and anyone can use the current edition. Sellers are sometimes told they need an agent to get them, which is not the case. Editions change, usually at the start of the year.

The rule behind it: Colorado Real Estate Commission approved forms
Who can answer it: The Commission publishes the current edition. Check the date on the form before you use it.

How Colorado generally runs a sale

The broad shape of a sale there, as the research found it. Counties and cities add their own rules on top of all of this.

Closing model — title/escrow, non-attorney commonColorado permits real estate closings conducted by title insurance companies and licensed real estate brokers; attorney representation is optional.

Community property — NOT applicableColorado is a common-law (separate property) state.

Tenancy by the entirety — NOT recognizedJoint tenancy with right of survivorship is the common survivorship form; see C.R.S. § 38-31-101.

Homestead regimeC.R.S. § 38-41-201 is a creditor-protection homestead exemption, not a conveyance-joinder rule.

Standard deed typesGeneral warranty deed, special warranty deed, bargain-and-sale deed, and quitclaim deed, all under C.R.S. § 38-30-113. Recent change: HB 19-1098 revised the statutory deed forms;

Disclosure regime — hybrid statutory + common-lawColorado does not compel a single mandatory statutory disclosure form but imposes specific statutory disclosures (potable-water source, special-district website, radon) and a common-law duty...

Transfer tax — NONE at state levelTABOR (Colo. Const. art. X, § 20) bars new/increased real estate transfer taxes. A state documentary fee applies at $0.01 per $100 of consideration (i.e., $0.10/$1,000) where consideration e...

Non-resident withholding2% of the lesser of sales price or net proceeds for non-resident transferors, C.R.S. § 39-22-604.5; reported on DR 1083, remitted on DR 1079.

RON statusColorado authorizes remote online notarization under RULONA, C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5, effective December 31, 2020 (SB 20-096).

Recording act — race-noticeC.R.S. § 38-35-109. Recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder in each of Colorado's 64 counties.

Notable local overlaysMetropolitan (special) districts; municipal transfer taxes in resort towns; mineral-rights severances on the eastern plains.

Other things Colorado asks about

These come up in Colorado and almost nowhere else. We don't ask them above because we can't answer them for you yet, but they're worth raising with your title company.

CO-19: Is the property inside a metropolitan/special district (Title 32)? → § 6 special-district disclosure; § 8 overlays.
CO-20: Newly constructed / sold by builder, or in a district organized on/after Jan 1, 2000? → § 5 website disclosure; § 6 new-construction disclosures.
CO-21: Potable water — well, water provider, or neither? → § 5 Source of Water disclosure.
CO-25: Common-interest community (HOA/condo)? → § 6 CCIOA resale.

Before you rely on any of this

This is a compilation of published state requirements, not legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it or your sale. Laws and forms change, counties and cities add their own rules, and whether any of this applies to you depends on facts we don't know. Treat every item as a starting point for a question, not as an answer. Confirm anything you plan to rely on against the official source we link, and run your list past a title company or an attorney licensed in your state.

These counts describe a typical sale, not yours. Which documents you need turns on facts about your home, your title, your buyer, and your county, and one unusual answer can add several or remove them.

Who prepares each document is what usually happens, not a rule. Practice differs between states, between counties, and between one title company and the next, and your contract can move work from one side to the other.

Keighbor is not a real estate brokerage and does not represent you. Nobody here is your agent. We don't negotiate, set your price, recommend a course of action, or take a commission. We provide software that helps you organize your side of the sale.

The full Colorado reference

The rest of the research, with every citation kept. This is the same material our own product is built on, and nothing is held back for paying customers. It describes the law as the research found it, not as it applies to your sale.

ALWAYS-required documents

Deed of conveyance

Citation: C.R.S. § 38-30-113.
Tags: [TITLE/ESCROW] drafts; [SELLER] signs; [NOTARY]. APPEARS: Recorded with the county after closing.
Contents: grantor/grantee, legal description, consideration, granting/covenant words, execution.
Delivery / recording: delivered at closing; recorded with the County Clerk & Recorder.
Signature/notarization: grantor's signature acknowledged (notarized) per C.R.S. § 38-35-101 for recordability.
Consequences of non-recording: an unrecorded deed loses race-notice priority under C.R.S. § 38-35-109.
Official source: https://leg.colorado.gov/

