A Colorado quitclaim deed is a written deed that transfers whatever interest the owner, called the grantor, holds in real property to a new owner, called the grantee. It carries no covenants of warranty and passes no title the grantor acquires later.[1.2] Recording the deed with the county clerk and recorder protects it against anyone who records their own rights first.[2.1]
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current Colorado law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
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FormsPal offers a free Colorado quitclaim deed form you can build online and print.
Colorado's quitclaim deed rules sit in Title 38 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. A deed in the statutory short form is a quitclaim deed without covenants of warranty. The deed may be recorded with the county clerk and recorder, and an unrecorded deed can lose out to one that is recorded first. The sections below explain each rule in plain words.[1.2]
Section 38-30-113 of the Colorado Revised Statutes sets out a short form of deed. A deed in substantially that form, without words of warranty and with the word "quitclaim" in place of "convey," is a quitclaim deed without covenants of warranty. It passes no after-acquired title of the grantor, which means title the grantor acquires after signing.
The same section adds three rules about what a quitclaim deed does and does not do:
An acknowledgment is a signer's formal statement, made before a notary or another authorized officer, that the signature is the signer's own. Section 38-35-106(1) of the Colorado Revised Statutes says what happens to a recorded instrument that affects title to real property, whether it was acknowledged, unacknowledged, or defectively acknowledged. The statute reads:
Any written instrument required or permitted to be acknowledged affecting title to real property, whether acknowledged, unacknowledged, or defectively acknowledged, after being recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the real property is situate, shall be notice to all persons or classes of persons claiming any interest in said property.
In plain words, once such an instrument is recorded, everyone who claims an interest in the property is treated as having notice of it.[1.1] FormsPal also offers a free Colorado notary acknowledgment form.
Colorado does not require a deed to be notarized. A deed in the statutory form may be acknowledged before a notary (Section 38-30-113(2) of the Colorado Revised Statutes), and an acknowledged deed is prima facie evidence that it was properly executed (Section 38-35-101(2)).[1.3]
Instruments in writing that convey or affect the title to real property may be recorded. The place to record is the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is situated.[2.1]
Recording matters because Colorado is a race-notice state. An unrecorded instrument is not valid against any person with rights in the property who records first, or against those who hold rights under that person. The exceptions are the parties to the instrument and anyone who had notice of it before acquiring their rights.[2.3]
The county clerk and recorder will not record a deed that lacks the address the recording statute calls for. The clerk returns the deed to the person who asked for recording.[2.2] Check the address lines on the form before you take it to the recorder's office.
Colorado sets no deadline for recording a private deed, but an unrecorded deed is not valid against someone who records first (Section 38-35-109(1) of the Colorado Revised Statutes).[1.4]
The Colorado form has blanks for the parties, the property and the signatures. Work through the nine parts below in the order they appear on the form. You can build it online with our free quitclaim deed form tool, then print it and sign it by hand.
To record the deed, take it to the office of the county clerk and recorder in the county where the property is located.[2.1] Check every blank against your own records first, and keep a copy of the signed deed. For other kinds of deeds, browse our deed forms.
The FormsPal form has fixed wording as well as blanks. Page 1 states the transfer, and page 2 holds paragraphs with nothing to fill in. Reading them before you sign shows what the deed says and what it leaves out.
Taken together, these paragraphs show how the form is built. It passes the grantor's right, title and interest, if any, rather than promising that the grantor owns anything. Check the wording closely before you add or remove any text.
A few legal terms appear on the form and in the Colorado statutes cited on this page. Knowing them makes the form easier to complete. Each term below is explained in plain words.
A Colorado quitclaim deed transfers the grantor's interest in the property without covenants of warranty. It passes no title the grantor acquires later, and recording it with the county clerk and recorder protects it against people who record first. The answers below cover two questions people ask most often.
A quitclaim deed conveys the interest the grantor holds. Subject to any reservations written in the deed, the form of deed does not affect the absolute nature of the fee simple conveyance. Colorado does not treat the property as a lesser estate or interest because of the form used or because the grantor gave no warranties of title.[1.2]
A Colorado quitclaim deed is a deed without covenants of warranty. That has two consequences:
Other Quitclaim Deed Forms by State
General information, not legal or tax advice.
