Colorado mechanics lien: what to do when a customer won't pay, the deadlines, and the letter to send

Published November 4, 2026 · Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, the Colorado and Denver court pages and Denver's recorder checked November 4, 2026

• Free. The demand letter, notice of intent and deadline worksheet 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 your notice and your lien statement before you serve or record them.

When a Colorado customer won't pay, send a written demand, and start counting from your last day of work. To keep a mechanics lien you serve a notice of intent at least 10 days before you record, record the lien within four months, and sue to enforce it within six months. Miss the six and the lien stops holding the house.¹ If you're a sub on an existing single-family home or the owner's own home, your lien fails if the owner pays your contractor in full before you record it.¹ For $7,500 or less, small claims court costs $31 or $55 to file in the state courts.^5,6

A roofer on r/Roofing described the usual first month: "We've sent him messages via text, emails, whatrsapp, certified mail and even the county has sent him an email regarding his final inspection." Then he stalled on a wrong idea: "He's not allowing the county to do the final inspection. Therefore, we aren't able to place a lien, or at least we think we can't from what we've read."¹⁶ He wasn't in Colorado. Here, that belief would cost him the lien, because Colorado's clock runs from the last day you worked and nothing in the lien law waits for an inspection.¹

Most lien guides come from filing services and law firms writing for commercial subs. This one is for a contractor whose customer is a homeowner. I read Colorado's lien law, the court statutes and Denver's court and recorder pages on November 4, 2026, and every rule links to its source at the end. The contract side (the written contract, deposits, trust money) is on my Colorado contract template page, so I don't repeat it here.

The download has a demand letter, the notice of intent with the affidavit of service that gets recorded with the lien, and a deadline worksheet. 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.

Colorado mechanics lien deadlines at a glance

The statute counts calendar months. Counting days is safer: 120 days never runs past four months, and 181 days never runs past six. I'd serve the notice by day 90 and record by day 110, so a lost letter or a closed office doesn't sink you.

What to do when a customer won't pay: the first steps

These are the same in most states. Colorado changes the details in a few places, marked below.

1. Decide whether to keep working

If the job isn't finished and a payment is late, read the payment terms in your contract before you pull your crew. Stopping when the contract lets you stop for nonpayment is the safe version. Two Colorado points follow. The day you stop is your last day of work for the four-month clock, unless you come back later and do real work. And if all work stops for three months, the law treats the job as complete, which starts the clocks that run from completion.¹

2. Put it in writing

Send the final invoice with the amount, what it covers and a due date. When the date passes, send the demand letter: the balance and how you got there, a date to pay (10 days is common), how to pay, and the next step you'll take. Ask the customer to tell you in writing if something about the work is holding the money up. Their answer tells you whether you have a slow payer or a dispute, and a dispute changes how carefully you size a lien. Write only the next step you'll really take. Keep every text and email.

3. Offer a payment plan, carefully

If the customer can't pay rather than won't, a written plan beats a lawsuit. Two cautions. The plan doesn't pause the lien deadlines (nothing in the lien law does), so either set the last payment before your recording date or serve the notice of intent anyway. And Colorado's consumer credit code reaches installment deals with homeowners made by a seller who "regularly engages as a seller in credit transactions of the same kind."⁸ My reading: one plan for one stuck bill is different from offering plans on every job. Before it becomes a habit, pay a lawyer for an hour.

4. Know when to call a lawyer

• Before you record a lien for an amount the customer disputes. A lien knowingly filed for more than is due costs you the lien and the owner's attorney fees.¹
• For the suit to enforce the lien. It goes to district court, not small claims.⁵
• As soon as the customer claims defects. Colorado's construction defect law has its own notice steps (the contract page covers them).
• When the money is big enough that losing the lien would hurt. An hour of a lawyer's time costs a few hundred dollars, and you pay for it yourself unless your contract says otherwise (see interest and attorney fees below).

The Colorado mechanics lien on a home

Who can file, and the unlicensed contractor problem

Colorado's lien law covers nearly everyone who works on a building: "mechanics, materialmen, contractors, subcontractors, builders, and all persons of every class performing labor upon or furnishing directly to the owner," plus equipment suppliers, architects and engineers.¹ Nothing in it mentions a license.

