Colorado contract template: what you are required to include, and how much deposit you can take

Published November 3, 2026 · Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, the 2025 Denver Building Code and the federal Cooling-Off Rule checked November 3, 2026

• Free. The download links come by email.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Have a Colorado attorney read the template before you use it.

Colorado has no home improvement contract law and no cap on the deposit you can take. The rules that matter sit in other statutes. The lien law says a contract between an owner and a contractor for more than $500 "shall be in writing" and signed by both.¹ Sell the job at the customer's home and the federal 3-day cancellation notice goes in.² Residential roofing over $1,000 has its own statute, with required terms, a 72-hour rescission right and a deposit held in trust until the materials are on site.³ And every dollar a customer pays you is trust money for the subs and suppliers on that job. Spend it on something else while they go unpaid and Colorado calls it theft.¹

A contractor on Reddit summed up the risk of a generic form: "just googling a contract and hoping for the best won't get one that's written specifically for the state he works in."⁴ Colorado's state-specific part is short, but it's spread across five titles of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which is why the generic forms miss it. Every Colorado contractor we email holds a Denver licence, so I also read Denver's licensing code where it touches the contract. I read all of it on November 3, 2026, and every rule below links to its source in the list at the end.

The template has all of it, in the required wording where there is one. Get it three ways: make your own copy in Google Docs (opens in your Drive), download the Word version (.docx), or download the PDF. Pick a format, enter your email and I'll send the links.

Does this apply to you?

Colorado's contract rules follow the job and the way you sell it. Your licence type changes only two things: plumbers have a display rule, and roofers have a whole statute. Here's who each rule reaches.

By trade

General contractors and remodelers (Denver Class C, B-2 and the Class D non-structural remodel certificate, the biggest group on our Colorado list): every general rule above. Colorado has no state licence for you; the Department of Regulatory Agencies says "Not all occupations are licensed, such as roofers and general contractors."¹¹ Denver licenses you by class. Residential Contractor Class C covers "one- and two-family dwellings, U Occupancy buildings and attached single-unit dwellings (IRC townhouses)," and B-2 covers buildings up to 30 feet.¹⁰ Denver doesn't require your licence number on a contract, but it does require you to "hire licensed subcontractors for those trades that require a City and County of Denver license," and it can pull your licence for knowingly contracting with an unlicensed one.⁹ Put your number on page 1 anyway.

HVAC contractors (Denver heating and ventilating, refrigeration, hot water and residential HVAC licences): Colorado doesn't license HVAC at the state level. Its licensing title covers electricians and plumbers and no other building trade,⁷ so your licence is Denver's.¹⁰ No contract rule is written for HVAC. The ones that bite are the 3-day notice on a furnace or AC replacement priced at the kitchen table, and the trust rule on the deposit that pays for the equipment.

Plumbers (state-licensed, registered in Denver as "Plbg A" contractors): the general rules, plus one of your own. Since July 1, 2025, a plumbing contractor must show its Colorado registration number and its master plumber's number on "vehicle or vehicles, billing materials, bid sheets, and website."⁷ The Plumbing Board says the numbers on billing materials "should be placed near the contractor's contact information," and missing them can bring "disciplinary action by the Board, from fining up to and including revocation."⁸ A quote or contract you hand a customer works as a bid sheet, so the template puts both numbers on page 1.

Electricians (state-licensed, registered in Denver): the general rules. Colorado's electrical law has nothing on contracts, deposits or numbers on paperwork.⁷

Roofers (Denver Class D roofing certificates): everything above plus the roofing statute on every residential roof over $1,000, insurance job or not. It covers "an individual or sole proprietorship that performs roofing work" and any firm that "performs or offers to perform roofing work in this state on residential property."³ So a remodeler or restoration contractor who replaces a roof is a roofing contractor for that job.

Landlords and commercial customers: the 3-day rule covers purchases "primarily for personal, family, or household purposes,"² so it usually doesn't reach a landlord. The roofing statute does: it's about the building (a one- or two-family dwelling), not who owns it.³ The $500 writing rule and the trust rule cover commercial work too.

What your Colorado contract must include

With no general contract statute, the required items come from five laws. Here they are in the statutes' own words, with the wording I put in the template.