Source of Water disclosure

Citation: C.R.S. § 38-35.7-104.
Tags: [SELLER]. APPEARS: Attached to the purchase agreement / seller's disclosure packet.
Operative statutory language must state substantially: "THE SOURCE OF POTABLE WATER FOR THIS REAL ESTATE IS: [ ] A WELL; [ ] A WATER PROVIDER, WHICH CAN BE CONTACTED AS FOLLOWS…; [ ] NEITHER A WELL NOR A WATER PROVIDER," plus the notice "SOME WATER PROVIDERS RELY, TO VARYING DEGREES, ON NONRENEWABLE GROUNDWATER. YOU MAY WISH TO CONTACT YOUR PROVIDER TO DETERMINE THE LONG-TERM SUFFICIENCY OF THE PROVIDER'S WATER SUPPLIES."
Well permit: if the source is a well, the seller must provide a copy of the current well permit if available.
Non-CREC-jurisdiction transactions require the language in bold-faced type.
Timing: at/before contract.
Effect of compliance: bars a purchaser claim under this section for water-adequacy damages.
CREC / FSBO: CREC handles this via the Source of Water Addendum. A FSBO must reproduce the statutory language verbatim/substantially and attach the well permit.
Official source: https://dre.colorado.gov/

Special-district website disclosure (district organized on/after Jan 1, 2000)

Citation: C.R.S. § 38-35.7-111.
Tags: [SELLER]. APPEARS: Attached to the purchase agreement.
Recent change: for sales on or after January 1, 2022 (reinforced for sales on/after Jan 1, 2024), the seller must provide the buyer the official website the district maintains under C.R.S. § 32-1-104.5 — the website itself, not a summary or verbal notice.
Consequence: statutory disclosure defect.
Official source: https://leg.colorado.gov/

Radon disclosure

Citation: C.R.S. § 38-35.7-112.
Tags: [SELLER]. APPEARS: Seller's disclosure packet.
Contents: requires disclosure of radon information and a test recommendation, plus the seller's knowledge of radon concentrations, tests, and mitigation.

Closing Instructions (CREC)

Tags: [TITLE/ESCROW]. APPEARS: In the title/escrow closing packet.
Contents: CREC-promulgated; includes "Wire and Other Frauds" and "FIRPTA and Colorado Withholding" sections. Verify current edition at https://dre.colorado.gov/

SOMETIMES-required documents (triggered)

Trigger — Licensee involved / the contract itself

Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential) — the "CBS." [BUYER]/[SELLER]. APPEARS: In the purchase agreement itself. C.R.S. § 12-10-403(4)(c) requires a licensed broker to use a Commission-approved form where one exists and is appropriate. 4 CCR 725-1, ch. 7 governs use of standard forms. CREC forms are FREE and PUBLIC — a material advantage over member-only NAR forms. A FSBO is not compelled to use the CBS but may download and use it. Verify the current edition (CREC typically issues new editions effective January 1). Source: https://dre.colorado.gov/division-programs/real-estate-broker/real-estate-broker-forms

Trigger — Common-interest community

CCIOA resale disclosure. [HOA / MGMT CO]. APPEARS: In the HOA resale package. C.R.S. § 38-33.3-316 (binding statement of unpaid assessments; § 316(8) makes the status letter binding on the association and requires it within 14 calendar days of a written request), § 38-33.3-209.4 (public disclosures — budget, financials, insurance, governing documents, minutes, governance policies), § 38-33.3-317 (records; fee is actual cost of production, § 317(4), no statutory cap). No statutory buyer rescission period is specified for CCIOA resale, but purchase contracts commonly grant a document-review/objection right. Recent change: HB 24-1233 (signed 2024) added HOA delinquency-payment enforcement procedures.

Trigger — Pre-1978 structure

Federal lead-based paint disclosure (see § 10).

Trigger — Metropolitan district / newly-constructed home in a district

Special District Public Disclosure Document. [COUNTY / MUNICIPAL]/[SELLER]. C.R.S. § 32-1-104.8 requires each special district to record a Special District Public Disclosure Document and boundary map with the County Clerk & Recorder, stating the district's powers (§ 32-1-1004), its service plan, and its authority to issue debt, levy taxes, and impose fees (subject to TABOR). Recent change: HB 22-1137 (2022, HOA/metro-district transparency) and the 2021 metro-district reform package added seller disclosures for newly-constructed homes in districts (effective for sales on/after Jan 1, 2022, C.R.S. § 38-35.7-111). Do not conflate: HB 24-1233 concerns HOA delinquency-payment enforcement, not metro-district point-of-sale disclosure.

Trigger — Severed mineral/oil-and-gas estate

Mineral estate reservation is reflected in the deed under C.R.S. § 38-30-113; surface-owner protections arise under Colorado's oil-and-gas surface-use framework. Mineral severances are extremely common in Weld County (DJ Basin) and the eastern plains.

