Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Lake County
Just Got Married
Adding a spouse's name doesn't need to wait for a refinance — a quitclaim deed can update the title on its own timeline.
Going Through a Divorce
Divorce settlements can take a while to reach; updating the title afterward with a quitclaim deed usually doesn't.
Inherited Property
Once probate names the rightful heir, filing a quitclaim deed is usually the quickest way to update the property's title.
Gifting to Family
A relative taking over full ownership of a property as a gift, with the giver stepping off the title, is a common quitclaim deed filing.
About the Lake County Clerk and Recorder
Lake County is home to Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the United States at just over two miles above sea level, and to Mount Elbert, the tallest peak in the Rocky Mountains. Gold prospectors arrived in the nearby California Gulch in 1859, but it was an 1877-78 silver boom that built Leadville into Colorado's second-largest city of the era, launching fortunes for figures like Horace Tabor and the Guggenheim family. Mining remained central to the local economy for over a century, most notably at the Climax molybdenum mine, which for decades supplied a large share of the world's molybdenum.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Lake County, this is the Lake County Clerk and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated city: Leadville (county seat, only incorporated municipality).
Unincorporated communities: Twin Lakes, Leadville North.
Leadville is the sole incorporated town in Lake County; nearby communities like Twin Lakes and Leadville North are unincorporated.
Office Details
Address: 505 Harrison Avenue, Leadville, CO 80461
Phone: (719) 486-1410
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (closed for lunch)
Recording Fee: Under Colorado statute, the recorder's office charges a flat, per-document fee (not tied to page count) for recording, and real estate transfers also carry a separate state documentary fee figured as a small percentage of the sale price.
E-recording: Lake County accepts e-recording through Simplifile and eRecording Partners Network (ePN).
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 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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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