The license problem comes in through the contract. The Colorado Supreme Court held in 1950 that where a licensing law protects the public and carries a penalty, a contract made without the license "creates no right of action which a court of justice will enforce."¹³ The Court of Appeals put it plainly in 1994: "If a contractor is required to have specific licenses and permits to undertake work, the contractor cannot recover compensation for its services when the contractor fails to obtain such licenses or permits."¹⁴ Denver requires a license "for any work requiring a permit,"¹¹ and the state licenses electricians and plumbers.¹²

I found no Colorado case applying these rules to a mechanics lien. But a lien secures money owed, and if a court won't enforce the contract, expect the owner to argue nothing is owed. That part is my reading. The one softening: in 1956 an unlicensed plumber still collected for the furnace he installed, because that part needed no plumber's license.¹⁵ Check your own license against the job: Denver's classes are on the Colorado general contractor license page, and the trade rules on the electrical, plumbing and HVAC license pages.

No pre-job notice, and the written contract rule

Colorado has no preliminary notice. You don't have to send the owner anything before you start to keep your lien rights. When it issues a permit for work on an existing home, the building department mails the owner a lien warning itself.¹

The lien law does say a contract between an owner and a contractor for more than $500 "shall be in writing." It doesn't make that a condition of the lien, though. When the owner hasn't recorded the contract, everyone who did the work "shall have a lien for the value thereof."¹ You still want the signed contract or approved quote: it's your proof of the price, and the price is what you're about to swear to.

The one notice the law requires is the notice of intent, served at least 10 days before you record.¹

Owner-occupied and existing single-family homes

This rule decides a lot of home jobs. On "an existing single-family dwelling unit," a home built for the owner to live in, or "a single-family, owner-occupied dwelling unit," the owner has an affirmative defense to any lien once they've paid "the initial purchase price or contract amount plus any additions or change orders" to the principal contractor.¹ Colorado courts say it's there "to protect homeowners from paying for their home twice."¹

• If you contracted with the owner, the defense doesn't touch your own claim: the owner hasn't paid you. It matters for your subs and suppliers, who can't collect from a homeowner who paid you in full. They'll come after you.
• If you're a sub or supplier, your deadline is really the owner's last payment to the prime. The Court of Appeals held the defense doesn't defeat liens "recorded prior to full payment."¹ You can also give the owner written notice of what you've supplied and what you're owed; the statute then makes it the owner's duty to withhold enough from the prime to cover it.¹ Whether that notice survives the full-payment defense is a question for your lawyer.

The deadline, and what counts as your last day

Record the lien statement "before the expiration of four months after the day on which the last labor is performed or the last laborers or materials are furnished by such lien claimant."¹ If you were paid by the day or piece for labor and supplied no materials, the limit is two months after the whole job is complete.¹

Your last day is your last real work. "No trivial imperfection in or omission from the said work" postpones any deadline.¹ Colorado courts called $6.75 of plumber's labor, months after the plumbing was done, trivial. They also held that mopping the seams on a roof, done two months after the roofing was laid, was "an essential part of the work," so the later date counted.¹ A warranty call or a trip to watch the inspector won't buy you time. Whether a fix for a failed inspection counts is a fact question for a judge, so don't plan around it.

Homes for sale have one more limit. On a single- or two-family home, a lien recorded more than two months after completion doesn't bind a good-faith buyer unless it was on record before the sale closed, the buyer knew you weren't paid, or you recorded a separate notice in time.¹ If the house is listed, record early.

