Colorado Property Records: How to Search Deeds, Liens, and Title Statewide
Find Owners · Deeds · Liens · Title Search · Preliminary Reports
Colorado property records are public and recorded by the County Clerk and Recorder in each of the state’s 64 counties, while every deed of trust foreclosure runs through a county office found nowhere else in the nation, the Public Trustee. This guide explains how to find deeds, deeds of trust, liens, owners, and title information in Colorado, in person, online, or through a professional report. For a complete title search, lien search, certified deed copy, or preliminary title report on any Colorado property, U.S. Title Records delivers an abstractor-prepared report by email, from $29, with no subscription.
How to Access Colorado Property Records
Colorado property records are public documents recorded and maintained by the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property is located, and there are three ways to access them: in person at the Clerk and Recorder’s office, online through the county’s index, or through a professional title search. Colorado has 64 counties, each with a County Clerk and Recorder that records deeds, deeds of trust, and liens under a reception number, indexed by grantor and grantee against a parcel or schedule number and legal description, while value is set separately by the county assessor at actual value on a two-year cycle, revalued in odd-numbered years. Three more Colorado features shape a records search: every deed of trust names the county’s Public Trustee, a public office found nowhere else, which runs the foreclosure from the recorded Notice of Election and Demand through the sale and even executes the release when the loan is paid off; conveyances carry a documentary fee of one cent per hundred dollars of the price, noted on the face of the deed, with a TD-1000 transfer declaration; and beneath the surface chain, water rights and severed mineral estates are separate property that the land deed alone may not answer.
In person: visit the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property sits and search the grantor-grantee index, and check the assessor and treasurer for value and tax status. Online: most counties offer an online recording index and an assessor parcel search, though the depth of older records varies by county. Professional report: for a complete picture across the Clerk and Recorder’s records, the Public Trustee’s file, the assessor and treasurer, and the court records in one document, a title search compiles ownership, the chain of title, deeds of trust, liens, and tax status without an in-person visit.
U.S. Title Records performs Colorado property records research for any of the 64 counties, delivering a title search, lien search, deed copy, or preliminary title report by email, from $29, with no account or subscription. For the rest of the country, see our property records by state directory.
County Clerk and Recorder
Each of the 64 Colorado counties records deeds, deeds of trust, and liens through the County Clerk and Recorder, filing every document under a reception number. Conveyances carry the one-cent-per-hundred documentary fee and a TD-1000 transfer declaration. Documents are indexed by grantor, grantee, and the parcel or schedule number. We cover every Colorado county at the same price.
The Public Trustee
Colorado forecloses deeds of trust through the county Public Trustee, a public office unique to the state. The lender files a Notice of Election and Demand, obtains a Rule 120 order from the district court, and the Public Trustee holds the sale roughly 110 to 125 days after the NED records, with cure rights running until shortly before it. Our reports flag open deeds of trust and recorded NEDs. Title search from $29.
Actual Value, the Assessment Rate, and the Mill Levy
The Colorado assessor sets actual value in odd-numbered years, the legislature sets the assessment rate after the 2020 repeal of the Gallagher Amendment, and local mill levies produce a bill at one of the lowest effective rates in the nation. Our $29 report shows the parcel, value, and tax status.
Tax Lien Certificates and Transcripts of Judgment
Delinquent Colorado taxes are sold as liens at the treasurer’s November tax lien sale, where buyers pay premiums and the certificate of purchase earns interest at nine points above the federal discount rate, and a judgment reaches land only where its transcript is recorded. Both must be checked. Lien search from $95.
Colorado Property Records at a Glance
The key facts and figures behind a Colorado property records search, from the recording office to the statewide market and tax picture
Figures are approximate statewide medians (U.S. Census American Community Survey, household income approximately $92,000 and median home value approximately $500,000, with list-price measures near $558,000 and Denver around $636,000; Tax Foundation and Ownwell derived measures, an effective rate of roughly 0.45 to 0.55 percent, among the lowest in the nation) and vary by county, from El Paso below the statewide rate to the resort counties with the highest bills. The Colorado assessor sets actual value on a two-year cycle, revalued in odd-numbered years, and after the 2020 repeal of the Gallagher Amendment the legislature sets the assessment rate, 6.7 percent for homes in 2026 with a reduction on the first $700,000 of actual value and most nonresidential near 27 percent, applied against local mill levies under TABOR; deeds and deeds of trust are recorded by the County Clerk and Recorder under reception numbers with the documentary fee and a TD-1000 declaration; every foreclosure runs through the county Public Trustee on a Notice of Election and Demand; and delinquent taxes are sold as liens each November with interest at nine points above the federal discount rate. Colorado property is identified by a parcel or schedule number and a legal description. For exact figures on a specific property, order a Property Detail Report ($29).
