Colorado § 30-1-103 - Fees of county clerk and recorders - report - repeal.

§ 30-1-103. Fees of county clerk and recorders - report - repeal.

(1) Fees collected by county clerk and recorders are as follows: For filing or recording each document for which a fee is not specifically provided, except tax schedules and claims against the county, for which no fee is allowed, in cities and counties and in counties of every class, the fee is forty dollars for each document; except that no fee is allowed for filing or recording a certificate of death, a verification of death document, or a certified copy thereof.

(1.5) Oaths or affirmations for public office filed with county clerk and recorders in accordance with section 24-12-101 (3) are exempt from any fees under this section.

(2) In cities and counties and in every county, the following fees apply:

(a) For taking and certifying each affidavit, two dollars;

(b) For each certificate and seal, one dollar;

(c) Repealed.

(d) For certificate of magistracy under seal, two dollars;

(e) For taking acknowledgments, two dollars;

(f) to (i) Repealed.

(j) For copies of records, a fee in an amount determined pursuant to section 24-72-205 (5), C.R.S.;

(k) to (m) Repealed.

(3) (a) County governments shall be exempt from all fees authorized to be collected under the provisions of this section whenever the county or any agency thereof is the grantor or grantee of the document being recorded or whenever a delegate child support enforcement unit files or records documents for the purpose of collecting child support, child support arrears, maintenance, maintenance when combined with child support, retroactive support, or child support debt.

(b) Surcharges are not applicable by the clerk and recorder if the document is exempted from recording or filing fees.

(4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2010, (HB 10-1007), ch. 71, p. 243, § 1, effective April 5, 2010.)

(5) The fee described in subsection (1) of this section will be collected on any filing received by the county clerk and recorder as an authorized agent of the executive director of the department of revenue pursuant to section 38-29-128 or 42-6-121.

(6) This section is repealed, effective December 31, 2029.

Source: L. 1891: p. 212, § 7. L. 07: p. 404, § 1. R.S. 08: § 2538. C.L. § 7888. L. 21: p. 321, § 2. CSA: C. 66, § 26. L. 51: p. 382, § 1. CRS 53: § 56-4-3. L. 57: p. 376, § 1. L. 58: p. 239, § 1. L. 63: p. 928, § 2. C.R.S. 1963: § 56-4-3. L. 65: p. 624, § 1. L. 73: pp. 631, 633, §§ 2, 7. L. 77: (2)(k) repealed, p. 1427, § 1, effective May 26; (3) added, p. 1428, § 1, effective May 26. L. 81: (1), (2)(c), (2)(g), (2)(h), (2)(l), and (2)(m) amended, p. 383, § 3, effective May 21. L. 83: (2)(a) and (2)(e) amended and (2)(i) and (2)(l) repealed, pp. 1226, 1231, §§ 4, 22, effective July 1. L. 88: (2)(m) amended, p. 1107, § 1, effective January 1, 1989. L. 89: (1) amended, p. 1271, § 1, effective July 1. L. 91: (2)(b) to (2)(d), (2)(g), (2)(h), and (2)(m) amended, p. 708, § 4, effective July 1. L. 92: (2)(m.1) added, p. 1106, § 8, effective July 1. L. 96: (1), (2)(m), and (3) amended and (4) added, p. 1555, § 2, effective July 1. L. 97: (3) amended, p. 565, § 19, effective July 1. L. 2007: (2)(j) amended, p. 579, § 2, effective August 3. L. 2010: (1) and (4) amended and (5) added, (HB 10-1007), ch. 71, p. 243, § 1, effective April 5. L. 2024: (1), IP(2), and (5) amended and (6) added, (HB 24-1269), ch. 394, p. 2716, § 1, effective July 1, 2025; (2)(c)(II), (2)(f)(II), (2)(g)(II), (2)(h)(II), and (2)(m)(II) added by revision, (HB 24-1269), ch. 394, pp. 2716, 2720, §§ 1, 13. L. 2026: (1.5) added, (HB 26-1113), ch. 267, p. 1518, § 71, effective June 1; (3) amended, (SB 26-144), ch. 135, p. 601, § 3, effective June 1.

Editor's note: (1) Subsections (2)(c)(II), (2)(f)(II), (2)(g)(II), (2)(h)(II), and (2)(m)(II) provided for the repeal of subsections (2)(c), (2)(f), (2)(g), (2)(h), and (2)(m), respectively, effective July 1, 2025. (See L. 2024, pp. 2716, 2720.)

(2) Section 55(1) of chapter 135 (SB 26-144), Session Laws of Colorado 2026, provides that the act changing this section applies to any fee imposed, assessed, or collected by a county treasurer on or after June 1, 2026.

ANNOTATION

The county clerk's compensation for official acts is regulated by this section, and he is only entitled to charge for those services to which compensation by law attaches, for the rule is inflexible, that an official can only demand such fees or compensation as the law has fixed and authorized for the performance of his official duties. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Leonard, 26 Colo. 145, 57 P. 693 (1899).

Duties separately defined. By this section the charges for recording instruments, making abstracts of title, making copies of records, making tax lists, serving as clerk of the board of county commissioners, and for the performance of other services required of the clerk, are separately defined. Henderson v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 4 Colo. App. 301, 35 P. 880 (1894).

Per diem is unconscionable salary. The sum allowed by law per diem to the county clerk for his services as clerk of the board of commissioners is a fee within the meaning of the salary act, and it is payable to him absolutely, and the board is without authority to annex to its payment any condition whatever. Henderson v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 4 Colo. App. 301, 35 P. 880 (1894).

For required clerical duties. A county clerk, in his capacity as clerk of the board of county commissioners, is required to perform all services clerical in their nature, in connection with matters within the scope of the authority of the board, which are necessary to enable it to perform its duties with respect to such matters, and he is not entitled to fees for such services outside of his compensation as clerk of the board. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Leonard, 26 Colo. 145, 57 P. 693 (1899).

No compensation for services as to matters outside board's authority. A county clerk as clerk of the board of county commissioners is not entitled to compensation for services in relation to matters over which the board attempted to exercise a control, but which were not within the legitimate scope of its authority. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Leonard, 26 Colo. 145, 57 P. 693 (1899).

No fee is provided for the clerk for signing or attesting county warrants. Such work falls within that class of services for which, under the act of 1885, reasonable compensation was allowed by the board of commissioners. Leonard v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 8 Colo. App. 338, 46 P. 216 (1896).