How to file a mechanics lien in Colorado: what, where and the fee

1. Serve the notice of intent on every owner and on the principal contractor (if you aren't it), at least 10 days before you record. Personal service or registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last-known address. Nothing else counts.¹
2. Write the lien statement. It names the owner, you, who furnished the work, the principal contractor if you're a sub, describes the property, and states the amount due. It must be "signed and sworn to."¹ Accrued interest can go in the amount.¹ Colorado has no official form, and Denver's clerk "cannot supply forms." Have it notarized before you take it in.⁹
3. Attach the affidavit of service. The affidavit proving you served the notice 10 days ahead is recorded with the statement and is the proof of service.¹
4. Record it with the clerk and recorder of the county where the property is. Denver charges a flat $43 a document; mail it to 200 W. 14th Ave., Denver, CO 80204 with a check to "Manager of Finance," book an appointment, or use one of the city's eRecording vendors.⁹ Other counties charge the statewide $40 a document plus small surcharges.¹⁰ Recording in the wrong county gets you no refund.⁹

Colorado law doesn't require you to send the owner a copy of the recorded lien. I would anyway, with a short note saying what it takes to release it.

Enforce it within six months or lose it

"No lien ... shall hold the property longer than six months after the last work or labor is performed" unless you've started a suit to enforce it and recorded a notice of that suit within the six months.¹ Six months from your last day, not from the day you recorded. Record at month four and you have two months left.

The suit goes to district court. County courts can't hear "matters affecting boundaries or title to real property," and small claims can't hear anything county court can't.⁵ In the same suit you can ask for a money judgment against the person who owes you, and a court can grant it even if the lien fails.¹ This is where most small contractors stop doing it themselves.

On r/Roofing, one commenter said of a lien: "Then they cannot sell or die without paying you."¹⁶ Not in Colorado. Here an unenforced lien stops holding the property after six months.

Overstated and wrongful liens

• Excessive lien. File for more than is due "without a reasonable possibility that said amount claimed is due and with the knowledge" that it's more, and you forfeit the lien and pay the owner's "costs and all attorney's fees."¹ Since August 12, 2026 (SB 26-074), a court awarding less than you claimed doesn't make the lien excessive "if the person had a good faith basis to believe the lien amount was due," and a disputed amount can still be "due."^1,2 So claim the contract balance, approved change orders and interest. Leave out the extras you never got signed.
• Groundless lien. Recording a document you know or should know is "groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim" makes you liable to the owner for at least $1,000 or actual damages, plus attorney fees.³
• Paid, not released. Once you're paid, record a release within 10 days of the owner's written request, or pay $10 a day.¹

Subs and suppliers versus the prime contractor

When the owner signed a contract with a prime, the lien "shall extend to the entire contract price." Everyone working under the prime is paid out of it first, and the prime has a lien for "any balance."¹ Every payment the prime receives is also trust money for the subs and suppliers on that job (the contract page explains the trust rule). For a sub on a home, add the full-payment defense above: speed matters more than it does for the prime.

Lien waivers: when to sign them

A waiver binds only "as between the parties" to it, and since 2009 it must state that the debts you owe third parties for the work it covers "have been paid or will be timely paid."¹ Colorado has no official waiver form, and courts resolve doubtful wording "against the waiver."¹ My rules: sign a waiver only for money you've received, write the amount and the dates it covers, and when a customer wants one with the final check, make it conditional on the check clearing.

Other ways to get paid in Colorado

Colorado small claims: the $7,500 limit

• Limit: $7,500, "exclusive of interest and costs."⁵
• Fee: $31 for $500 or less, $55 from $500.01 to $7,500 in the state courts.⁶ Denver County Court, which hears Denver small claims, says only that "Civil fees may vary by case type" and are paid at the clerk's office, so confirm when you file.⁷
• Where: the county where the customer lives, works or has an office.⁵
• Who appears: you, or for a company a full-time officer, member or employee. Lawyers generally can't take part.⁵
• How often: no more than two claims a month and 18 a year in one county.⁵
• What it can't do: foreclose a mechanics lien.⁵

Winning isn't the same as being paid. "Just because you win in small claims doesn't mean you get paid, you still have to collect. The court doesn't do that for you," as one roofer put it.¹⁶ What helps in Colorado: ask the court clerk for a certified transcript of the judgment and record it with the county clerk and recorder. From then it's a lien on the customer's real estate in that county for six years, unless the property is exempt from execution.⁵ It earns interest at your contract rate or 8% a year.⁸ Over $7,500, county court takes claims up to $25,000, and district court the rest.^5,7

Interest and attorney fees

Your contract's interest rate applies if it has one. Without one, a lien claim carries 12% a year,¹ and money "wrongfully withheld" carries 8% a year, compounded annually, from when it was due.⁸ Attorney fees come only from your contract. The lien law gives fees to the owner when your lien is excessive, and none to you when you win: the court divides the costs "according to the justice of the case."¹ If your contract has no fee clause, add one to the next job's terms.