Types of Colorado Property Records
Colorado property records cover every recorded document that affects a parcel, and knowing the main types makes any search faster, with two features that set Colorado apart: the Public Trustee file behind every deed of trust and the separate estates in water and minerals. The records you will encounter most are deeds and deeds of trust, judgments and liens, and the assessment and tax records.
Deeds and deeds of trust. A deed conveys ownership, and Colorado uses the general warranty deed (warranting title against all claims), the special warranty deed (warranting only against the grantor’s own acts), and the quitclaim deed (conveying whatever interest the grantor has, without warranty), joined by the beneficiary deed, a recorded, revocable deed that passes the property at the owner’s death outside probate. A deed of trust is different: it secures a loan, and in Colorado it names the county’s Public Trustee rather than a private party. That single fact organizes the records. A default begins with a Notice of Election and Demand filed with the Public Trustee and recorded with the Clerk and Recorder, and even the release of a paid deed of trust runs through the Public Trustee, who executes and records it on the holder’s request, so an open deed of trust, a recorded NED, and a missing release are all questions the Public Trustee’s records answer.
Judgments and liens. Liens are voluntary (the deed of trust you give a lender) or involuntary. In Colorado, a money judgment becomes a lien on the debtor’s real estate in a county when a transcript of judgment is recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder there, and it must be recorded county by county to reach land across the state. Other involuntary liens include federal and state tax liens, a mechanics lien filed by a contractor or supplier on strict statutory deadlines, and association liens, which in Colorado carry a six-month super-priority that can stand ahead of even a first deed of trust. Many newer subdivisions also sit inside metropolitan districts whose mill levies and bond debt ride with the property. Delinquent property taxes add the treasurer’s layer: the taxes are sold as liens at the November tax lien sale, and the buyer holds a certificate of purchase.
Assessment, taxes, and the estates beneath. The county assessor sets actual value on a two-year cycle, revaluing in odd-numbered years, the legislature sets the assessment rate after the 2020 repeal of the Gallagher Amendment, and local mill levies produce the bill under TABOR, at one of the lowest effective rates in the nation. Two Colorado estates ride outside the surface chain: water rights are separate real property under the state’s prior appropriation system, often conveyed by their own deeds and adjudicated in the water courts, and severed mineral estates sit beneath many parcels, so the land deed alone may not answer who owns the water or the minerals. A reliable Colorado search reads the Clerk and Recorder’s records, the Public Trustee’s file, the assessor and treasurer, and the court records together.
Colorado Title Search
A Colorado title search examines the recorded history of a property to establish who owns it and what claims are attached to it, reading the County Clerk and Recorder’s records, the Public Trustee’s file, the assessor and treasurer, and the court records together. A complete property title search reads the chain of recorded deeds in the Clerk and Recorder’s reception-number index to confirm current ownership and how title is held, traces any beneficiary deed in the chain, identifies every open deed of trust and verifies through the Public Trustee’s records that the paid ones were released, checks for a recorded Notice of Election and Demand, searches for transcripts of judgment recorded against the owner, checks for mechanics liens and federal and state tax liens, and reviews the assessor and treasurer for the actual value, the tax status, and any tax lien sold at the November sale. Because a Colorado foreclosure can run from recorded NED to sale in roughly four months, because a judgment reaches only the counties where its transcript is recorded, and because water rights and severed minerals sit outside the surface chain, a reliable title search reconciles all of these sources rather than reading the deed index alone.
U.S. Title Records performs Colorado title searches for buyers, sellers, investors, attorneys, and lenders without an in-person county visit, in Denver, El Paso, Arapahoe, Jefferson, and every other county. A Title Search by Name ($75) locates property tied to a person or entity, while the Full Owner Lien Report ($195) and the Expanded Title Search ($375) deliver a comprehensive examination. Learn more about our real estate title search service.
What a Colorado Title Search Reveals
Current owner and the chain of conveyance, how title is held, beneficiary deeds, open deeds of trust and missing releases, any recorded Notice of Election and Demand, transcripts of judgment, federal and state tax liens, mechanics liens, tax status and any sold tax lien with an outstanding certificate of purchase, easements, and flags for water rights and severed minerals. The examination covers the Clerk and Recorder, the Public Trustee, the assessor and treasurer, and the courts together.