Every job over $500: in writing, signed by both of you

This one is easy to miss because it sits in the mechanics' lien law. C.R.S. 38-22-101(3) says owner-contractor contracts "shall be in writing when the amount to be paid thereunder exceeds five hundred dollars, and shall be subscribed by the parties thereto."¹ The same subsection lets the owner record the contract, or a memorandum of it, with the county before work starts, listing "the names of all the parties," a description of the property, "the general character of the work to be done, the estimated total amount to be paid thereunder, together with the times or stages of the work for making payments."¹ Recording is the owner's choice; Colorado's courts have said its object is to protect the owner "against liens over and above his contract price."¹ The statute puts no penalty on you for an unwritten contract. The cost shows up in a dispute, when the customer remembers a different price and you have nothing signed. So page 1 of the template collects every item the memorandum needs, and Section 6.3 tells the owner they can record it.

Signed at the customer's home: the cancellation statement and two notice forms

The federal Cooling-Off Rule covers a sale "in which the seller or his representative personally solicits the sale, including those in response to or following an invitation by the buyer," made away from your place of business, of $25 or more at the buyer's home.² That's nearly every residential job you price at the house. The contract must:

• be in the same language you used to sell the job, and show the date and your name and address;
• carry this statement in bold type of at least 10 points, right next to the customer's signature: "You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. See the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this right.";
• come with two filled-in copies of the "Notice of Cancellation" form, with your name, your business address, the date and the cancel-by date filled in;
• leave out any waiver of the right to cancel and any confession of judgment.

You also have to tell the customer about the right out loud when they sign.² The template puts the statement inside the Owner's signature box and both forms in Appendix A.

Colorado adds its own version only for credit sales. Its home solicitation law covers "a consumer credit sale of goods or services," which means you extend the credit yourself and the debt is "by written agreement payable in installments or a finance charge is made."⁵ Cash, check and card jobs fall only under the federal rule. If you do finance jobs, two Colorado twists matter: until you give the notice, the customer can cancel any time up to three years later, and after a cancellation "the seller is not entitled to compensation for any services the seller performed."⁵ That's an hour with a lawyer before you offer payment plans.

One total price

Since January 1, 2026, you may not "offer, display, or advertise an amount a person may pay" without showing "the total price ... as a single number without separating the total price into separate fees, charges, or amounts."⁶ Taxes can sit outside it. A $9,800 quote plus a $150 trip charge and a $95 disposal fee should be a $10,045 quote. For time-and-materials work, where the total "cannot reasonably be known," you disclose the factors that set it, any mandatory fees, and that the total may vary.⁶ Section 3.1 of the template says the price includes every mandatory fee, and 3.2 has the time-and-materials wording.

Plumbers: both registration numbers on the bid

Covered above: the contractor's Colorado registration number and the master plumber's, on every bid sheet and invoice.^7,8 Page 1 of the template has a line for each.

Colorado roofing contract requirements (C.R.S. 6-22-103)

Before any residential roofing work over $1,000, the contract has to be "signed by both the roofing contractor or the roofing contractor's designee and the property owner" and state at least:³

• "The scope of roofing services and materials to be provided";
• "The approximate dates of service";
• "The approximate costs of the services based on damages known at the time the contract is entered";
• your "physical address, electronic mail address, telephone number, and any other contact information available";
• your "surety and liability coverage insurer and their contact information, if applicable";
• your cancellation and refund policy, "including a rescission clause allowing the property owner to rescind the contract and obtain a full refund of any deposit within seventy-two hours after entering the contract," plus a statement that the owner may rescind under 6-22-104 (the insurance-denial right below);
• a statement that if the owner pays with insurance, you "cannot pay, waive, rebate, or promise to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any insurance deductible."

And "on the face of the contract, in bold-faced type," a statement that you "shall hold in trust any payment from the property owner until the roofing contractor has delivered roofing materials at the residential property site or has performed a majority of the roofing work."³ The template puts that statement in a bold box on page 1 and the rest in Section 10. Sample wording, from 10.2: "You may rescind this contract and get a full refund of any deposit within 72 hours after entering into it."