No prompt-payment law for home jobs

Colorado's private retainage law covers contracts of $150,000 or more, and not a contract to build one single-family home or a building of up to four units.⁴ I found no law that sets a payment deadline on an ordinary home job. Your contract's due date is the deadline.

Collection agencies

A homeowner's unpaid bill is a consumer debt, so a Colorado collection agency must be licensed to chase it.⁸ The agency can't add "any interest, fee, charge, or expense" unless "expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law."⁸ Without a collection-cost clause in your contract, the agency's cut comes out of your money. Collecting your own bills in your company's name doesn't make you an agency; doing it under another name does.⁸

Card chargebacks

If the customer paid by card and files a dispute, answer it through your processor before its deadline with the signed quote, change orders, photos and the invoice.

By trade

Roofers: the deductible and the claim money

Colorado roofing law shapes how you're paid on a claim job, and my Colorado roofing law page covers it in full. The short version: you can't pay, waive or rebate the deductible; on a home roof over $1,000 you hold the owner's money in trust until the materials are on site or most of the roof is done; and the owner can back out within 72 hours of signing, and again within 72 hours of an insurance denial.¹⁷ For collecting, two points. The deductible is part of your contract price, so an owner who skips it owes you the balance like any other customer. And whoever the insurer pays, your claim is against the owner under your contract, and your lien covers the whole unpaid price.¹

Electricians, plumbers and HVAC: billing by stage, and the inspection hold

Bill by stage on anything bigger than a service call: a deposit for equipment, a payment at rough-in, the rest at the final. The trap is tying the last payment to a final inspection the customer controls. Your lien clock runs from your last work, not from the inspection,¹ so a customer who stalls the inspection eats your four months. Write the final payment as due a set number of days after you finish, inspection or not, and say in the contract who schedules the inspection. If the job needed a permit, make sure your license covered it (above).

General contractors and remodelers: the punch list

A final payment held over a punch list is the most common version of this problem. Colorado's rule cuts both ways. Trivial punch-list items don't stop your deadline running, and trivial fixes after the fact don't restart it.¹ Get the list in writing, finish it fast, and count your four months from the last real work.

If a customer owes you now: this week

• ☐ Find your last day of real work or materials on the job. Write it down with what you did that day.
• ☐ Count 120 days from it, then 110, then 90. Put all three dates on your calendar.
• ☐ Pull the signed contract or approved quote, change orders, invoices, payment record and photos into one folder.
• ☐ Check whether the house is an existing single-family home or the owner's own home. If you're a sub, find out what the owner has paid the prime.
• ☐ Check whether the house is for sale. If it is, plan to record within two months of completion.
• ☐ Send the demand letter with a 10-day pay date, by email and certified mail.
• ☐ Pull the owner names and legal description from the deed or the county assessor for the notice of intent.
• ☐ Book an hour with a construction lawyer if the amount is disputed or over $7,500.
• ☐ Under $7,500 and no lien wanted? Find the small claims court in the customer's county.

The download: demand letter, notice of intent and deadline worksheet

Three parts, each with blanks and grey notes you delete before printing:

• Demand letter for unpaid work, with a balance table (contract price, change orders, payments, interest only if your contract sets a rate), a 10-day pay date, a line for the undisputed part, a payment plan offer, and the notice-of-intent warning. Colorado sets no wording for it.
• Notice of intent to file a lien statement under C.R.S. 38-22-109(3), with a service log and the affidavit of service, notary block included, to record with your lien.
• Deadline worksheet: your last day of work, then each deadline with its time limit, a blank for your date, the statute and a box to tick.