Why Use a Professional Search
Records are public, but the release verification through the Public Trustee, the county-by-county transcript question, and the sold-lien status through the treasurer make a self-search easy to get wrong, and Colorado has 64 counties. A professional search compiles it into one report. From $29.
Colorado Lien Search
A Colorado lien search identifies every recorded claim against a property or an owner, and in Colorado that means reading the County Clerk and Recorder’s records for deeds of trust, transcripts of judgment, and mechanics liens, and the treasurer’s records for sold tax liens. Liens attach to Colorado real property from many directions: a deed of trust securing a loan, a transcript of judgment recorded with the Clerk and Recorder, a federal or state tax lien, a mechanics lien filed on strict statutory deadlines, an association lien carrying Colorado’s six-month super-priority, and the mill levies and bond debt of a metropolitan district. Two Colorado features matter to a lien picture. First, a judgment reaches only the counties where its transcript is recorded, so an owner clear in one county can carry recorded judgments in another, and the search must follow the person as well as the parcel. Second, delinquent property taxes do not simply sit as a charge: the treasurer sells the tax lien at the November tax lien sale, buyers pay premiums above the taxes that are not refunded, the winning buyer takes a certificate of purchase, and interest accrues against the owner at nine percentage points above the federal discount rate, set each year, until redemption through the treasurer. If the lien is never redeemed, the certificate holder can begin the treasurer’s deed process, generally after three years from the sale, which under recent reforms runs through a public auction so that value above the debt can return to the former owner. A complete search reads the Clerk and Recorder’s records and the treasurer and court records together.
Our lien search options scale to the need. The Lien Report ($95) covers recorded property liens, the Full Owner Lien Report ($195) adds judgments, tax, UCC, and bankruptcy against the owner, and a UCC lien search covers business filings.
Liens We Search
Deeds of trust and assignments, missing releases, recorded Notices of Election and Demand, transcripts of judgment, state and federal (IRS) tax liens, mechanics liens, association super-priority liens, metropolitan district burdens, sold tax liens with outstanding certificates of purchase, and UCC financing statements.
Sold Tax Liens and Recorded Transcripts
A tax lien sold at the November sale, or a transcript of judgment recorded against the owner, can cloud title and survive a careless purchase, and an unredeemed certificate can mature into a treasurer’s deed. Our $195 report identifies open deeds of trust, recorded judgments, and which liens are actually attached.
Colorado Deed Copies and Deed Search
A deed is the recorded instrument that conveys Colorado real property, and a deed copy from the County Clerk and Recorder is often needed to confirm ownership, prepare a transfer, or resolve a title question. Colorado conveyances run through the general warranty deed (the strongest protection, with the full statutory covenants), the special warranty deed (warranting only against the grantor’s own acts), and the quitclaim deed (conveying whatever interest the grantor has, without warranty), joined by the beneficiary deed, a recorded, revocable deed that passes the property at death outside probate. A Colorado deed must be signed, acknowledged before a notary, and recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder to give notice, with the documentary fee of one cent per hundred dollars of the price noted on its face and a TD-1000 transfer declaration filed alongside, and it is indexed by grantor, grantee, and reception number against the parcel or schedule number. Because of Colorado’s automatic homestead protection, conveying or encumbering an occupied home can require both spouses. A deed of trust, by contrast with a deed, is not a conveyance of ownership to a buyer but a security instrument naming the Public Trustee, released through the Public Trustee when the loan is paid.
U.S. Title Records retrieves recorded Colorado deeds and supporting documents. A Deed Copy ($45) delivers the recorded vesting deed, and the Property Detail Report ($29) confirms the current owner, the parcel, and how title is held. For the full conveyance history, the Chain of Title ($275) assembles every deed in order.
Colorado Preliminary Title Reports
A preliminary title report sets out the condition of title before a transaction closes, so a buyer, lender, or investor knows the ownership, the liens, and the exceptions in advance. A preliminary report identifies the current owner and how title is held, any beneficiary deed in the chain, the open deeds of trust and the release status of the paid ones verified through the Public Trustee, any recorded Notice of Election and Demand, the transcripts of judgment and tax liens, the mechanics liens, the tax status and any sold tax lien with an outstanding certificate of purchase, the easements and restrictions, and flags for water rights, severed minerals, and metropolitan district burdens. In Colorado it is where an unreleased deed of trust, a recorded NED, a transcript of judgment from another matter, or a tax lien sold at the November sale first comes to light, and it is the standard due-diligence document at the front of a Colorado transaction.
