The One Field That Trips People Up
Most of a Colorado quitclaim deed is easy to fill in — names, addresses, the county. The legal description is the exception. It isn't your mailing address; it's the formal, surveyed description your county clerk and recorder uses to pin down the parcel in its own files. In Colorado that usually means a Public Land Survey System reference — township, range, and section — for land outside a town, or a platted lot and block for property inside one.
Start With What You Already Have
Before searching anywhere else, check the deed or closing paperwork from when you acquired the property. The legal description is almost always printed there in full, and you can copy it over exactly as written — no lookup required.
No Paperwork? Most Counties Can Look It Up
Missing that paperwork isn't a dead end. Most Colorado county clerk and recorder and assessor offices maintain a free online property search — by owner name, address, or parcel number — that displays the recorded legal description. A number of counties also run an interactive assessor's parcel map, where clicking on a property pulls up its file, description included.
Find Your County's Property Search
Each Colorado county's page on this site links directly to that county's official site. From there, look for a "property search," "records search," or parcel/GIS map option. Select your county to get started:
Browse All Colorado Counties →
FAQs About Legal Descriptions
What is a legal description?
It's the surveyed description that pins down a property's exact boundaries -- a metes-and-bounds description, a township/range/section reference, or a platted lot and block -- so the parcel can be uniquely identified on a recorded document. Your mailing address doesn't do that job; the legal description does.
Can I find my Colorado legal description online?
Usually. Most Colorado county clerk and recorder or assessor offices run a free property search by owner name, address, or parcel number, and the results typically include the recorded legal description.
What if my county doesn't have online records?
Look at your closing or settlement papers first — the legal description is almost always printed there. If you can't find it, a call or visit to your county clerk and recorder's or assessor's office will get it looked up for you.
Do I need a new survey for a quitclaim deed?
No, in most cases. A quitclaim deed simply reuses the legal description already on file rather than generating a new one. A new survey only tends to come into play when a parcel is being split into separate lots.