The text hasn't changed in substance since 2012. A 2026 bill (HB 26-1426) only swapped "his or her" for gender-neutral wording, effective August 12, 2026.³

What else belongs in the contract

Nothing else is required by statute. Two laws shape the rest of the template, though. The Colorado Consumer Protection Act makes it a deceptive trade practice to fail "to obtain all governmental licenses or permits required to perform the services ... as agreed to or contracted for with a consumer,"¹² so Section 1.4 says who pulls the permits and promises licensed subs. And the construction defect law voids "any express waiver of, or limitation on" a homeowner's rights under it or under the consumer act,¹⁵ so the warranty in Section 9 adds to the owner's rights and never caps them. The template also has a payment schedule, written change orders, a hidden-conditions clause, insurance, lien waivers on request, and your licence numbers on page 1.

How much deposit can a contractor take in Colorado?

Outside roofing, as much as the customer agrees to. Colorado sets no cap. I read the consumer protection act, the roofing statute, the home solicitation law, the electrical and plumbing licensing laws, the mechanics' lien law, the theft statute and Denver's licensing code, and none of them puts a number on a residential deposit.

Someone on r/GeneralContractor asked the question every new contractor asks: "are you allowed legally to charge that much deposit?"¹⁷ In Colorado the legal answer is yes. What Colorado regulates is what you do with the money.

Every deposit is trust money

C.R.S. 38-22-127 is the rule that surprises people. "All funds disbursed to any contractor or subcontractor under any building, construction, or remodeling contract or on any construction project shall be held in trust for the payment of the subcontractors, laborer or material suppliers, or laborers" who have or may have a lien on the property.¹ In plain terms: the deposit on the Smith kitchen pays the Smith kitchen's cabinet supplier and tile sub. It doesn't pay the Jones job's lumber bill or your truck note while the Smith suppliers wait.

• You don't need a separate bank account for each job, but you must "maintain separate records of account for each project or contract."¹
• Breaking it "commits theft, as defined in section 18-4-401."^1,13 Courts have said a criminal case needs proof of intent to defraud, so an honest bookkeeping mistake isn't theft. Mixing every job's money with no records is how an honest mistake starts to look like one.¹
• The trust doesn't apply if you've posted a performance or payment bond, or the owner signed a written release.¹

Section 4.2 of the template tells the owner you hold their payments in trust for the job. It costs nothing to say, and it's what a careful homeowner wants to hear.

Roofing: held until the materials arrive, refundable for 72 hours

On residential roofing over $1,000, the owner's payments stay in trust until you've "delivered roofing materials at the residential property site or ... performed a majority of the roofing work," and the owner can rescind and get "a full refund of any deposit" within 72 hours of signing.³ If insurance is paying and the insurer denies the claim in whole or in part, the owner gets another 72 hours from the denial notice to rescind, and you return "any payments or deposits" within 10 days, keeping only what pays for "roofing work actually performed" in a workmanlike way.³ That's why a roofer needs job-cost records even on a fixed-price job: a rescission halfway through means proving what the finished half was worth.

Cancellation refunds and deposits that go nowhere

• A customer who cancels a home sale within three business days gets every payment back within 10 business days.² Treat the deposit as theirs until the window closes, and don't order special-order materials before then. Section 2.4 of the template says so.
• Taking a deposit and not doing the work: the Colorado Attorney General tells homeowners that "If a contractor has taken your money and not completed the work, contact your local law enforcement agency and make a theft report."¹⁴ The consumer act also lists "Accepting a deposit for the goods, property, or services and subsequently switching the purchase order to higher-priced goods" and "Failure to make deliveries ... within a reasonable time or to make a refund therefor" as deceptive practices when they follow a bait-and-switch ad.¹²

How to set the payment schedule

With no cap, the limit is what a homeowner will sign and what you can account for. I'd size the deposit to the special-order materials plus a little to hold the date, and tie each later payment to something the owner can see: materials delivered, rough-in inspection passed, the final walk-through. That's how the table in Section 4 is laid out, and 4.1 says in one sentence what the deposit pays for. On a roof, a deposit you can't touch until the shingles are on the driveway does little for cash flow, so I'd take a small one and bill the bulk when the materials land. The final payment comes when the work is done, with lien waivers from your subs and suppliers.

Cancellation: the FTC rule, Colorado's narrower one, and roofing

Three different rights can apply. Most jobs only meet the first.