U.S. Title Records prepares preliminary title search reports as a records-based examination of the recorded chain, the deeds of trust and their releases, the Public Trustee and foreclosure status, the transcripts of judgment and mechanics liens, the sold-lien and redemption status, and the assessment and tax data. This is a property records and title search product, not title insurance or a commitment to insure, and it gives buyers, investors, attorneys, and lenders a clear pre-closing picture at a fraction of the cost and delay of a full underwriting file. The Chain of Title ($275) and the Expanded Title Search ($375) serve this preliminary-report purpose. See the full schedule of fees.
What a Preliminary Report Shows
Current owner and how title is held, beneficiary deeds, open deeds of trust and missing releases, any recorded Notice of Election and Demand, transcripts of judgment and tax liens, mechanics liens, tax status and any sold tax lien, easements and restrictions, and flags for water, minerals, and metropolitan districts. It is the pre-closing due-diligence picture for a Colorado property.
Records-Based, Not Insurance
Our preliminary title report is a comprehensive search of the public record, not a policy of title insurance or a commitment to insure. It gives buyers, lenders, and investors a fast, professional read on title before they commit. Reports from $275.
Foreclosure Through a Public Office: The Colorado Public Trustee
Every other state hands a defaulted deed of trust to a private trustee or a courtroom; Colorado routes it through a county public office, and the difference shapes the records
A public office runs the file
- How it starts: the lender files a Notice of Election and Demand with the county Public Trustee, who records it with the Clerk and Recorder.
- The court checkpoint: the lender must still obtain a Rule 120 order from the district court authorizing the sale.
- Cure: the borrower can file a notice of intent to cure and reinstate by paying the arrears until shortly before the sale.
- The sale: held by the Public Trustee, generally 110 to 125 days after the NED records for most property, longer for agricultural land.
- After: the winning bidder takes a certificate of purchase, junior lienholders hold short redemption windows, and the confirmation deed then conveys title; the owner has no post-sale redemption.
A private party runs the sale
- How it starts: the deed of trust names a private trustee selected by the lender, and notice is recorded without a public office holding the file.
- Oversight: most private-trustee states require no court order at all before the sale.
- Cure and timing: reinstatement rights and timelines vary state to state rather than running through one county official.
- The sale: conducted by the private trustee, with the deed issued directly to the buyer.
- After: releases and foreclosure paperwork are handled privately, so there is no single public file to examine.
Because the whole Colorado foreclosure lives in a public office, a recorded Notice of Election and Demand is both a hard deadline for owners and a searchable fact for buyers. Our $195 report examines the recorded chain and identifies open deeds of trust, recorded NEDs, and liens.
Colorado Title Search and Records Reports
One pricing schedule in every Colorado county, from a quick ownership check to a full title examination, with no subscription
Property Detail Report ($29)
Ownership, parcel, and tax data for any Colorado property.
- Current owner
- Parcel or schedule number and legal description
- How title is held
- Actual value and tax status
- Open deeds of trust of record
- Most recent recorded sale
Full Owner Lien Report ($195)
Comprehensive property AND owner lien and title search.
- Everything in the $29 report
- All recorded deeds of trust and assignments
- Recorded NEDs and foreclosure status
- Transcripts of judgment
- Mechanics liens and sold tax liens
- UCC financing statements and bankruptcy
Expanded Title Search ($375)
The most comprehensive Colorado examination and preliminary report.
- Everything in the $195 report
- Complete recorded chain of title
- Release verification through the Public Trustee
- Easement, water, and mineral flags
- Preliminary title report scope
Full ladder: Property Detail $29 | Deed Copy $45 | Title Search by Name $75 | Lien Report $95 | Full Owner Lien $195 | Chain of Title $275 | Expanded $375 | Schedule of fees
Colorado Property Records by County
Professional title, lien, and deed searches in all 64 Colorado counties at the same statewide pricing, recorded by each County Clerk and Recorder
Denver County
The consolidated City and County of Denver, the state capital and the Front Range recording center, with its own Clerk and Recorder and Public Trustee. Full title, lien, and deed search.
El Paso County
Colorado Springs and the state’s most populous county, with heavy residential volume and one of the lowest effective rates on the Front Range. $195 recommended for due diligence. Full title, lien, and deed search.
Arapahoe & Adams
Aurora, Centennial, Thornton, and the eastern metro, two high-volume counties, each with its own Clerk and Recorder and Public Trustee. Title, lien, and deed retrieval. Same pricing statewide.