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

More for new contractors

• How to find work as a new contractor: where your first customers come from, with a free first customers plan.
• Angi vs Thumbtack: should you pay for leads yet, with a free lead cost calculator.
• Google Business Profile for contractors: setup, verification and your first reviews, with a free checklist.
• How much to set aside for taxes: self-employment tax, quarterly payments and your state, with a free calculator.
• Hiring your first employee: W-2 or 1099, workers comp and what a helper really costs, with a free checklist.
• Contractor insurance: what you need from day one, what it costs and what can wait, with a free checklist.
• Punch list template: stop a small list holding your final payment.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors. It won't file a lien, it doesn't track lien deadlines, and it doesn't send overdue reminders or add late fees by itself. What it keeps is the paper trail a lien or a small claims case runs on: the quote the customer approved and signed on screen, with the date; each visit's finish time, notes and photos, which is how you prove your last day of work; and the invoice with its due date, when you sent it and when the customer opened it. An unpaid invoice shows as overdue. You can send it again with a new message and a card payment link, and record cash, check, Zelle or partial payments against it. 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

How long does a contractor have to file a mechanics lien in Colorado?

Four months after the last day you did work or delivered materials on the job (C.R.S. 38-22-109(5)). Two exceptions shorten it. If you were paid by the day or piece for labor only and supplied no materials, the limit is two months after the whole job is complete. And on a single- or two-family home that's being sold, a lien recorded more than two months after completion doesn't bind the buyer unless it's on record before the sale closes (38-22-125). Then you have six months from your last day of work to sue to enforce the lien (38-22-110).

Do I have to send a notice of intent to lien in Colorado?

Yes. Every lien claimant must serve a notice of intent to file a lien statement on the owner and the principal contractor at least 10 days before recording the lien, by personal service or by registered or certified mail with a return receipt. An affidavit proving that service gets recorded with the lien (C.R.S. 38-22-109(3)). Colorado has no other pre-job or preliminary notice.

Can a contractor put a lien on a house without a written contract in Colorado?

The lien law says a contract between an owner and a contractor for more than $500 shall be in writing, but it doesn't make the writing a condition of the lien. Where the contract isn't recorded, everyone who did the work has a lien for its value (C.R.S. 38-22-101(3)). Without a signed contract, though, you'll have a harder time proving the price, and the lien amount has to be one you believe in good faith is due.

Can an unlicensed contractor file a mechanics lien in Colorado?

The lien statute doesn't mention licenses, so nothing stops an unlicensed contractor from recording a lien. Enforcing it is the problem. Colorado courts won't enforce a contract made without a license the law requires for public protection, and the Court of Appeals has said a contractor without required licenses and permits cannot recover compensation for its services. I found no Colorado case applying that rule to a lien, but expect the owner to argue nothing is owed. In Denver, a license is required for any work that needs a permit.

How much does it cost to file a mechanics lien in Colorado?

Recording is $43 a document in Denver; elsewhere the statewide clerk fee is $40 a document plus small surcharges. Add certified mail for the notice of intent and a notary for the lien statement and affidavit. The expensive part comes later: if the customer still doesn't pay, enforcing the lien means a lawsuit in district court within six months, which usually means a lawyer.

What is the small claims limit in Colorado?

$7,500, not counting interest and costs (C.R.S. 13-6-403). The state filing fee is $31 for claims of $500 or less and $55 from $500.01 to $7,500. You file in the county where the customer lives, works or has an office. Denver County Court hears Denver small claims; its fees may vary, so confirm with the clerk. Small claims can't foreclose a mechanics lien.

How do I fill out a lien waiver in Colorado?

Colorado has no official waiver form. Since 2009, any agreement to waive lien rights must state, in substance, that all debts you owe to third parties for the work covered by the waiver have been paid or will be paid on time (C.R.S. 38-22-119(2)). Write the amount and the dates the waiver covers, and sign it only for money you have actually received.

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. Each has the demand letter, the notice of intent with its affidavit of service, and the deadline worksheet.