The FTC rule leaves state laws in force unless they give the buyer less than it does,² so on a roof sold at the kitchen table both the 3 business days and the 72 hours run at once. Wait for the later of the two before you order.

When the 3-day rule doesn't apply

• The customer signs at your shop or office after negotiating there.
• The deal is "conducted and consummated entirely by mail or telephone; and without any other contact" before the work.
• The customer called you for "a bona fide immediate personal emergency" and hands you a dated, signed statement "in the buyer's handwriting" that describes it and waives the right to cancel. A preprinted waiver doesn't count.
• The customer asked you to come and repair or maintain their personal property. Anything extra you sell on that visit, beyond the parts the repair needs, is covered again.²

A customer who signs your quote online the day after you priced it in their kitchen is the gray area. The phone-and-mail exception needs "no other contact," and you were standing in their kitchen. I'd treat it as a home sale and give the notice.

Other notices and paperwork

Colorado mechanics lien: nothing in the contract, 10 days' notice before you file

Colorado doesn't ask you to put a lien notice in a residential contract. When the building department issues a residential permit, the department mails the owner an "IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OWNERS" about liens.¹ Your lien deadlines, if you aren't paid:

• Serve a notice of intent to lien "at least ten days before the time of filing the lien statement," by personal service or registered or certified mail, on the owner and the prime contractor.¹
• Record the lien statement within four months after your last work or materials. If you worked by the day or piece and supplied no materials, the limit is two months after the building is finished.¹
• File suit to enforce it, and record a notice that you did, within six months after the last work, or the lien stops holding the property.¹

If a customer hasn't paid, the Colorado mechanics lien guide has the steps, every deadline and a demand letter.

One rule changes how your subs get paid. On an existing single-family home, or an owner's own home, the owner has a defense to a sub's lien once they've paid you the contract price plus change orders.¹ Your unpaid supplier can't collect from the homeowner, so they come after you. Section 6 of the template explains this to the owner in plain words. And a lien claimed for more than you know is due forfeits the lien and costs you the owner's attorney fees.¹

Construction defect claims

Before a homeowner sues you over a defect, Colorado's construction defect law makes them send written notice "No later than seventy-five days before filing an action," by certified mail or personal service, and then lets you inspect within 30 days and offer to pay or repair.¹⁵ Section 13.2 of the template points both of you to it.

Roofers, insurance claims and door-knocking

A roofer "shall not claim to be or act as a public insurance adjuster," though you may discuss "the scope of repairs" with the insurer once you hold a signed contract.³ If you break the deductible rule, the insurer "is not obligated to consider the estimate," and the owner or the insurer can sue you for damages.³ The Colorado Roofing Association warns members about contracts where "The final price agreed to between the insurance company" and the roofer became the contract price. Texas courts voided contracts written that way because they made the roofer a public adjuster, and the association says such language "is likely to be considered by a court as a violation of Colorado law."¹⁶ Section 10.5 of the template sets the price in the contract and says the insurer doesn't set it. And if you knock doors after a hailstorm, the consumer act requires you to say who you are, whom you represent and why you're there "within thirty seconds after beginning the conversation."¹²

I found no Colorado requirement for an arbitration notice, a recovery fund notice or an insurance disclosure in a residential contract outside roofing.

What happens if you get it wrong

• Missing cancellation paperwork. An "unfair and deceptive act or practice" under the FTC rule.² On a financed sale, Colorado leaves the right open for up to three years and you lose pay for work done before a cancellation.⁵
• Consumer Protection Act claims. The Attorney General or a district attorney can seek up to $20,000 per violation, counted per consumer or transaction, and up to $50,000 when the victim is elderly. A homeowner who sues gets actual damages or $500, whichever is more, or three times actual damages for bad faith shown by clear and convincing evidence, plus attorney fees.¹² Working without a required licence or permit, a hidden fee that breaks the total-price rule, or any "unfair, unconscionable, deceptive" practice can get you there.^6,12
• Deposit spent on another job. Theft under the trust fund statute.¹
• Roofing. A deductible rebate lets the insurer ignore your estimate and opens you to a damages suit.³ Contract wording that makes you the adjuster risks the whole contract.¹⁶
• Denver licence. Working without the right licence class, or knowingly hiring an unlicensed sub, is grounds to deny, suspend or revoke your Denver licence.⁹
• Plumbing numbers missing. Plumbing Board discipline, from a fine up to revocation.⁸

