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Last updated: General Colorado probate bond information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.
Denver Probate Court + 63 district courts

Colorado Probate Bond

Most Colorado estates never post a probate bond. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-603, informal administration — the track most families use — carries no bond requirement by default. Bond only attaches if the will requires it, a special administrator is appointed, a judge orders it in a formal proceeding, or an interested person or $5,000+ creditor files a written demand under C.R.S. § 15-12-605. If you're here because you received that demand, the clock already started — you have 30 days to post bond or a court can remove you and appoint a successor.

When bond is required, the amount usually isn't picked by a judge either — it comes from your own sworn estimate under C.R.S. § 15-12-604. And where you file matters: Denver runs the state's only freestanding probate court, while every other county handles probate inside its district court.

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No bond is the default — these four things override it

Exactly four ways a Colorado bond requirement gets triggered

C.R.S. § 15-12-603 doesn't leave bond to a registrar's discretion. It lists the exceptions, and if none of them apply to your appointment, no bond is required at all.

The demand path is the one worth watching closest: any person apparently having an interest worth more than $5,000, or any creditor with a claim over $5,000, can force a bond just by filing a written demand with the registrar and mailing it to you. You don't get a hearing before the freeze starts — C.R.S. § 15-12-605 requires you to stop exercising your powers as personal representative, other than what's necessary to preserve the estate, from the moment you receive notice until the bond is filed or the demand lapses.

How the C.R.S. § 15-12-604 bond estimate is built

When bond is required and neither the will nor a court order already sets the amount, the person qualifying as personal representative files a sworn statement with the registrar. That statement covers two figures — the estimated value of the decedent's personal estate, and the income expected from the personal and real estate over the next year — and the bond has to be filed "in an amount not less than the estimate provided."

A corporate surety qualifies automatically; individual sureties must secure their performance with a pledge of personal property, a mortgage on real property, or other security the registrar accepts. On petition, the court can also excuse bond entirely, raise or lower the amount, release sureties, or let you substitute a different bond — the § 15-12-604 estimate isn't necessarily the final word. See how Colorado's self-reported model compares to every other state's multiplier in the probate bond cost by state guide.

What that $238,000 sworn estimate actually costs to bond

The sworn estimate is the penal sum — the coverage figure, not what you pay. The annual premium a surety charges is a small percentage of that number, priced mainly off the personal representative or conservator's own credit, not the estate's.

Denver Probate Court is the one county that runs its own system

Colorado Constitution Article VI, § 9(3) created a freestanding probate court for the City and County of Denver — one of four constitutionally separate courts there, alongside County, District, and Juvenile. No other Colorado county has this structure.

If your case sits in Denver, tell your surety before you file — Denver Probate Court has its own accepted bond forms and registrar contacts independent of the Second Judicial District's district court. Everywhere else in Colorado, from El Paso and Jefferson to Weld and Boulder, your probate filing runs through that county's district court probate division instead.

Small estates skip the bond question by skipping appointment entirely

C.R.S. § 15-12-1201 lets any successor collect a decedent's personal property using a sworn affidavit — Colorado form JDF 999 — once at least 10 days have passed since death and no personal representative appointment is pending or has been granted. Because no one is ever appointed personal representative, there's no § 15-12-603 bond question to answer — the affidavit sits entirely outside the probate bond framework.

Qualifies for the affidavit

Total estate value under the statutory cap — $88,000 for decedents who died in 2026, up from $86,000 in 2025, adjusted annually for inflation. Personal property only; no real estate.

Needs a personal representative

Estate exceeds the affidavit cap, includes real estate that needs to transfer through probate, or a personal representative is already appointed or pending — the full § 15-12-603 framework applies.

If your estate is close to the cap, confirm the current year's figure with the registrar before relying on the affidavit — the threshold moves every year and using a stale number can leave part of the estate uncollected.