Jefferson & Douglas
Lakewood, Golden, and the western metro (Jefferson) and Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock (Douglas), among the state’s largest and highest-value counties. $375 Expanded for full chain and release verification.
Larimer & Weld
Fort Collins and Loveland (Larimer) and Greeley and the northern growth corridor (Weld), where new subdivisions often sit inside metropolitan districts. Title, lien, and deed retrieval. Same pricing statewide.
Boulder & Broomfield
Boulder and Longmont, plus the consolidated City and County of Broomfield, each recording through its own Clerk and Recorder. Deed and title search with lien review. Same pricing statewide.
Eagle, Pitkin, Summit & the Resort Counties
Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, and Steamboat country, the state’s highest median tax bills, heavy second-home ownership, and water and mineral questions. Title, lien, and deed retrieval.
All 64 Colorado Counties
Every Colorado county, recorded by its County Clerk and Recorder. Search by address or parcel or schedule number. BBB A+ since 2009, reports from $29, no subscription.
Colorado Counties We Cover
U.S. Title Records covers all 64 Colorado counties at the same pricing, including Denver, El Paso, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams, Douglas, Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Mesa, Pueblo, Broomfield, Garfield, La Plata, Eagle, Fremont, Montrose, Summit, Routt, Pitkin, Delta, Morgan, Elbert, Teller, Gunnison, and San Miguel counties, along with every other county in the state. Submit any Colorado address or parcel or schedule number to begin.
Property Records Beyond Colorado
U.S. Title Records covers Colorado and every other state at the same statewide pricing
All 50 States
Nationwide property records, title searches, lien searches, deed copies, and preliminary title reports, one schedule of fees in every state. BBB A+ since 2009.
Arizona Property Records
Neighboring Arizona, with its County Recorder recording and trustee’s sale under a deed of trust. Full title and lien search across every county.
Texas Property Records
Texas, with its 254 counties and first-Tuesday foreclosure auctions. Title, lien, and deed search across every county at the same pricing.
Start a Search
Enter any Colorado or U.S. property address and choose a report from $29 to $375. Delivered as a PDF by email, no account or subscription required.
Property Owner Search
Find the current owner of any Colorado property by address or parcel or schedule number, with the recorded vesting deed and how title is held. From $29.
Deed Search
Retrieve the recorded deed or the full chain for any Colorado property, with the grantor, grantee, and reception number. From $45.
Three Colorado Title Risks That Require Professional Examination
1. A Public Trustee foreclosure can run from recorded notice to sale in roughly four months, and the owner has no redemption after it. A Colorado home loan is secured by a deed of trust naming the county Public Trustee, and when it defaults, the lender files a Notice of Election and Demand that the Public Trustee records with the Clerk and Recorder, obtains a Rule 120 order from the district court authorizing the sale, and the Public Trustee holds the auction generally 110 to 125 days after the NED records for most property, longer for agricultural land. The borrower’s protection runs before the sale: a notice of intent to cure preserves the right to reinstate by paying the arrears until shortly before the auction. Once the sale is held, the winning bidder takes a certificate of purchase, junior lienholders hold short statutory redemption windows, and the confirmation deed then conveys title; Colorado eliminated the owner’s post-sale redemption years ago, and a deficiency remains possible. A judicial foreclosure of the deed of trust, or of an old-style mortgage, remains available where a title problem needs a court, which is why buyers must know which path produced the deed they are relying on. For an owner or a researcher, a recorded NED is a hard deadline. U.S. Title Records flags open deeds of trust and recorded NEDs in the $195 Full Owner Lien Report.
2. Delinquent Colorado taxes are sold as liens each November, and an unredeemed certificate can mature into a treasurer’s deed. Colorado handles delinquent property taxes through the treasurer’s tax lien sale, and the system quietly puts a clock on the title. Each November the county treasurer auctions the tax liens on delinquent parcels; Colorado uses premium bidding, where investors pay a premium above the taxes that is not refunded, and the certificate of purchase earns interest at nine percentage points above the federal discount rate, set each year, until the owner redeems through the treasurer. The owner keeps the property while the certificate is outstanding, but if the lien is never redeemed, the certificate holder can begin the treasurer’s deed process, generally after three years from the sale, which under recent reforms runs through a public auction so that value above the debt can return to the former owner. For an owner, redemption is urgent; for a buyer, an outstanding certificate of purchase is a running clock that a deed search alone will not show, because the sold lien lives in the treasurer’s records rather than the deed index. U.S. Title Records verifies tax status and sold liens in the $195 Full Owner Lien Report.