The Colorado contract template

It's a residential construction contract written for Colorado, with three appendices. Page 1 collects the parties, your Denver licence and any state electrical or plumbing numbers, the job address, whether the owner lives there, where the contract was signed, whether it includes roofing over $1,000, the total price and the payment stages, plus the bold roofing trust statement. Then:

• Sections 1 to 3: the work, a materials table with a special-order column, permits and licensed subs, cleanup, start and completion dates, and the price as one total (or time and materials with a cap and the disclosures).
• Section 4: the payment schedule table, the trust promise, the refund promise for a cancelled home sale, and lien waivers on request.
• Section 5: written change orders and hidden conditions.
• Section 6: liens in plain English, the 10-day notice of intent, and the owner's option to record the contract.
• Sections 7 to 9: subcontractors, licences and insurance (with the insurer's and any surety's contact details the roofing statute asks for), and a workmanship warranty that adds to the owner's rights.
• Section 10: the roofing terms, with the 72-hour rescission clause, the insurance-denial statement and the deductible statement.
• Sections 11 to 14: owner duties, ending the contract, disputes (including the 75-day defect notice) and general terms.
• Signatures, with the federal cancellation statement inside the Owner's box.
• Appendix A: two detachable Notices of Cancellation in the FTC's wording. Appendix B: a change order form. Appendix C: Colorado notes for you, to remove before the owner gets the contract.

Download it: copy it into Google Docs, get the Word file, or the PDF.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors. You write quotes with options, and a shop-wide terms text you set once is copied onto every quote, so the Colorado clauses from this template can sit there. The customer approves the quote online and signs it on screen. You can ask for a deposit, a percent or a fixed amount, which they pay by card when they approve, and the deposit is credited on the final invoice. On Pro, this Colorado contract is built in. Attach it to the estimate, and the customer reads it on the quote page, roofing statement and cancellation forms included, and signs it when they approve; your saved signature goes on when you send, and you both get the signed copy to print or save as PDF. Template, not legal advice. Have it reviewed for your business. Deepsel doesn't know Colorado law, though. The terms text alone won't add the roofing statement or the cancellation forms, and Deepsel collects the card deposit the moment the customer approves: on a roof that money has to stay in trust until materials are on site, and on a job sold at the house it's refundable for three business days. The Free plan covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices. Details are on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a contractor's license in Colorado?

Not from the state, unless you're an electrician or a plumber. Colorado's licensing title covers electricians and plumbers and no other building trade, and the Department of Regulatory Agencies says plainly that roofers and general contractors aren't licensed by the state. Cities and counties do that. In Denver, a licence is required for any work that needs a permit, and you get it in two steps: a supervisor certificate first (the Residential Contractor Class C certificate for one- and two-family homes takes two years of experience and the ICC F13 exam), then the contractor licence. Electrical and plumbing contractors hold the state licence and also register with Denver.

What is the difference between a contractor and a handyman in Colorado?

Colorado has no handyman licence. In Denver the licence follows the permit: work that needs a permit needs a licensed contractor, and small repairs that need no permit need no Denver licence. Electrical and plumbing work needs a state licence either way. The contract rules don't care what you call yourself. Over $500, the lien law says the contract goes in writing, and a sale of $25 or more signed at the customer's home needs the 3-day cancellation notice.

How much deposit can a contractor ask for in Colorado?

Colorado sets no limit on a residential deposit, outside roofing. Two rules decide how you hold it. Every payment to a contractor is held in trust for the subcontractors, suppliers and workers on that job, and spending it elsewhere while they go unpaid is theft. On residential roofing over $1,000, the payment stays in trust until materials are on site or most of the roof is done, and the owner can get the whole deposit back within 72 hours of signing. If the job was sold at the customer's home, they can also cancel within three business days and get every payment back within 10 business days.

Is there a 3-day right to cancel a contractor contract in Colorado?