Conservator bonds run a different formula — C.R.S. § 15-14-415

A conservator manages a protected person's property, and Colorado prices that bond differently than a personal representative's. The court sets the amount at the aggregate capital value of the property under the conservator's control, plus one year's estimated income — minus the value of assets deposited under an arrangement that requires a court order to withdraw, and minus any real property the conservator lacks power to sell or convey without separate court authorization.

Unlike the personal representative rule under § 15-12-603, bond isn't an exception for conservators — it's the norm, built from the financial plan (§ 15-14-418) and inventory (§ 15-14-419) the conservator files. Because conservatorships often run for years, expect the bond amount to get revisited at each periodic accounting rather than set once and left alone.

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The statute, verbatim

Getting your Colorado probate bond filed

Official Colorado Requirements

"No bond is required of a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings, except upon the appointment of a special administrator, when an executor or other personal representative is appointed to administer an estate under a will containing an express requirement of bond, or when bond is required under section 15-12-605."
Colorado Revised Statutes — Colorado General Assembly • C.R.S. § 15-12-603
1

Confirm which of the four triggers applies to you

Special administrator, will requirement, formal-proceeding court order, or a § 15-12-605 demand — most estates hit none of them and need no bond at all.

2

Build your § 15-12-604 sworn estimate

Personal estate value plus one year’s expected income — we help you build a defensible figure before you file it under oath with the registrar.

3

Tell us Denver Probate Court or district court

Local forms and registrar contacts differ; we file on the form your specific court accepts.

4

We underwrite as your commercial surety

Licensed to write probate bonds in Denver Probate Court and every Colorado district court, with same-day quotes on most estates.

5

File before your 30-day demand deadline (if applicable)

If you received a § 15-12-605 demand, the clock is already running — we prioritize demand-driven filings to protect your appointment.

Received a written demand under § 15-12-605? Tell us your deadline and we prioritize the filing.

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Filed on the accepted form for your specific court

Demand-deadline priority filing

30-day § 15-12-605 clock handled fast to protect your appointment

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Related Colorado and probate bonds

Colorado fiduciaries and estates often need more than the probate bond itself:

Colorado surety bondsEvery bond type Colorado requires, in one placeArizona probate bonds ($ sworn estimate)Another Uniform Probate Code state, self-reported estimate modelMontana probate bonds (land-heavy estates)Same UPC demand mechanics — how ranch acreage and mineral rights price into the bondWyoming probate bonds (mandatory by default)The Mountain West neighbor that never adopted the UPC's no-bond presumptionExecutor bonds nationwideThe will-named role, compared state by stateAdministrator bonds nationwideHow intestate estates get bonded outside ColoradoProbate bonds nationwideHow the rules shift from state to stateProbate bond cost by stateSee Colorado's demand-driven model next to every multiplier stateFiduciary bonds overviewCourt-appointed, bank, and pension fiduciary bondsConservatorship bonds nationwideSee how § 15-14-415 compares to other states' formulas

What Colorado fiduciaries ask about this bond

If Colorado doesn’t require a probate bond by default, why was I just asked for one?

Because someone triggered one of the four exceptions in C.R.S. § 15-12-603. Informal appointment carries no bond requirement on its own — but bond attaches if: (1) you’re being appointed special administrator, (2) the will contains an express bond requirement, (3) a court orders it in a formal proceeding (unless the will relieves bond and no interested party objects), or (4) an interested person or creditor demands one under § 15-12-605. That fourth path is the one that catches most families off guard: it doesn’t require a lawsuit or even a hearing — just a written demand filed with the registrar and mailed to you. The demand has to come from someone with an interest, or a claim, worth more than $5,000. Once you receive notice, C.R.S. § 15-12-605 requires you to stop exercising your powers as personal representative — other than acts necessary to preserve the estate — until you either post the bond or the demand requirement lapses.

What happens if I don’t post the bond within 30 days of a demand?

