How to Find Colorado Probate Listings for Free: Search the Notice to Creditors
How can a Colorado real estate agent find probate listings for free?
Search "Notice to Creditors" on PublicNoticeColorado.com. Colorado requires every estate's personal representative to publish one, and the notice names the court, the case number, and who to contact.
Most agents who want probate business go one of two ways. They buy a lead list from a data vendor, or they wait for an estate attorney to send them something. Both can work. Both also put you in line behind every other agent who bought the same list.
There is a third way that costs nothing, and most agents don't know it exists. Colorado law requires every estate that goes through probate to announce itself in the newspaper, and Colorado law also puts every newspaper notice onto one free, searchable website. If you know what to search for, you can see new estates in your farm area every week.
Below is the exact search, what the notice tells you, the Colorado rules that matter once you are listing a probate property, and how to reach out without being the agent who sends a "sorry for your loss, want to sell?" postcard.
Why probate notices exist in Colorado
When someone dies and their estate goes through probate, the court appoints a personal representative (the role many people still call the executor). One of the first jobs that person has is telling creditors the estate is open.
Under C.R.S. 15-12-801, the personal representative has to publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered. The rules are specific:
At least three times, once a week for three weeks in a row.
A claims deadline that is not earlier than four months after the first publication.
If there is no newspaper in that county, the notice runs in a paper from an adjoining county.
C.R.S. 15-12-803 backs that up with an outside limit: creditors have no more than one year from the date of death to bring a claim, even if no notice ran.
That four-month window is the reason this matters to you. A family usually does not want to close on the house until they know what the estate owes. The notice period is when the personal representative is figuring out what to do with the property, which means it is exactly when a helpful agent is useful.
Why every one of those notices ends up on one website
Colorado's public notice law (C.R.S. 24-70-102 and 24-70-103) has required, since January 1, 2015, that every public notice and legal advertisement printed in a Colorado newspaper also be uploaded to a central website. That website is PublicNoticeColorado.com, run by the Colorado Press Association.
A few things about the site make it useful for agents:
It is free to search. The site says notices are available to users at no charge.
It covers the last 12 months in the main search, with an archive search for older notices.
It filters by county, city, and newspaper, so you can match it to your farm.
Smart Search lets you save a search and get results by email daily. That part requires a free sign-up.
Court records are a different story. The Colorado Judicial Branch says plainly that court records are not available directly through its website. Name searches go through paid vendors, and since 2016 probate case documents have been viewable online only to parties of record. The newspaper notice is the public, free version of the same information.
The search, step by step
This takes about 10 minutes the first time and two minutes a week after that.
Go to PublicNoticeColorado.com. You do not need an account to search.
Type "Notice to Creditors" in the keyword box and choose Exact Phrase. That is the standard heading on estate notices.
Filter by county. Start with the one county where you do the most business. Denver, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Adams, Douglas, and Boulder all publish here.
Set the date range to the last two weeks. New notices run three weeks in a row, so a two-week window catches each estate at least once without a pile of repeats.
Open each notice and note five things: the decedent's name, the case number, the court, the claims deadline, and the name and mailing address listed for the personal representative (often in care of their attorney).
Sign up for Smart Search once your search works, and save it so new results arrive by email instead of you remembering to look.
What a real notice looks like
Here is the structure of an actual Denver notice, with the names removed. It lists the estate name and a case number with "PR" in it, then says that all persons having claims against the estate must present them to the personal representative or to the Denver Probate Court "on or before" a specific date, "or the claims may be forever barred." Below that, it lists the personal representative's name and a mailing address in care of a law firm.
That last line is the one you care about. It tells you who is in charge and whether there is an attorney involved.
Matching notices to property
The notice does not list the property address. To find out whether the estate owns real estate, look the decedent's name up in the county assessor's records or in a title farming tool. If you use Title Toolbox, I walked through it in how agents use Title Toolbox to farm neighborhoods.
Two filters keep this from turning into busywork:
Only keep estates with real property in your market. A lot of estates are just bank accounts and a car.
Only keep owner-occupied or long-held homes if your business is residential. Those are the ones most likely to be sold instead of rented or kept.
Denver is different from the rest of the metro
Colorado has one court that only handles probate: the Denver Probate Court, created by Article VI, Section 9 of the Colorado Constitution. It has exclusive jurisdiction over probate and estate matters in the City and County of Denver only.
Outside Denver, estates are handled by the district court for that county. In practice, that means your Denver notices will say "Denver Probate Court" and your Jefferson or Arapahoe notices will name the district court. If you want to pull a file, the Denver Probate Court takes records requests by email, phone, mail, or an online portal, and charges $5 per name search if you do not have a case number.
What the personal representative can actually sign
This is where agents lose time on probate listings. The personal representative is usually the person who signs your listing agreement and the deed, and Colorado gives them a lot of room to sell.
C.R.S. 15-1-804, part of the Colorado Fiduciaries' Powers Act, lets a fiduciary sell real property "at public or private sale" and says those powers can be used without court authorization when they are reasonably necessary to administer the estate.
C.R.S. 15-12-715 gives the personal representative those powers "except as restricted or otherwise provided by the will or by an order in a formal proceeding."
The exception to watch: the sale power in 15-1-804(2)(g) does not apply to real property that is specifically devised, meaning the will leaves that house to a named person.
