Working with a Colorado broker
Your broker should select and complete the current Commission-approved contract and any addenda appropriate to the property—often the residential Contract to Buy and Sell (CBS1).
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Colorado publishes its Commission-approved residential purchase contract and seller disclosure free. If a broker is involved, the broker must choose the current Commission form appropriate for the transaction. Choose your situation:
Your broker should select and complete the current Commission-approved contract and any addenda appropriate to the property—often the residential Contract to Buy and Sell (CBS1).
Browse official Colorado formsReview the official public CBS1 and Seller’s Property Disclosure, complete required statutory disclosures, and consider Colorado attorney review before anyone signs.
See the FSBO contract optionsThe CREC Seller’s Property Disclosure is commonly required by the signed Contract to Buy and Sell, but Colorado does not treat that one form as a universal standalone condition report with a free-floating cancellation period. Separate requirements may apply to radon, water, methamphetamine, taxing and metropolitan districts, common-interest communities, oil and gas, and pre-1978 lead.
Read Colorado disclosure rulesPublicLegal links official Colorado DRE/CREC forms. We do not sell a Contract to Buy and Sell or Seller’s Property Disclosure lookalike.
Colorado law and forms checked August 2026 · Sources include the Colorado Division of Real Estate Commission-approved forms (CBS1 and SPD mandatory-use dates Jan. 1, 2026), 4 CCR 725-1 Rule 7.1, and C.R.S. art. 38-35.7
PublicLegal provides independent self-help guidance and links to official Colorado sources. We do not sell or reproduce CREC purchase contracts as a PublicLegal product.
An accepted purchase contract is binding subject to its actual terms. Colorado has no general cancel-for-any-reason period; termination rights depend on the signed contract or a specific law, and notices must be timely.
Editorial summary based on the Colorado Division of Real Estate Commission-approved contracts and forms library, 4 CCR 725-1 Chapter 7 (use of standard forms), C.R.S. article 38-35.7 residential conveyance disclosures (including special taxing districts, methamphetamine, water source, radon, common-interest community warnings, and metropolitan-district materials), Colorado common-law latent-defect principles, and EPA lead materials. Confirm the current form version on the DRE website before use. Metropolitan-district disclosure rules were expanded in 2025; re-check C.R.S. §38-35.7-110 for the property address.
The purchase contract creates the parties’ contractual obligations. Seller disclosures and statutory warnings are separate documents or contract terms. The deed transfers title later at closing. Do not treat a deed form as a substitute for the purchase contract.
Colorado’s Real Estate Commission approves standard contracts and forms. Brokers must use the current Commission-approved form when one is appropriate. Non-broker parties may use the public forms or attorney-drafted agreements. Special property types and foreclosure situations may require different Commission forms.
Colorado residential transactions commonly close through a title company. That provider coordinates title, funds, and recording logistics. It is not automatically your personal lawyer for negotiating contract rights or disclosure disputes.
Colorado real-estate brokers generally must use a Commission-approved form when one exists and is appropriate for the transaction (4 CCR 725-1 Rule 7.1). The Colorado Division of Real Estate publishes the current library for free. For many ordinary homes, that form is the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), often called CBS1. Income-residential, land, commercial, foreclosure-protection, and manufactured-home transactions use different Commission forms.
PublicLegal does not host, sell, or reproduce CREC contracts. Ask which form and revision is being used and confirm the mandatory-use date on the form. The broker must advise that Standard Forms have important legal consequences and that the parties should consult legal counsel before signing.
When the residential CBS is used, the contract commonly sets a Seller’s Property Disclosure Deadline and requires the current CREC Seller’s Property Disclosure completed to the seller’s actual knowledge. Calendar every financing, appraisal, inspection, title, association-document, and disclosure deadline from the completed contract—not from a generic national checklist.
The Commission marks its residential Contract to Buy and Sell for public use, and the Division of Real Estate posts fillable PDFs. That does not mean CBS1 is required for every unrepresented deal, or that downloading it replaces legal advice. The form contains strict deadlines, earnest-money rules, inspection and objection procedures, and default provisions.
The safer FSBO path is a Colorado real-estate attorney who prepares or reviews the agreement before anyone signs—especially for seller financing, trusts, estates, entities, boundary issues, water or mineral rights, post-closing occupancy, or custom terms. If you use the official CBS1, also obtain the current Seller’s Property Disclosure and complete separate statutory warnings that apply to the property.
Select a title company early for earnest money, title commitment, lender coordination, signing, and recording. That provider is not automatically your personal lawyer. PublicLegal does not sell a Colorado purchase-contract substitute on this page.
Colorado does not require every ordinary residential seller to complete the CREC Seller’s Property Disclosure solely because a freestanding statewide statute says to use that form. When the parties use the residential Contract to Buy and Sell and make the Seller’s Property Disclosure Deadline applicable, the contract requires the seller to deliver the current CREC Seller’s Property Disclosure completed to the seller’s actual knowledge and current as of that deadline. Blank or inapplicable deadlines in the CBS can delete corresponding provisions—read the completed form carefully.
