Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in San Miguel County
Just Got Married
If you're combining a life together and want the property to reflect two names instead of one, a quitclaim deed is the standard tool.
Going Through a Divorce
If your divorce attorney mentioned "quieting the title," a quitclaim deed removing your ex's name is usually part of what they meant.
Inherited Property
Once the estate's debts and taxes are settled, updating the property title with a quitclaim deed is usually one of the final steps.
Gifting to Family
Some families gift property directly to skip a generation — grandparent to grandchild — and a quitclaim deed is the usual way that's done.
About the San Miguel County Clerk and Recorder
San Miguel County takes its name from the San Miguel River, which flows out of the San Juan Mountains near Telluride. Telluride, the county seat, began as a mining camp in the 1870s (originally called Columbia) and by 1900 the county ranked third in Colorado for gold production and fifth for silver, with the 1890 arrival of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad helping the town's population swell to roughly 5,000. After the 1893 silver market collapse and a long mid-century decline, the opening of the Telluride ski area in 1972 shifted the local economy toward tourism, and the county today spans everything from the resort communities of Telluride and Mountain Village to ranching towns like Norwood on its western end.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within San Miguel County, this is the San Miguel County Clerk and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Telluride (county seat), Mountain Village, Norwood, Ophir, Sawpit.
Unincorporated communities: Placerville, Ilium.
Office Details
Address: 305 W Colorado Avenue, 1st Floor, Telluride, CO 81435 (physical); P.O. Box 548, Telluride, CO 81435-0548 (mailing)
Phone: 970-728-3954
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM (closed Friday)
Recording Fee: Colorado sets recording fees by state statute: a flat per-document fee applies regardless of page count, plus a small state documentary fee calculated as a percentage of the sale price on real property transfers where the consideration exceeds a statutory threshold; certain document types are exempt from the documentary fee.
E-recording: Yes -- San Miguel County accepts e-recording through four vendors: CSC (Corporation Service Company), eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Indecomm, and Simplifile.
Good to know before you go: The office encourages submitting documents by mail, drop box, or e-recording rather than in person when possible, and asks that any newly created legal description in a filing include the name and address of whoever prepared it.
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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel 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 San Miguel 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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