Sources

1. Colorado Revised Statutes title 38, article 22, Mechanics' Liens: 38-22-101(1) (who has a lien; "for the value, whether disputed or undisputed"), (2) (lien extends to "the entire contract price"; "any balance" to the contractor), (3) (contracts over $500 "shall be in writing"; unrecorded contract, "a lien for the value thereof"), (5) (contract rate or "twelve percent per annum"), (7) (contract costs including delay); 38-22-102(3.5) (full-payment defense on "an existing single-family dwelling unit" or "a single-family, owner-occupied dwelling unit"), (4) to (6) (claimant's written notice to the owner; owner's duty to withhold); annotations: Wholesale Specialties v. Village Homes (Colo. App. 1991) ("to protect homeowners from paying for their home twice"), Crissey Fowler Lumber v. FCIB (Colo. App. 2000) (liens "recorded prior to full payment"); 38-22-105.5 (the permit office mails the owner the lien notice); 38-22-109(1) to (5), (7) and (10) (statement contents; "signed and sworn to"; notice of intent "at least ten days before", personal service or registered or certified mail, affidavit recorded with the statement; two months for labor by the day or piece; four months; trivial imperfections; three-month abandonment); annotations: Boise-Payette Lumber v. Longwedel (1930) ($6.75 of plumber's labor trivial), Western Elaterite Roofing v. Fisher (1928) (mopping the seams "an essential part of the work"), Richter Plumbing & Heating v. Rademacher (1986); 38-22-110 (six months; notice of the action); 38-22-113(2) and (4) (judgment; full-payment defense), annotation Cannon v. Williams (1890) (personal judgment "notwithstanding no right to a lien exists"); 38-22-116 (costs "according to the justice of the case"); 38-22-118 (release within ten days; ten dollars a day); 38-22-119 (waivers binding "as between the parties"; statement that third-party debts "have been paid or will be timely paid", added 2009), annotation Bishop v. Moore (1958) (doubt "resolved against the waiver"); 38-22-125 (bona fide purchaser, two months after completion, single- or double-family dwelling); 38-22-128 (excessive liens, as amended by SB 26-074), annotation Honnen Equipment v. Never Summer Backhoe Service (2011) (accrued interest may be in the lien). No licensing condition anywhere in the article. olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026 (Office of Legislative Legal Services), read November 4, 2026.
2. Colorado General Assembly, SB26-074: the act "expressly allows for a private mechanic's lien ... to include costs otherwise allowed under a contract" and "clarifies that an award by a court for an amount less than the amount claimed ... does not render the amount claimed excessive"; signed April 6, 2026; effective August 12, 2026 (session laws chapter 39). leg.colorado.gov, read November 4, 2026.
3. C.R.S. 38-35-109(3): recording a document "knowing or having a reason to know that such document is forged or groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim, or is otherwise invalid": liability for "not less than one thousand dollars or for actual damages caused thereby, whichever is greater, together with reasonable attorney fees." olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.
4. C.R.S. 38-46-101 to 38-46-104, private construction retainage: 38-46-102 (contracts of "at least one hundred fifty thousand dollars"; not "A single contract that governs the building of either: (I) One single-family dwelling; or (II) One multifamily dwelling with no more than four family dwelling units"). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.
5. Colorado Revised Statutes title 13: 13-6-102 (county court is a court of record), 13-6-104(1) (county court up to $25,000) and (2) (lien foreclosure only under article 20 of title 38), 13-6-105(1)(e) (no jurisdiction over "matters affecting boundaries or title to real property"), 13-6-402 (small claims division of each county court), 13-6-403(1)(a) and (2)(a) ($7,500 "exclusive of interest and costs"; no jurisdiction over matters excluded from county court), 13-6-407(2) (who represents a party; no attorneys except as listed), 13-6-411(1) (two claims a month, eighteen a year, per county), 13-6-411.5(1) (where the defendant "resides, is regularly employed, is a student ... or has an office"), 13-32-101(1)(c)(III.5) (small claims docket fees, $31 and $55, in force until July 1, 2027), 13-52-102(1) (recorded judgment transcript is a lien on non-exempt real estate in the county; six years), 13-80-101(1)(a) (contract actions, three years), 13-80-103.5(1)(a) ("a liquidated debt or an unliquidated, determinable amount of money due", six years). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.
