Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: A Colorado deed may be acknowledged under 38-35-101 or 24-21-515, and a recorded instrument that is unacknowledged or defectively acknowledged still gives notice, so the statutes read do not make notarization a condition of recording. From July 1, 2025 the statutory recording fee for a document is forty dollars, replacing ten dollars for the first page plus five dollars per added page before that date, and the clerk also collects a one dollar surcharge and the electronic recording technology board surcharge on each document (C.R.S. 30-10-421).
Colorado quitclaim deed at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Signing | Colorado provides a statutory short-form quitclaim deed, a deed with the word quitclaim in place of convey and no warranty words, which passes no after-acquired title. |
| Witnesses | Not found in the documents read |
| Notary or acknowledgment | A Colorado deed may be acknowledged under 38-35-101 or 24-21-515, and a recorded instrument that is unacknowledged or defectively acknowledged still gives notice, so the statutes read do not make notarization a condition of recording. |
| Statutory quitclaim form | C.R.S. 38-30-113(1)(d) sets out a short form quitclaim deed without covenants of warranty. |
| Where to record, and the fee | County clerk and recorder. From July 1, 2025 the statutory recording fee for a document is forty dollars, replacing ten dollars for the first page plus five dollars per added page before that date, and the clerk also collects a one dollar surcharge and the electronic recording technology board surcharge on each document (C.R.S. 30-10-421). |
| State transfer tax | Colorado’s documentary fee is one cent for each $100 of consideration, or major fraction of $100, paid by the person offering the deed for recording and in addition to the recording fee; no fee is payable when there is no consideration or the total consideration is $500 or less (C.R.S. 39-13-102). |
| Gift from a parent to a child | A deed conveying title in consequence of a gift of the property is exempt from the documentary fee, and the exemption must be claimed when the deed is offered for recording. |
| Spouse or homestead | Colorado homestead law lets the owner convey property homesteaded only by operation of law with no signature other than the owner’s, but if the owner or the owner’s spouse has recorded a homestead instrument for the property, the signatures of both spouses are required to convey or encumber it (C.R.S. 38-41-202). |
| Source | Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services |
Signing, witnesses and the notary in Colorado
Colorado provides a statutory short-form quitclaim deed, a deed with the word quitclaim in place of convey and no warranty words, which passes no after-acquired title.
A Colorado deed may be acknowledged under 38-35-101 or 24-21-515, and a recorded instrument that is unacknowledged or defectively acknowledged still gives notice, so the statutes read do not make notarization a condition of recording.
Statutory form: C.R.S. 38-30-113(1)(d) sets out a short form quitclaim deed without covenants of warranty.
The text itself:
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38 (Property: Real and Personal): “is a quitclaim deed without covenants of warranty”
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38 (Property: Real and Personal): “may be acknowledged in accordance with section 38-35-101 or 24-21-515”
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38 (Property: Real and Personal): “whether acknowledged, unacknowledged, or defectively acknowledged”
If you want a ready-made form
Review LawDepot’s quitclaim deed form
LawDepot builds a quit claim deed from guided questions for your state. Compare the form with the signing, notary and recording rules on this page before you sign anything.
A deed moves title and can change a family’s tax and benefit position. If you need advice about your situation, ask a real estate attorney before choosing a document service.
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Review LawDepot’s quitclaim deedOpens on LawDepot. Follow the signing, notary and recording rules for your state.
How our partner relationships workRecording: where to file and what it costs
Recording office: County clerk and recorder. From July 1, 2025 the statutory recording fee for a document is forty dollars, replacing ten dollars for the first page plus five dollars per added page before that date, and the clerk also collects a one dollar surcharge and the electronic recording technology board surcharge on each document (C.R.S. 30-10-421).
The text itself:
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 30 (Government: County): “the fee is forty dollars for each document”
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38 (Property: Real and Personal): “may be recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder”
Transfer tax and a gift to a family member
Colorado’s documentary fee is one cent for each $100 of consideration, or major fraction of $100, paid by the person offering the deed for recording and in addition to the recording fee; no fee is payable when there is no consideration or the total consideration is $500 or less (C.R.S. 39-13-102).
Between family members: A deed conveying title in consequence of a gift of the property is exempt from the documentary fee, and the exemption must be claimed when the deed is offered for recording.
The text itself:
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 39 (Taxation): “computed at the rate of one cent for each one hundred dollars”
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 39 (Taxation): “title to real property in consequence of a gift of such property”
Other filings the documents mention
Any conveyance document presented for recordation must be accompanied by a property tax declaration prescribed by the property tax administrator, signed by grantor or grantee.
The text itself:
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 39 (Taxation): “conveyance document presented for recordation shall be accompanied by a declaration”
A worked example: a parent deeds the home to an adult child
An illustration, not a return: a parent bought a home for $100,000, and it is worth $300,000 when the parent deeds it to an adult child by quitclaim deed, with no payment. The child later sells it for $350,000. For a gift, federal law says the child’s basis is “the same as it would be in the hands of the donor”, so the basis stays $100,000 and the gain is $250,000 ($350,000 minus $100,000). Had the child received the same home at the parent’s death, when it was worth $300,000, the statute sets the basis at “fair market value of the property at the date of the decedent’s”, so the gain would be $50,000 ($350,000 minus $300,000). Federal gift tax filing rules are outside this page and outside the documents read.
Read the Colorado transfer-tax rule above for the state side of the same transfer. See CMG’s quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer page for the choice of deed.
What the documents do not say
- Whether Colorado requires witnesses on a deed: not found in the documents read, and that is not a statement that none are needed.
- Whether a spouse must join in the deed: only where the owner or the owner’s spouse has recorded a homestead instrument for the property, in which case both spouses must sign (C.R.S. 38-41-202); otherwise the owner’s signature alone is enough for property homesteaded only by operation of law.
- The only readable official copy is the 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes printout; the recording fee comes from its editor’s note on the July 2025 version.
- County or city transfer taxes and local recording surcharges were not read unless named above.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the Colorado transfer-tax exemption for family gifts also removes the federal basis consequence shown in the example.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that signing a deed ends the paperwork before recording.
Related: quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer, Colorado transfer on death deed, Colorado probate cost, and whether Colorado has an estate tax.
Sources
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 38 (Property: Real and Personal): https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-38.pdf
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 30 (Government: County): https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-30.pdf
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 39 (Taxation): https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-39.pdf
- 26 U.S.C. 1015, Basis of property acquired by gifts and transfers in trust (U.S. Code, GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title26/html/USCODE-2023-title26-subtitleA-chap1-subchapO-partII-sec1015.htm
- 26 U.S.C. 1014, Basis of property acquired from a decedent (U.S. Code, GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title26/html/USCODE-2023-title26-subtitleA-chap1-subchapO-partII-sec1014.htm
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 11, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.