The Denver Clerk and Recorder's online index holds more than 11 million recorded documents, going back to 18591. Every deed on a Denver home passes through that office before anyone can look it up. With the city's property search, it makes up most of what people mean by Denver property records.
This guide follows one deed from the counter to your screen, then shows how to search and watch your own records for free. For the basics of deed theft itself, see our plain-English deed theft guide.
- Deed
- The signed document that transfers a home to a new owner.
- Title
- Your legal ownership of the home, shown by the deeds on record.
- Grantor and grantee
- The grantor signs the property away. The grantee receives it. Denver's index lists both.
- Reception number
- The number the Clerk and Recorder gives each document it records. It is the fastest way to pull one up.
- Quitclaim deed
- A deed that hands over whatever share of the property the signer has, with no promise that the title is clean.
What happens to a deed at the Denver Clerk and Recorder?
Staff check the paperwork, take the fee, give the deed a reception number and make it public for good. Here is that trip, with the points where fraud has gotten in.
- Before filingThe owner signs the deed in front of a notary, an official who checks the signer's ID. Clerk staff can't help fill out forms or give legal advice2. Fraud point: in the Bonnie Brae case below, the owner's and the notary's signatures were both forged3.
- Filing dayDeeds come in three ways: eRecording, mail, or a booked appointment at 200 West 14th Avenue. The office says eRecording "takes minutes," while paper sent by mail "can take a week to 10 days"2. Fraud point: in 2014, security video showed a man filing a forged deed at the clerk's office4.
- At the counterStaff check the form, including a 1-inch top margin and half-inch side margins. By state law, a deed without the new owner's address goes back unrecorded2,5. The fee is $43 per document, and a sale of $500 or more adds a documentary fee of 10 cents per $1,000 of the price2.
- RecordedThe deed gets its reception number and is scanned. It is now "a permanent public record," and the office says it "cannot reverse the recording"2. State law lets a clerk refuse a document it believes in good faith may be fake5.
- After recordingThe deed shows up in the online index. On October 25, 2026, the search page said its records were verified through October 221. Paper originals are mailed back after recording6.
- LaterThe Clerk passes the sale details to the Assessor, with the deed's reception number written on the state's transfer form7. The Assessor then updates the owner on the city's property search. Colorado's clerks say that if you see no change after 6 weeks, ask the Assessor what date it is updating6.
- Any timeIf you have set up FraudSleuth, the county's free alert emails you when a new document matches your saved name8.
Where can fraud slip into Denver property records?
At the signing, at the counter, and in the months after a deed is recorded, if no one is watching. Denver's own cases show each one.
| Stage | What gets checked | What has gone wrong in Denver |
|---|---|---|
| Signing | A notary confirms who is signing | Bonnie Brae: the owner's and the notary's signatures were both forged |
| Filing | Margins, the new owner's address and the $43 fee | Highland: a man filed a forged deed in person, on camera |
| Recording | The clerk may refuse a deed it believes is fake | Both forged deeds were recorded, and the office can't reverse a recording |
| Months after | Only what you or an alert catch | Bonnie Brae: the house was sold before an investor flagged the $10 deed |
Sources: Denver Clerk and Recorder2, Colorado law5, 9News3,4,9.
How do you search Denver property records for free?
Use the Clerk and Recorder's index to find deeds by name, and the city's property search to see the owner on file. Neither one needs an account for a basic search.
Search the Clerk and Recorder's index
- Go to denvergov.org/searchrecords. It opens the Clerk and Recorder's records portal11.
- Click "Search Records as Guest." Then click "Accept" on the disclaimer page.
- Type the owner's name, last name first. Leave out punctuation, then click "Search."
- Click a reception number to open that document.
- Order a certified copy with the "Certified Copy" button if you need an official one. It costs $1 per document plus 25 cents a page12.
- Email recording@denvergov.org with the reception number if a document shows no image12.
Older deeds sit in separate index books. The search types include grantor and grantee indexes for 1859 to 1953 and for 1954 to 19861. For the names of owners before 1987, the Assessor's office sends people to the Denver Public Library14.
Check the owner on file
The city's property search finds a home by address, parcel ID or schedule number, the city's ID number for a lot. The city says its data is "updated daily"13. A record shows the owner's name and mailing address, plus values and taxes14.
Look at two lines on your own record: the owner name and the mailing address. If either one is wrong, call 311 and ask for the Assessor's office14.
How do you set up a FraudSleuth alert?
Create a user account on the Clerk and Recorder's records site, then add a FraudSleuth profile for each version of your name. The county's FraudSleuth page says a guest visit can't set one up8. Denver launched the alert in 2021, 9News reported9.
- Open the records portal and click "Create New User Account."
- Log in and click "Preferences." Find the section called "FraudSleuth Preferences."
- Click "Configure FraudSleuth Profile," then "Add Profile."
- Add a profile for every way your name is written: first and last, with your middle name, and with your middle initial.
- Leave each profile active. Emails keep coming until you cancel them8.
What FraudSleuth leaves out:
- Past filings. Only new documents set off an email.
- Other counties. It watches Denver recordings only.
- Other spellings. It matches the name you saved "exactly."
- Texts and calls. Alerts come by email.
- Fixing anything. For suspected fraud, the county tells you to contact the Denver Police Department8.
Other counties run their own versions. Our state-by-state map of free county alerts lists them.
What does Colorado law say about a forged deed?