Yes, through the federal Cooling-Off Rule, when the sale is $25 or more and the customer signs at their home (or $130 or more at another temporary location), even if they invited you over. Colorado's own home solicitation law adds the same three days only when you finance the job yourself. Roofing has its own rules: 72 hours after signing to rescind, and 72 hours after an insurer denies the claim. Contracts signed at your place of business, deals done entirely by phone or mail, and real emergencies with a handwritten waiver from the customer are outside the 3-day rule.

Do Colorado roofers have to hold the deposit in trust?

Yes. On residential roofing work over $1,000, the contract must say in bold type, on its face, that you will hold in trust any payment from the owner until you have delivered roofing materials to the property or done most of the roofing work. That applies whether or not insurance is paying. The contract must also let the owner rescind within 72 hours of signing and get the full deposit back.

Is there a Google Docs, Word or PDF version?

All three, and all of them free. The Google Docs link makes a copy in your own Drive, the .docx opens in Word, and the PDF prints as is. The bold roofing statement, the two detachable cancellation forms and the change order form carry over in every format.

Sources

1. Colorado Revised Statutes title 38, article 22, Mechanics' Liens: 38-22-101(3) (contracts over $500 "shall be in writing ... and shall be subscribed by the parties thereto"; the memorandum the owner may record; annotation: Armour & Co. v. McPhee & McGinnity Co., 1929, on the object of filing), 38-22-102(3.5) (owner's defense on an existing single-family or owner-occupied home), 38-22-105.5 (the permit office mails the owner notice), 38-22-109(3) to (5) (notice of intent "at least ten days before"; four months, or two for labor only), 38-22-110 (suit within six months), 38-22-127 (payments "shall be held in trust"; "separate records of account for each project"; bond or owner's release exception; a violation "commits theft"; annotations: People v. Collie, 1983, and People v. Piskula, 1979, on intent to defraud), 38-22-128 (excessive liens, amended by SB 26-074). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026 (Office of Legislative Legal Services), read November 3, 2026.
2. Federal Trade Commission, Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations, 16 CFR Part 429: 429.0 ($25 at the buyer's residence, $130 elsewhere; exclusions for mail-and-phone deals, handwritten emergency waivers and buyer-requested repairs; "Any calendar day except Sunday or any federal holiday"), 429.1 (statement by the signature in 10-point bold, Notice of Cancellation in duplicate, oral notice, refund within 10 business days), 429.2(b) (state laws stand unless they give the buyer less). ecfr.gov, read November 3, 2026.
3. Colorado Revised Statutes 6-22-101 to 6-22-105, Roofing Services - Residential Property: 6-22-102 (definitions; "residential property"; work of "one thousand dollars or less per contract" excluded; new construction excluded), 6-22-103 (written contract, required terms, 72-hour rescission clause, deductible statement, bold trust statement), 6-22-104 (72 hours after an insurance denial; refund within ten days; retention for "roofing work actually performed"), 6-22-105 (deductible ban; insurer "not obligated to consider the estimate"; no acting as a public adjuster). Enacted by SB 12-038; 2026 amendment by HB 26-1426 (gender-neutral wording only), effective August 12, 2026, compared against the 2025 text on law.justia.com. olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
4. r/Contractor thread: "just googling a contract and hoping for the best won't get one that's written specifically for the state he works in." reddit.com.
5. Colorado Revised Statutes 5-3-401 to 5-3-405, Home Solicitation Sales (Uniform Consumer Credit Code): 5-3-401 ("a consumer credit sale of goods or services" at a residence), 5-3-402 (three business days; emergency statement "not as to its material provisions a printed form"), 5-3-403 (statement must meet the FTC notice; cancellation open until compliance, up to three years), 5-3-404 (payments returned within ten days), 5-3-405(3) (no compensation for services after a cancellation); 5-1-301(11) ("consumer credit sale": installments by written agreement or a finance charge) and the definition of "business day". olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
6. Colorado Revised Statutes 6-1-737, Requirement to disclose certain pricing information (HB 25-1090, conduct on or after January 1, 2026): (1)(m) total price, excluding government charges; (2)(a) total price "as a single number"; (2)(b)(II) services whose total "cannot reasonably be known"; (5)(a) a violation is "a deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable act or practice." olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