C.R.S. § 15-12-605 sets a hard deadline: failure to give suitable bond within 30 days after you receive notice of the requirement is cause for your removal, and the court appoints a successor personal representative in your place. This is one of the few places in Colorado probate where a missed administrative deadline can end your appointment outright — not just delay it. Because the freeze on your powers starts the moment you receive notice (not the moment the 30 days expires), the practical window to shop, underwrite, and file a bond is often closer to two to three weeks once you account for mail time and getting the sworn estimate together. Getting your § 15-12-604 estimate and application moving the same day you receive a demand is the difference between staying in the role and losing it to a successor.

How is my Colorado bond amount actually calculated — does the judge pick a number?

Only sometimes. If the will or a court order already fixes an amount, that number controls. Otherwise, C.R.S. § 15-12-604 makes the personal representative self-report: you file a sworn statement with the registrar estimating the value of the decedent’s personal estate, plus the income you expect the personal and real estate to generate over the next year, and the bond has to be filed “in an amount not less than the estimate provided.” The registrar isn’t independently appraising anything — you’re certifying the figure under oath, similar to how Arizona and Michigan (both Uniform Probate Code states) handle it. One Colorado-specific relief valve: § 15-12-604 lets the registrar reduce the bond by the value of estate assets deposited with a Colorado financial institution whose deposits are insured, in a manner that blocks unauthorized withdrawal — park the liquid assets in a restricted account and the bond principal can shrink accordingly.

What’s different about the Denver Probate Court versus every other Colorado county?

Denver is the only county in Colorado with a freestanding, constitutionally separate probate court — created under Colorado Constitution Article VI, § 9(3) as one of Denver’s four distinct courts (alongside County, District, and Juvenile). Every other Colorado county routes probate matters through the probate division of its district court, heard by district judges (and some magistrates). The bond statutes are identical statewide — C.R.S. §§ 15-12-603 through 15-12-605 apply the same way in Denver as in El Paso or Jefferson County — but Denver Probate Court runs its own local forms, filing procedures, and hearing calendar independent of the Second Judicial District’s district court. If your case is filed in Denver, tell your surety up front; the accepted bond form and registrar contact differ from a district-court probate filing.

Does Colorado’s small estate affidavit let me skip the bond question entirely?

For estates under the statutory threshold, yes — because no personal representative is ever appointed, so there’s no bond to post. C.R.S. § 15-12-1201 lets any successor collect the decedent’s personal property by a sworn affidavit (Colorado form JDF 999) once at least 10 days have passed since death and no personal representative appointment is pending or has been granted. The dollar cap adjusts annually for inflation — it’s $88,000 for decedents who died in 2026, up from $86,000 in 2025. It only reaches personal property, not real estate, and it’s an out-of-court filing, not a probate case — so it sits outside the § 15-12-603/604/605 bond framework entirely rather than exempting you from a bond you’d otherwise owe.

How is a Colorado conservator bond different from a personal representative bond?

Different statute, different formula, and unlike the personal representative rule, bond is the norm rather than the exception. Conservator bonds run under C.R.S. § 15-14-415: the court sets the amount at the aggregate capital value of the protected person’s property under the conservator’s control, plus one year’s estimated income — minus the value of any assets deposited under an arrangement that requires a court order to withdraw, and minus any real property the conservator lacks the power to sell or convey without separate court authorization. A personal representative under § 15-12-604 self-reports an estimate before the registrar; a conservator’s bond is built by the court from the financial plan (§ 15-14-418) and inventory (§ 15-14-419) the conservator files. Because conservatorships often run for years rather than the months a typical estate administration takes, expect the court to revisit the bond amount at each periodic accounting, not just once at appointment.

Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers.

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General information, not legal, tax, or underwriting advice. Colorado probate bond requirements, estimate procedures, and demand deadlines are set by statute (C.R.S. §§ 15-12-603, 15-12-604, 15-12-605, 15-12-1201, 15-14-415, 15-14-418, 15-14-419, and Colo. Const. art. VI, § 9(3)) and by Denver Probate Court or your county district court's local practice, and they change over time. Confirm the current requirement and any demand deadline with the court handling your matter — and with Colorado probate counsel on appointment, waiver, and demand-response questions — before relying on this page, then request a quote for your specific bond form and amount.

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