3. Water rights, severed minerals, metropolitan districts, and super-priority association liens ride outside the surface chain. Colorado title has layers most states never see. Water rights are separate real property under the state’s prior appropriation system, often conveyed by their own deeds and adjudicated in the water courts, so the land deed alone may not answer who owns the water that serves a rural or agricultural parcel. Severed mineral estates sit beneath many Colorado properties, and the surface chain says nothing about who owns the oil, gas, or minerals underneath, or what access rights ride with them. On the Front Range, many newer subdivisions sit inside metropolitan districts whose mill levies and bond debt travel with the property, and in Colorado’s common interest communities, an association lien carries a six-month super-priority that can stand ahead of even a first deed of trust. Add the transcript-of-judgment rule, where a judgment reaches only the counties where it is recorded, and Colorado’s automatic homestead protection, where conveying or encumbering an occupied home can require both spouses, and a thorough search is both parcel-specific and person-specific. U.S. Title Records traces the vesting, the transcripts, and the burdens in the $195 Full Owner Lien Report and the $375 Expanded Title Search.
Colorado Property Records: The Essentials
Colorado property records are the deeds, deeds of trust, and liens recorded by the County Clerk and Recorder in each of the state’s 64 counties, together with the Public Trustee’s foreclosure and release files, the ownership and actual-value data held by the county assessor on the odd-year cycle, the tax and tax-lien-sale records held by the treasurer, and the courts’ judgments, establishing who owns a property and what claims are attached to it. Because every foreclosure runs through the Public Trustee on a recorded Notice of Election and Demand, because delinquent taxes are sold as liens each November, and because water rights and severed minerals sit outside the surface chain, a complete property records search reads the Clerk and Recorder’s records, the Public Trustee’s file, the assessor and treasurer, and the courts together.
The five things people search for most in Colorado are: a title search to establish ownership and encumbrances, a lien search to find claims against a property or owner, deed copies and deed records to confirm ownership, a preliminary title report for pre-closing due diligence, and the chain of title. U.S. Title Records delivers all five for every Colorado county, from $29, with no subscription.
How a Colorado Property Records Search Works
The same simple process for a title search, lien search, deed copy, or preliminary report
Enter the Address or Parcel
Provide the Colorado property address or the parcel or schedule number through the order portal. We confirm the county, parcel, and recorded chain.
Choose Your Report
From a $29 ownership check to a $375 preliminary title examination. $195 is the recommended due-diligence report; $375 for full chain and release verification.
Multi-Source Search
Clerk and Recorder deeds, deeds of trust, releases, and recorded NEDs, transcripts of judgment, assessor actual value, treasurer tax status and sold liens, court records, UCC, and bankruptcy.
Report Compiled
Ownership and chain, how title is held, beneficiary deeds, open deeds of trust and release status, foreclosure and lien status, value and tax data, deed copies, with references.
PDF Delivered
Report emailed. Email office@ustitlerecords.com with questions. Asset investigation through U.S. Asset Records.
No Courthouse Visit
No trip to the Clerk and Recorder, the Public Trustee, or the assessor. Full examination without in-person access. One property, one fee, no subscription. BBB A+ since 2009.
Colorado Property Records Questions
Title searches, lien searches, deed copies, and preliminary reports
How Do I Search Colorado Property Records Online?
Start with the county assessor for ownership, the parcel or schedule number, and the actual value, the County Clerk and Recorder for recorded deeds, deeds of trust, and liens, and the treasurer for tax status and sold liens, in the county where the property sits. Most counties offer an online recording index and an assessor parcel search, though the depth of older documents varies. Free tools rarely combine the recorded chain, the release status through the Public Trustee, the transcripts of judgment, and the sold-lien picture in one place. For a complete Colorado property records search, submit the address or parcel number to U.S. Title Records. From $29.
How Do I Find Out Who Owns a Property in Colorado?
The county assessor shows the owner of record by address and parcel or schedule number, and the most recent recorded deed in the Clerk and Recorder’s records confirms the vesting and how title is held, including entity or trust ownership and any beneficiary deed in the chain. Colorado’s homestead protection can also require both spouses on a conveyance of an occupied home. A Property Detail Report ($29) combines both into one report, and a Title Search by Name ($75) finds all property tied to a person or entity in Colorado.
How Do I Find Liens on a Colorado Property?