7. Colorado Revised Statutes title 12: table of contents (electricians, article 115, and plumbers, article 155, are the only building trades licensed), 12-115-109 (electrician licence), 12-155-103(10) (plumbing contractor must be or employ a master plumber), 12-155-108 (plumber licence), 12-155-125 (on and after July 1, 2025, registration numbers on "vehicle or vehicles, billing materials, bid sheets, and website"; added by HB 24-1344). Article 115 contains no provision on contracts, deposits or numbers on paperwork. olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
8. Colorado State Plumbing Board, "Colorado Plumbing News": "After June 30, 2025, contractors are required to display their plumbing contractor registration number and the license number of the contractor's responsible master plumber on their vehicles, billing materials, bid sheets, and website"; numbers on billing materials "should be placed near the contractor's contact information"; "Failure to comply with these new requirements may result in disciplinary action by the Board, from fining up to and including revocation." dpo.colorado.gov, read November 3, 2026.
9. City and County of Denver, 2025 Denver Building Code (June 2025, 1st printing), Administration: 121.1 (contractor must have a certified supervisor or registrant), 121.2 ("Licenses shall be required for any work requiring a permit. Electrical and plumbing contractors must register with the Agency"), 126.1 (permits before work; "hire licensed subcontractors for those trades that require a City and County of Denver license"; insurance), 127.1 (grounds to deny, suspend or revoke, including "Knowingly entering into a contract with a contractor ... not duly licensed in the required classification"). No provision on contract contents, deposits or licence numbers on contracts. denvergov.org, read November 3, 2026.
10. City and County of Denver, Contractor Licensing: Construction Certificates (Class B-2, buildings with the highest floor "30 feet or fewer" above fire department access; Residential Contractor Class C, "one- and two-family dwellings, U Occupancy buildings and attached single-unit dwellings (IRC townhouses)"; two years' experience and ICC exam F13), Contractor Licenses (the two-step process), Mechanical Certificates (heating and ventilating, residential HVAC, refrigeration, hot water) and Specialty Class D Certificates (roofing, non-structural residential remodel). Read November 3, 2026.
11. Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, "Home & Repair": "Be aware! Not all occupations are licensed, such as roofers and general contractors." dora.colorado.gov, read November 3, 2026.
12. Colorado Consumer Protection Act: C.R.S. 6-1-105(1)(n)(VI) and (VII) (deposit then switch; failure to deliver or refund, in bait-and-switch advertising), (1)(p) (door-to-door identification "within thirty seconds"), (1)(z)(I) (failing to obtain required licences or permits) and, since August 12, 2026 (HB 26-1426), (1)(z)(II) (practising "a profession or occupation in the state despite failing to obtain the qualifications required by law"), (1)(rrr) ("any unfair, unconscionable, deceptive, deliberately misleading, false, or fraudulent act or practice"); 6-1-112(1)(a) and (c) (civil penalties up to $20,000 per violation, $50,000 against an elderly person); 6-1-113(2) (actual damages or $500, or three times actual damages for bad faith, plus attorney fees). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
13. Colorado Revised Statutes 18-4-401(1), Theft: "knowingly obtains, retains, or exercises control over anything of value of another without authorization or by threat or deception." olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
14. Colorado Attorney General, "Product and Services" (Contractors and Home Repair): "If a contractor has taken your money and not completed the work, contact your local law enforcement agency and make a theft report." coag.gov, read November 3, 2026.
15. Construction Defect Action Reform Act: C.R.S. 13-20-803.5(1)(a) (written notice of claim "No later than seventy-five days before filing an action," by certified mail or personal service), (2) and (3) (inspection within thirty days; offer to settle or remedy) and 13-20-806(7)(a) (waivers or limits of a residential owner's rights under the act or the Consumer Protection Act "are void as against public policy"). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 3, 2026.
16. Colorado Roofing Association, "Legislative Issues," 2018 advisory: contract language making "The final price agreed to between the insurance company and LSRC ... the final contract price" was held, in the Lon Smith Roofing cases, to make "the contract void, illegal and unenforceable because it authorizes the roofing contractor to act as a public adjuster." coloradoroofing.org, read November 3, 2026. (The association's summary; I didn't read the court decisions.)
17. r/GeneralContractor thread: "are you allowed legally to charge that much deposit?" reddit.com.