Colorado § 38-50-101 - Survey plat - records file and index system - informational purpose.

§ 38-50-101. Survey plat - records file and index system - informational purpose.

(1) Survey plats required pursuant to section 38-51-107 and this section shall:

(a) Comply with section 38-51-106;

(b) Depending on the location of the land, contain the following information in the title block:

(I) For parcels of land located within the United States rectangular survey system, the section, township, range, and principal meridian; or

(II) For grants and unsurveyed parcels of land, information relating to the system of indexing the county assessor already has in place;

(c) Within twelve months after the date the monument is accepted in the field by a professional land surveyor performing a monumented land survey or is set by a professional land surveyor, be deposited with the public office designated by the county commissioners.

(2) (a) (I) The county commissioners of each county shall designate the county surveyor to create and maintain a survey plat records file and index system for plats.

(II) If a county surveyor has not been elected or appointed or if the office is vacant, another county official shall be designated to create and maintain such file and index system.

(III) If the county surveyor is unable to index in a timely manner, the county surveyor may designate another county official to do such indexing.

(b) (I) Each plat deposited with the county shall be given a reception number or a book and page number, or both, which shall be set forth on the plat.

(II) (A) Surveyed lands located within the United States rectangular survey system shall be indexed by section, township, range, and principal meridian.

(B) Grant lands and unsurveyed lands shall be indexed by the system of indexing the county assessor already has in place.

(III) Survey plats submitted for depositing shall be indexed in a timely manner, but not more than ten working days after the date the survey plat is deposited.

(2.5) Each plat submitted to a county clerk and recorder must be submitted in either an original or electronic format and:

(a) Must:

(I) Be submitted for recording;

(II) Have original signatures;

(III) Have all of the original seals;

(IV) Have at least ten-point type; and

(V) Not have any illegible images; and

(b) If submitted in an original format, must be printed on paper or a dimensionally stable polyester sheet such as cronar or mylar or any other product of equal quality that:

(I) Is white and without water marks;

(II) Is heavy bonded paper;

(III) Has no staples or other binding; and

(IV) Has no impression seals; or

(c) If submitted in an electronic format, must have a minimum resolution of three hundred dots per inch.

(3) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2020.)

(b) The dimensions of each plat, submitted in an original or electronic format, as specified by county requirements, shall be at least eighteen inches wide by twenty-four inches long and no more than twenty-four inches wide by thirty-six inches long with a minimum two-inch margin on the left side and a minimum of one-half inch margins at the top, bottom, and right side of the plat.

(c) Subject to approval by the board of county commissioners, a county may make aperture cards or film-processed copies capable of legible reproduction from each plat as specified in subsection (2.5)(b) of this section for the purpose of recording.

(4) (a) The fee for depositing plats shall not exceed the amount of the fee collected for the recording of subdivision plats established in section 30-1-103 (1).

(b) The fee for the county surveyor or, if a county surveyor has not been elected or appointed or if the office is vacant, another county official to index and maintain the plats as designated by the county commissioners shall not exceed the amount of the fee collected for the recording of subdivision plats established in section 30-1-103 (1).

(c) The fees provided for by this subsection (4) shall be collected by the public office at which plats are deposited.

(5) (a) Plats shall be deposited in accordance with this section for the sole purpose of recording information on surveying monumentation in order to provide survey data for subsequent land surveys and shall not be construed to affect, in any manner whatsoever, the description of a subdivision, line, or corner contained in the official plats and field notes filed and of record or to subdivide property.

(b) No plat deposited in accordance with this section shall constitute notice pursuant to section 38-35-109.

(c) Subdivision plats which create parcels of land of thirty-five acres or more shall be filed in the county clerk and recorder's office for the county in which the property is located pursuant to section 38-35-109.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county surveyor or any other local government official that maintains a survey plat records file and index system for plats may establish a program to accept plats for recording and filing, with appropriate permanency protocols, by any electronic means it deems appropriate.

(7) If an electronic filing system is established in accordance with subsection (6) of this section or section 31-23-108, then the board of county commissioners may provide additional funding and space suitable for a county surveyor or any other appropriate local government official to store original mylar, paper, or polyester sheets of subdivision plats and land survey plats.

(8) If the county clerk and recorder is designated as the appropriate local government official to store original mylar, paper, or polyester sheets of subdivision plats and land survey plats under subsection (7) of this section, those plats may be recorded by the county clerk and recorder instead of deposited.

Source: L. 94: Entire article R&RE, p. 1510, § 46, effective July 1. L. 97: (1)(c) amended, p. 1629, § 6, effective July 1. L. 2008: (6) added, p. 56, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2017: (7) added, (SB 17-129), ch. 213, p. 832, § 2, effective August 9. L. 2020: (2.5) and (8) added and (3) amended, (HB 20-1318), ch. 239, p. 1157, § 2, effective September 14. L. 2024: (4)(a) and (4)(b) amended, (HB 24-1269), ch. 394, p. 2717, § 5, effective July 1, 2025.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 38-51-107, as it existed prior to 1994.

Cross references: For provisions regarding engineers and surveyors, see article 120 of title 12.