A Colorado lien search must cover the County Clerk and Recorder’s records for deeds of trust, missing releases, recorded NEDs, transcripts of judgment, and mechanics liens, the treasurer for delinquent taxes and any tax lien sold at the November sale, and the UCC index, plus association and metropolitan district burdens. Because judgments attach only in the counties where their transcripts are recorded and a sold tax lien lives in the treasurer’s records, the sources have to be read together. Our Full Owner Lien Report ($195) covers all of it against the property and the owner.
How Do I Get a Copy of a Deed in Colorado?
Recorded deeds are public, held by the County Clerk and Recorder under reception numbers. Colorado uses the general warranty deed, the special warranty deed, and the quitclaim deed, joined by the beneficiary deed, recorded after acknowledgment before a notary with the documentary fee noted on the face and a TD-1000 declaration, and indexed by grantor, grantee, and parcel or schedule number. A deed of trust is a security instrument naming the Public Trustee, released through the Public Trustee, not a conveyance to a buyer. We retrieve a recorded deed by address or parcel. A Deed Copy is $45.
What Does a Colorado Preliminary Title Report Show?
It shows the condition of title before closing: the current owner and how title is held, beneficiary deeds, open deeds of trust and the release status of paid ones, any recorded Notice of Election and Demand, transcripts of judgment and tax liens, mechanics liens, tax status and any sold tax lien with an outstanding certificate of purchase, easements and restrictions, and flags for water rights, severed minerals, and metropolitan districts. Our preliminary title report is a records-based examination, not title insurance, giving buyers, lenders, and investors a fast pre-closing read. The Chain of Title ($275) and Expanded ($375) serve this purpose.
How Much Does a Colorado Title Search Cost?
Property Detail $29, Deed Copy $45, Name Search $75, Lien Report $95, Full Owner Lien $195, Chain of Title $275, Expanded $375. One fee per property, no subscription. Schedule of fees.
Colorado Property Records FAQ
Are Colorado property records public?
Yes. Colorado property records are public documents. Deeds, deeds of trust, and liens are recorded with and maintained by the County Clerk and Recorder in the county where the property is located, filed under reception numbers, and anyone may search the grantor-grantee index or obtain a copy, in person, online through the county, or through a professional report. Ownership and assessment information is public and is held by the county assessor, which sets actual value in odd-numbered years, and tax status is held by the treasurer. The main practical points are that every foreclosure runs through the county Public Trustee on a recorded Notice of Election and Demand, that conveyances carry the documentary fee and a TD-1000 declaration, and that water rights and severed minerals are separate property outside the surface chain. U.S. Title Records compiles the public record into one report from $29.
How do I find out who owns a property in Colorado?
The fastest way to find the current owner of a Colorado property is the county assessor for the county where the property sits, which lists the owner of record by address along with the parcel or schedule number and the actual value. To confirm legal ownership and how title is held, the most recent recorded deed in the County Clerk and Recorder’s records is the controlling record, and it will show whether the property is held by an individual, a married couple, a trust, or an entity such as an LLC, and whether a beneficiary deed sits in the chain to pass the property at death. Colorado’s automatic homestead protection adds one wrinkle: conveying or encumbering an occupied home can require both spouses, so a missing signature is worth catching. A Property Detail Report ($29) combines the assessor’s owner with the recorded vesting deed, and a Title Search by Name ($75) finds every property tied to a given person or entity across Colorado. Property owner search.
How do I do a title search in Colorado?
A Colorado title search reads the chain of recorded deeds in the County Clerk and Recorder’s reception-number index to confirm ownership and how title is held, traces any beneficiary deed in the chain, identifies every open deed of trust and verifies through the Public Trustee’s records that the paid ones were released, checks for a recorded Notice of Election and Demand, searches for transcripts of judgment recorded against the owner in each relevant county, checks for mechanics liens and federal and state tax liens, and reviews the assessor and treasurer for the actual value, the tax status, and any tax lien sold at the November sale. Because releases run through the Public Trustee, judgments attach county by county, and water rights and severed minerals sit outside the surface chain, a reliable search reconciles the Clerk and Recorder’s records, the Public Trustee’s file, the assessor and treasurer, and the courts. You can do much of this yourself through the county, but the release verification and the sold-lien status are where a professional search earns its keep. U.S. Title Records performs the full examination from $29, with the Expanded Title Search ($375) as the most comprehensive option.
How does a Colorado Public Trustee foreclosure work, and is there redemption?