Trigger — Non-resident seller

DR 1083 (see § 9).

Prescribed-language items (substance-over-form)

Source of Water (C.R.S. § 38-35.7-104)

Operative language quoted in § 5.2; must appear in the listing contract, contract of sale, or seller's property disclosure, in bold-faced type when the transaction is not under CREC jurisdiction. Delivered at/before contract. CREC's Source of Water Addendum satisfies it; a FSBO must reproduce it verbatim/substantially and attach any well permit.

Special-district website (C.R.S. § 38-35.7-111 / § 32-1-104.5)

The seller must furnish the district's official website — not a summary. CREC contract § 8.4 addresses special taxing districts; a FSBO must independently identify the district and deliver the URL at/before contract.

Radon (C.R.S. § 38-35.7-112)

Requires radon information, a test recommendation, and disclosure of the seller's radon knowledge, in the disclosure packet.

Local / municipal overlays

Not exhaustive — notable examples include:

Metropolitan-district hot zones. Newer subdivisions in Aurora, Commerce City, Thornton, Erie, Parker, Castle Rock, and pockets of northeast Denver commonly sit in metro districts, which can carry substantial per-lot bond debt repaid through a debt-service mill levy (service plans commonly cap the debt-service mill levy near 50 mills over up to 40 years). Colorado Springs and the broader Denver metro are heavily districted.
Grandfathered municipal real estate transfer taxes (pre-TABOR, twelve municipalities). Notable examples include Aspen (1.5% total) — 0.5% Wheeler Opera House RETT (approved May 8, 1978, extended through Dec 31, 2039) and 1.0% affordable-housing RETT (effective July 1, 1989, sunsets Dec 31, 2060), with the first $100,000 of consideration excluded from the housing portion; Telluride (3.0%); Crested Butte (3.0%); Avon (2.0%); and Vail, Breckenridge, Frisco, Gypsum, Minturn, Snowmass Village, and Winter Park (1.0% each). Payer convention varies; commonly split per contract — verify current rates and exemptions with the municipality/title company.
Wildfire/WUI. Colorado has no California-AB-38-style statutory retrofit/defensible-space mandate at point of sale; wildfire disclosure and defensible space are norms, not statutory point-of-sale requirements. Verify any 2023–2026 legislation.
Radon. Colorado has many Zone 1 (high-radon) counties, especially in the north; testing is a norm, with statutory disclosure under § 38-35.7-112.

Post-closing obligations

Recording. Deed recorded with the County Clerk & Recorder; race-notice priority (C.R.S. § 38-35-109).
Documentary fee. $0.01/$100 collected at recording (C.R.S. § 39-13-102).
Non-resident withholding. DR 1083 ("Information with Respect to a Conveyance of a Colorado Real Property Interest") documents the transaction and withholding/exemption; DR 1079 remits withheld tax; both filed within 30 days of closing (C.R.S. § 39-22-604.5). Withholding = lesser of 2% of sales price or net proceeds; applies only where sales price exceeds $100,000 and the 1099-S/disbursement shows a non-Colorado address for an individual/estate/trust (or, for corporations, no permanent place of business in Colorado). Six affirmations on DR 1083 allow reporting without withholding (Colorado residency, principal residence, permanent place of business, no CO tax due, no net proceeds, partnership filer). The withheld amount is credited on the seller's Colorado income-tax return. Source: https://tax.colorado.gov/DR1083
1099-S / capital gains / mortgage satisfaction. See § 10; existing mortgage satisfied and release recorded.
Local transfer tax return. In resort municipalities, filed pre-/at-closing per municipal code.

Federal overlays (cross-reference)

See 01-methodology-v2.md § 8 for the full federal overlay set: Title X lead-based paint (pre-1978); FIRPTA (26 U.S.C. § 1445); 1099-S (26 U.S.C. § 6045(e)); wire-fraud advisory; Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601); RESPA/TRID.

FinCEN Residential Real Estate Rule (31 CFR 1031.320) — currently suspended. The Rule was effective March 1, 2026 but was vacated nationwide March 19, 2026 in Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. Bessent, No. 6:25-cv-00127 (E.D. Tex.); DOJ has appealed to the Fifth Circuit; a conflicting M.D. Fla. ruling (Fidelity National Financial, Inc. v. Bessent, No. 3:25-cv-00554, Feb. 2026) upheld the rule. FinCEN has posted that reporting persons are not currently required to file real estate reports while the vacatur stands. Treat as suspended/unenforceable pending appeal.

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