6. Colorado Judicial Branch, "Small Claims Cases Filing Fees": plaintiff up to $500.00, $31.00; $500.01 to $7,500.00, $55.00. coloradojudicial.gov, read November 4, 2026.
7. Denver County Court, "Civil": "Money Claims up to $25,000"; "Disputes exceeding $25,000 must be filed in the Denver District Court"; "Small Claims For claims not exceeding $7,500"; "Civil fees may vary by case type and can be paid at the Clerk's office upon filing"; Self Help Center at 1437 Bannock Street, Room 281. denvercountycourt.org, read November 4, 2026.
8. Colorado Revised Statutes title 5: 5-1-301(11)(a) ("consumer credit sale": credit "by a person who regularly engages as a seller in credit transactions of the same kind", household purpose, "payable in installments or a finance charge is made"), 5-12-101 and 5-12-102(1)(b) and (4) (8% compounded annually on money "wrongfully withheld" or after it becomes due; judgment interest at the contract rate or 8%), 5-16-103(3) and (8) (collection agency; creditor's own collections in its own name excluded, under another name included; "debt" is a consumer's obligation), 5-16-108(1)(a) (no amount "unless the amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law"), 5-16-115(1)(a) (license required). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.
9. Denver Clerk and Recorder, "Record Documents": "Per Document: $43"; "To file a lien, you must obtain the proper blank form, fill it out and have it notarized prior to bringing it to the Office of the Clerk and Recorder"; staff "cannot supply forms"; mail to 200 W. 14th Ave., Denver, CO 80204, checks to "Manager of Finance", or by appointment; eRecording vendors; no refunds for documents recorded in the wrong county. denvergov.org, read November 4, 2026.
10. C.R.S. 30-1-103(1) ("forty dollars for each document") and 30-10-421(1)(b) and (c) (a one-dollar surcharge and the electronic recording technology board surcharge per document). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.
11. City and County of Denver, 2025 Denver Building Code, Administration 121.2: "Licenses shall be required for any work requiring a permit. Electrical and plumbing contractors must register with the Agency." denvergov.org; Denver, "Contractor Licenses" ("a two-step process"), denvergov.org. Both read November 4, 2026.
12. C.R.S. 12-115-109(1) (no person "shall engage in or work at the business, trade, or calling" of an electrician without a license) and 12-155-108(1)(a) (the same for plumbers). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.
13. Benham v. Heyde, 122 Colo. 233, 221 P.2d 1078 (Colo. 1950). courtlistener.com, read November 4, 2026.
14. Aspen Drilling Co. v. Hayes, 876 P.2d 86 (Colo. App. 1994). courtlistener.com, read November 4, 2026.
15. Carter v. Thompkins, 133 Colo. 279, 294 P.2d 265 (Colo. 1956): the unlicensed plumber may "recover any unpaid balance due him for the materials furnished and labor performed not requiring the services of a licensed plumber." courtlistener.com, read November 4, 2026.
16. r/Roofing thread, "Customer refuses to pay. What should we do?" (March 24, 2025): the original poster's post and reply, and replies by two other users ("Then they cannot sell or die without paying you"; "Just because you win in small claims doesn't mean you get paid"). reddit.com, read November 4, 2026.
17. C.R.S. 6-22-102 to 6-22-105, Roofing Services - Residential Property: 6-22-103(1)(f)(I) (the owner may "rescind the contract and obtain a full refund of any deposit within seventy-two hours after entering the contract"), 6-22-103(2) ("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"), 6-22-104(1)(a) (72 hours after written notice that the claim "is denied in whole or in part"), 6-22-105(1) ("shall not advertise or promise to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any insurance deductible"); 6-22-102 (work over $1,000 on residential property). olls.info, Colorado Revised Statutes 2026, read November 4, 2026.