Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Bent County
Just Got Married
Married couples often file here for one simple reason: getting a new spouse's name onto a title that was only in one person's name before.
Going Through a Divorce
A finalized divorce often leaves one more step: updating the deed so it reflects only the spouse who's keeping the property.
Inherited Property
Settling a family member's estate often ends with the same step: a quitclaim deed to move the property title into the heir's name.
Gifting to Family
Adding a child or grandchild to an existing title is a common, no-sale use of a quitclaim deed.
About the Bent County Clerk and Recorder
Bent County takes its name from William Bent, the frontier trader who built the adobe Bent's Fort along the Arkansas River in 1833, making it a key trading hub on the Santa Fe Trail connecting Missouri and Mexico. The county itself was formed in 1870, and Las Animas was platted in 1873, becoming the business center and county seat by 1875. The Arkansas River and the John Martin Reservoir, completed in 1948, have long supported the county's irrigated farming and ranching economy.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Bent County, this is the Bent County Clerk and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated city: Las Animas (county seat, and the only incorporated municipality in the county).
Unincorporated communities: Hasty, McClave, Caddoa (largely abandoned).
Las Animas is Bent County's only incorporated town; a dozen other early townsites in the county have since disappeared.
Office Details
Address: 725 Bent Ave, Las Animas, CO 81054
Phone: 719-456-2009
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Recording Fee: a flat, statewide per-document recording fee set by state statute (which includes a small technology/records-modernization surcharge), plus a separate documentary fee calculated as a small percentage of the property's sale price on deeds transferring real estate for value
E-recording: Yes — Bent County is a live jurisdiction for Simplifile e-recording; records can also be searched online through icounty.org.
Good to know before you go: County offices commonly close for a midday lunch break, so calling ahead before a walk-in visit for recording is worthwhile since Bent County's mailing address (PO Box 350) differs from its physical courthouse address.
How to File a Document
- Sign in Front of a Notary: Colorado requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public before the Bent County Clerk and Recorder will accept a deed for recording. No witnesses are required beyond the notary, and the grantee doesn't need to sign at all -- just the person giving up their interest in the property.
- Attach a Full Legal Description, Not Just an Address: A street address alone won't satisfy Colorado's requirements -- the deed needs the property's actual legal description (a metes-and-bounds description, a government survey reference, or a platted lot and block, depending on how the parcel was originally surveyed). You can usually copy this directly from the deed that transferred the property to you.
- Complete a Real Property Transfer Declaration (TD-1000): Colorado requires a separate Real Property Transfer Declaration (TD-1000) to accompany most deeds when they're filed, signed by the buyer or seller. It's a distinct form with its own signature, not a box you check on the deed -- the Bent County Clerk and Recorder can provide the current version and confirm whether your situation qualifies for an exemption.
- Consider Online Notarization if an In-Person Visit Is Hard: Colorado has permitted remote online notarization since Senate Bill 20-096 took effect on December 31, 2020 (C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5) -- so if getting to a notary's office in person is inconvenient, a signer may be able to complete the acknowledgment over live video with a Colorado-commissioned online notary instead.
- Record with the County Clerk and Recorder: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed, notarized deed and its Transfer Declaration with the Bent County Clerk and Recorder for the county where the property sits. Colorado's recording fee is set by state statute -- a flat rate per document -- and on top of that, Colorado charges a documentary fee calculated as a small percentage of the sale price, separate from the flat recording fee.
Still Have Questions About Filing With the Bent County Clerk and Recorder?
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Other Counties in Colorado
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
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