Colorado foreclosures run through the Public Trustee, a county public office that exists nowhere else in the nation, because every Colorado deed of trust names the Public Trustee rather than a private party. The lender starts by filing a Notice of Election and Demand, which the Public Trustee records with the Clerk and Recorder, and the lender must also obtain a Rule 120 order from the district court authorizing the sale. The borrower can file a notice of intent to cure and reinstate the loan by paying the arrears until shortly before the auction, which the Public Trustee holds generally 110 to 125 days after the NED records for most property, longer for agricultural land. At the sale, the winning bidder receives a certificate of purchase; junior lienholders hold short statutory redemption windows after the sale, and the confirmation deed then conveys title. Colorado eliminated the owner’s post-sale redemption years ago, so the cure right before the sale is the owner’s protection, and a deficiency remains possible. For anyone buying at or after a foreclosure, the Public Trustee’s file and the recorded NED are the controlling records. U.S. Title Records flags open deeds of trust and recorded NEDs in the Full Owner Lien Report ($195).
How does the Colorado tax lien sale work?
Colorado handles delinquent property taxes by selling the tax lien, not the property. Each November, the county treasurer auctions the liens on delinquent parcels using premium bidding: investors pay a premium above the taxes owed, the premium is not refunded and earns no interest, and the winning buyer receives a certificate of purchase. The certificate itself earns interest at nine percentage points above the federal discount rate, set each year, and the owner keeps the property and can redeem at any time by paying the taxes plus the accrued interest through the treasurer; most liens are redeemed. If the lien is never redeemed, the certificate holder can begin the treasurer’s deed process, generally after three years from the sale, and under recent reforms that process runs through a public auction so that value above the debt can return to the former owner rather than passing silently with the deed. For an owner, the sold lien is an interest meter running; for a buyer or researcher, an outstanding certificate of purchase is a title risk that sits in the treasurer’s records rather than the deed index, which is why a complete search reads both. U.S. Title Records verifies delinquent taxes, sold liens, and redemption status in the Full Owner Lien Report ($195).
What is the difference between a deed and a title in Colorado?
A deed and a title are related but not the same. A deed is a physical, recorded document that transfers ownership of real property from a grantor to a grantee, and Colorado uses the general warranty deed, the special warranty deed, and the quitclaim deed, joined by the beneficiary deed, which passes property at death outside probate. Title, by contrast, is the legal concept of ownership itself, the bundle of rights to possess, use, and dispose of the property; it is not a single document but a status established by the chain of recorded deeds. You take title to a property by receiving and recording a deed, and a title search examines the full chain of deeds and other recorded instruments, and in Colorado also the deeds of trust and their releases through the Public Trustee, plus the water and mineral estates that can ride outside the surface chain, to ensure the seller holds clear title. In short, the deed is the instrument; the title is the ownership it conveys. U.S. Title Records retrieves the deed in the Deed Copy ($45) and examines the title in a title search.
How much does a Colorado title search or report cost?
Pricing is the same in every Colorado county: Property Detail Report $29, Deed Copy $45, Title Search by Name $75, Lien Report $95, Full Owner Lien Report $195, Chain of Title $275, and Expanded Title Search $375. The $29 report is the quick ownership, parcel, and value check with the actual value and tax status, the $195 report is the recommended due-diligence search that includes transcripts of judgment, mechanics liens, sold tax liens, and foreclosure status, and the $375 Expanded is the full title examination with chain and release verification. There is no account, subscription, or recurring charge, one flat fee per property, delivered as a PDF by email. See the full schedule of fees. BBB A+ since 2009.
How far back does a Colorado title search go?
A standard Colorado title search typically examines the chain of title back about 40 to 60 years, which is generally enough to establish a marketable chain and surface the deeds of trust, judgments, liens, and defects that matter for a current transaction. A full chain of title can go back much further, to the original federal land patent, and is assembled when a transaction or a legal matter requires it, such as a quiet-title action, an estate, a boundary or easement dispute, a water or mineral question, or a property with a complicated history. How far the records reach in practice depends on the county; Colorado Clerk and Recorder records can extend back past statehood in 1876 into the territorial era, though older documents are more likely to require retrieval from physical books. U.S. Title Records traces the full conveyance history in the Chain of Title ($275).
Search Colorado Property Records
Professional title searches, lien searches, deed copies, and preliminary title reports for any property in all 64 Colorado counties, from Denver, El Paso, Arapahoe, and Jefferson to every mountain and plains county. Clerk and Recorder records, deed of trust and release analysis through the Public Trustee, NED and foreclosure review, transcript of judgment and mechanics lien checks, November tax lien sale and certificate of purchase verification, actual value and tax status, water and mineral flags, and full chain of title. Reports from $29, delivered by email, no subscription.