Translated: in a typical informal probate, the personal representative can list and sell the house without a judge signing off. In a supervised administration, or when the will or a court order restricts the sale, the attorney will tell you what extra steps apply. Ask on day one, not after you have a contract.
Not legal advice. The estate's attorney is the person who confirms what this particular personal representative can sign.
What the title company will ask for
From the closing side, probate files come down to proving that the person signing has the authority to sign. As an Account Executive with Chicago Title of Colorado, the probate questions I hear from agents are almost always about paperwork, not price.
Expect the title company to ask for:
The Letters. Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration are the court document that appoints the personal representative. Have the attorney send a current certified copy early.
A personal representative's deed. The deed comes from the estate, signed by the personal representative in that capacity.
The will and the probate case number, so the title examiner can check for restrictions or a specific devise.
A clean read on liens. Unpaid property taxes, a reverse mortgage, or a judgment against the decedent all have to be handled at closing. Ordering an O&E report before you list catches those early. I explained what that report shows in What Is an Ownership and Encumbrance Report?
If you have ever had a closing slide because a signer's authority was not documented, the same lesson applies here as in my post on power of attorney at a Colorado closing: get the authority document to the title company the week you open escrow, not the week you close. And if a family member asks why the buyer needs an owner's policy on an estate sale, send them to my plain English guide to title insurance in Colorado instead of explaining it from scratch.
How to reach out without being that agent
This is the part that decides whether probate becomes a real source of business or a reputation problem. The people on the other end are grieving, and many have never sold a house.
Do
Write a letter, not a postcard. A sealed, plain envelope. Nobody wants a "We Buy Houses" style card on the kitchen counter after a funeral.
Lead with something useful. A one-page checklist of what happens to a house during Colorado probate, the four-month creditor window, and who signs what. That is more valuable than a market report at this stage.
Address it to the personal representative, using the name and address from the notice. If the address is in care of an attorney, the letter goes to the attorney's office, which is fine. Attorneys pass along things that help their clients.
Wait for the second or third publication before sending anything. A family that just lost someone does not need a letter the same week.
Send it once, then once more around the time the claims deadline approaches. That is when decisions about the house usually get made.
Don't
Don't cold call. If you do call, scrub every number against the National Do Not Call Registry first, and know that a phone call is the most intrusive option you have.
Don't open with price or speed. "Cash offer in 7 days" lands badly here.
Don't pretend you know the family. Say how you found the estate: it is a public notice, and being straightforward about that builds trust.
If you want a steady source of probate referrals over the long run, pair this search with relationships. The notice tells you who the estate attorneys in your county actually are, because their names and addresses are on the notices. I wrote about building those relationships in how agents build a referral network with estate attorneys.
A weekly routine that takes 15 minutes
Here is how I would set this up if I were farming a Denver Metro neighborhood:
Monday: read the Smart Search email for your county. Flag new estates.
Monday: check flagged names against assessor records or your farming tool. Keep only the ones with property in your area.
Tuesday: add them to your CRM with the claims deadline as a follow-up date.
After the third publication: send the first letter with your probate checklist.
Two to four weeks before the claims deadline: send the second letter.
That is it. You are not out-spending anyone on ads or mail. You are just reading a public record that most agents do not know exists. If you already run a geographic farm, this fits inside it. I covered what actually wins a farm in Only 2% of Sellers Found Their Agent by Mail.
Frequently asked questions
Are probate notices public record in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado requires the personal representative to publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper at least three times, and Colorado's public notice law requires newspapers to post their notices on PublicNoticeColorado.com, which is free to search.
How long does a creditor have to file a claim against a Colorado estate?
The published notice sets a deadline that cannot be earlier than four months after the first publication. Separately, creditors have no more than one year from the date of death. The estate's attorney can confirm the deadline for a specific estate.
Can a personal representative sell a house without court approval in Colorado?
Often, yes. Colorado's Fiduciaries' Powers Act lets a personal representative sell real property without court authorization, unless the will, a court order in a formal proceeding, or a specific devise of the property says otherwise. Confirm with the estate's attorney before you list.
Where do I search Colorado probate court records?
The Colorado Judicial Branch does not offer direct online access. Name searches run through paid vendors, and probate documents are viewable online only to parties of record. Denver Probate Court takes records requests directly. For agents, the newspaper notice on PublicNoticeColorado.com is the free starting point.
What does the title company need to close a probate sale?
Typically a current certified copy of the Letters appointing the personal representative, a deed signed by the personal representative, and enough information about the will and the case to confirm there are no restrictions on the sale. Liens and unpaid taxes get paid at closing.
Want help with a probate listing?
If you have a probate or estate listing coming up and you want help thinking through the paperwork, or you want marketing ideas for getting it in front of the right buyers, reach out to me.
Want more tools, tactics, and resources like this? Subscribe to my weekly emails at milehightitleguy.com. I share real estate marketing ideas, AI tools, and exclusive invites to upcoming classes and events across Colorado.
This post is general education, not legal advice. For questions about a specific estate, talk with the estate's attorney.
Jerad Larkin
Account Executive | Chicago Title Colorado
303.630.9430 | Info@MileHighTitleGuy.com
milehightitleguy.com
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