That does not eliminate other duties. Colorado sellers must disclose known latent physical defects under common-law principles even when a category is not listed on the SPD. When the CBS is used, the contract also requires disclosure of adverse material facts actually known by the seller and updates if the seller later learns of additional adverse material facts. The SPD is not a warranty and is not a substitute for independent inspections.
Separate statutes require particular warnings or information in residential contracts or concurrent writings. Every residential purchase contract must include the special-taxing-district disclosure (C.R.S. §38-35.7-101). Residential contracts must also include the statutory radon warning and convey known radon testing, reports, and mitigation information, together with the current Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment radon brochure (C.R.S. §38-35.7-112). Potable-water source disclosures and available well-permit information are required under §38-35.7-104. Buyers have a statutory right to test for methamphetamine laboratory history, and sellers who know of unremediated meth production must disclose under §38-35.7-103.
If the property is in a metropolitan district organized on or after January 1, 2000, current §38-35.7-110 can require a substantial district disclosure packet before or concurrently with the contract—including district documents, debt and mill-levy information, fees, an estimated dollar amount of district taxes, and a current tax certificate or statement. The SPD’s district-name fields do not by themselves supply that complete packet. Common-interest community sales also carry a statutory contract warning and document-request duties under §38-35.7-102; the signed CBS often adds seller delivery and buyer review/termination rights for association documents.
Other property-specific items can include oil-and-gas or mineral disclosures, transportation-project information in Commission-regulated SPDs, square-footage disclosures, source-of-water addenda, HOA/association materials, and federal lead-based paint disclosures for most pre-1978 housing. Local rules may add more requirements for the property address.
Key points to keep straight:
When in doubt about what must be disclosed for your facts, ask Colorado counsel. Use the current official forms and the actual signed deadlines.
We do not sell a Colorado purchase-contract substitute. The official CREC forms are free from the Division of Real Estate. When you need a related PublicLegal product, these are optional and stage-specific.
Use this as a practical sequence—not a substitute for advice on your facts.
Depending on the property and transaction, parties may also need to address:
Local practices differ across Colorado markets. Use professionals and primary sources for your address—not a generic national packet.
Colorado residential purchases commonly close through a title company that issues the title commitment, holds earnest money or closing funds as agreed, coordinates lender requirements, and completes recording. That provider is not automatically your personal lawyer for negotiating contract rights or disclosure disputes.
A Colorado real-estate attorney can prepare or review the contract, advise on title objections, association documents, metropolitan-district packets, estate or entity authority, water or mineral issues, and custom terms. Consider counsel early in FSBO deals and whenever deadlines or documents are unclear—even though CBS1 is free to download.
The purchase contract creates the sale obligations. The deed conveys title at closing. PublicLegal’s Colorado deed resources can help when you need conveyance forms, but a deed is not a substitute for the purchase agreement or for closing professionals.
Independently verify wire instructions. Real-estate wire fraud is common.
That keeps this page honest: orientation and official-source links, not a substitute for DRE forms or Colorado legal advice.
Yes. The Colorado Real Estate Commission approves the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), often called CBS1, and the Division of Real Estate publishes it for free. PublicLegal links the official forms and does not sell a CREC lookalike.
Colorado brokers generally must use a Commission-approved form when one exists and is appropriate. That rule governs brokers, not every unrepresented party. Special property types and some principal-required contracts may use different forms. FSBO parties may use the public CBS1 or an attorney-drafted agreement.
Not as a freestanding universal form mandate for every transfer. When the residential CBS is used and the Seller’s Property Disclosure Deadline applies, the contract requires the current CREC SPD. Sellers can still have common-law duties to disclose known latent physical defects, and other statutes require separate warnings or packets.
No. There is no free-floating cancel-for-any-reason period for ordinary residential purchases. Termination usually depends on the signed contract’s contingencies or on a specific statute, such as certain meth-testing or foreclosure-protection rights.
Current Colorado law can require a substantial metropolitan-district disclosure packet before or concurrently with the contract for residential property in districts organized on or after January 1, 2000. Confirm C.R.S. §38-35.7-110 for the address. The SPD alone may not supply the full packet.
No. The purchase agreement is the contract to buy and sell. Title typically transfers later by deed at closing. A deed form is not a substitute for the purchase agreement.
Yes—having a Colorado real-estate attorney prepare or review the written agreement before signature is the safer unrepresented path. Official public forms still create binding obligations. This page is orientation, not representation.
From the Colorado Division of Real Estate Commission-approved contracts and forms library. Always confirm the current PDF and mandatory-use date before relying on a downloaded copy.
PublicLegal provides self-help forms and information. This is not legal advice. Real estate purchase and disclosure rules vary by state and transaction. Confirm requirements for your property with a qualified professional when needed.