Forging a deed is a felony in Colorado, and the owner can sue the filer and ask a judge to cancel the deed. These are the laws that matter most for a Denver home5,15.
| Law | What it says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Recording, C.R.S. 38-35-109(1) | Colorado is a race-notice state | A deed you never record can lose to someone who records first without knowing about yours |
| Damages, C.R.S. 38-35-109(3) | Anyone who files a document they know, or should know, is forged owes the owner $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees | You can sue the filer, and anyone who refuses to release the document when you ask |
| Show-cause petition, C.R.S. 38-35-204 | A judge can order the filer to come to court and show why the document should not be declared invalid, 14 to 21 days after the order is served | The court makes the losing side pay the winner's costs and attorney fees, so get a lawyer's view first |
| Forgery, C.R.S. 18-5-102 | Forging a deed is a class 5 felony | Report it to the police |
| False filing, C.R.S. 18-5-114 | Filing a document you know is false is a class 5 felony when done to defraud, or a class 2 misdemeanor | The person who files it can be charged, not just the forger |
The show-cause petition goes to the district court where the deed was recorded, which for a Denver home is Denver District Court. If the filer doesn't show up, the order must say the document "will be declared invalid and released"5. Our guides on the first steps after a fraudulent deed and on quiet title actions cover the other paths.
The newest recording law is about fees: HB24-1269 swapped per-page fees for a flat fee per document on July 1, 202516.
How did two forged deeds get through in Denver?
In both cases, forged deeds were filed at the clerk's office and recorded, and no owner was living in the house.
Deputy chief prosecutor Bob Nitido told 9News the owner had not kept up with the property or its records. That, he said, let the title go through "kind of free and clean"9.
Which Denver offices can help, and how do you reach them?
If you think a forged deed was filed, the Clerk and Recorder says to contact the Denver Police Department8. Then get a copy of the document by its reception number, and talk to a real estate lawyer.
| Who | For | How to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Police Department | Reporting a forged deed | (720) 913-2000 (non-emergency), or 911 in an emergency |
| Denver District Attorney | Consumer fraud | Fraud hotline (720) 913-9179 |
| Denver Clerk and Recorder | Copies, missing images, FraudSleuth | 311, or 720-913-1311 from outside Denver; recording@denvergov.org |
| Denver Public Trustee | Releases of home loans and foreclosures | 720-865-2633; foreclosures@denvergov.org |
| Colorado Legal Services | Free civil legal help; you may qualify by income or by being 60 or older | 303-837-1313 |
| Colorado Attorney General | Reporting fraud statewide | 1-800-222-4444; stopfraudcolorado.gov |
Sources: Denver District Attorney18, Denver Clerk and Recorder12,17, Colorado Legal Services19, Colorado Department of Law20.
Phone numbers, fees and links on this page were checked on the offices' own websites on October 25, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How can I find deed records in Denver?
How much does it cost to record a deed in Colorado?
How can I search for a property in Denver County by name?
Is property fraud alert a free service?
Denver's own alert, FraudSleuth, is free. The county's page says, "There are no fees to use FraudSleuth." It emails you when a new Denver document matches the name you saved8.
How common is home title theft in Colorado?
We found no official count for Colorado or Denver. Nationwide, the FBI counted at least 12,368 victims of real estate fraud in 2025, a category that also includes rental and timeshare scams21. Both Denver cases above involved houses where no owner was living.
What should you do if you suspect deed fraud?
Look up your Denver deed today
It is free and takes a few minutes. Search your name in the Clerk and Recorder's index, check the owner line on the property search, and set up FraudSleuth while you are there.
Search Denver recordsHow the notice on title worksSources
- Denver Clerk & Recorder Online Services (login page and guest search), Denver Clerk and Recorder, checked October 25, 2026
- Record Documents, Denver Clerk and Recorder, checked October 25, 2026
- 2 women accused of stealing home, forging deed and reselling it for nearly $400,000, Jeremy Jojola, 9News (KUSA), January 8, 2025
- Squatters avoid jail and felony convictions, 9News (KUSA), 2015
- Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38 (sections 38-35-109 and 38-35-201 to 204), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, 2024 edition
- Recording FAQs, Colorado County Clerks Association, checked October 25, 2026
- Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 39 (section 39-14-102), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, 2024 edition
- Sign up for FraudSleuth!, Denver Clerk and Recorder, checked October 25, 2026
- 2 women head to prison for forging deed, selling $600,000 house, Jeremy Jojola, 9News (KUSA), September 22, 2025
- Real Estate Title Fraud, Colorado Division of Real Estate, checked October 25, 2026
- Accessing Public Records: Step-by-Step Instructions, Denver Clerk and Recorder, 2025
- Search for Records, Denver Clerk and Recorder, checked October 25, 2026
- Property Search, City and County of Denver, checked October 25, 2026
- Assessor's Office, City and County of Denver, checked October 25, 2026
- Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 18 (sections 18-5-102 and 18-5-114), Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, 2024 edition
- HB24-1269, Modification of Recording Fees, Colorado General Assembly, approved June 4, 2024, effective July 1, 2025
- Public Trustee and Foreclosures, Denver Clerk and Recorder, checked October 25, 2026
- Contact, Denver District Attorney's Office, checked October 25, 2026
- Colorado Legal Services, home page and "Who Qualifies for Help?", checked October 25, 2026
- Stop Fraud Colorado, Colorado Department of Law, checked October 25, 2026
- Online Real Estate Fraud Climbed to $275M in 2025, FBI Says, National Association of Realtors, April 13, 2026