Power of Attorney at a Colorado Closing: The 7 Business Day Rule Agents Miss

Jerad Larkin

1 hour ago

8 min read

When a seller or buyer can't make it to the closing table, how long does a Colorado title company have to accept their power of attorney?

Under C.R.S. 15-14-720, a person handed an acknowledged power of attorney has 7 business days to either accept it or ask for a certification, translation, or opinion of counsel. Send it to your closer the day you get it.

Here is a scenario that plays out at Colorado closings. The contract is signed, the closing date is set, and then the client says the words that make an agent's stomach drop: "I'm going to be out of the country that week, so my brother is going to sign for me." The brother has a power of attorney. Nobody has looked at it. Closing is eleven days away.

Most agents treat a power of attorney as a signature problem. It is really a calendar problem. Colorado law gives the party receiving the document a set amount of time to say yes, and if you wait until closing week to hand it over, you may have already used up the time you needed.

This post walks through what the Colorado statutes actually say, a worked timeline you can copy, and the short list of things to get in front of your closer on day one. I pulled the statute language directly rather than working from memory, and I link every section below so you can read it yourself.

I am a title professional, not an attorney, so treat this as a map and not as legal advice. Your client's attorney is the right person to confirm whether a specific document does the job.

The 7 Business Day Rule in Plain English

Colorado adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, and two sections matter most when a power of attorney shows up in a real estate deal. The first is C.R.S. 15-14-719, which says a person who accepts an acknowledged power of attorney in good faith can rely on it. The second is C.R.S. 15-14-720, which sets the clock.

An "acknowledged" power of attorney is one the principal signed in front of a notary or another person authorized to take acknowledgments. Here is what the clock looks like once one is presented:

7 business days after the document is presented, the receiving party must either accept it or ask for one of three things: an agent's certification, an English translation, or an opinion of counsel.
5 business days after receiving whatever they asked for, they must accept it.
They cannot demand a different form of power of attorney for the authority already granted in the document you handed them.
If they refuse when the statute says they should not, a court can order them to accept it and make them pay reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

That is the outer limit, not the target. A good closer is not going to sit on a power of attorney for a week. But if the document has a problem, those are the days the law allows for sorting it out, and they are business days, so weekends and holidays do not count toward the total.

The statute also lets a party refuse in specific situations, including a good-faith belief that the document is invalid or that the agent lacks authority for the act being requested. In a real estate closing, that is the part that matters. A power of attorney that does not clearly cover selling or buying real property is the one that gets bounced.

A Worked Timeline: Why Closing Week Is Too Late

Say you have a closing on Friday, December 18, 2026. The seller's agent under power of attorney delivers the document to title on Monday, December 7. Here is how the days can stack up in the worst realistic case:

Mon, Dec 7: Power of attorney presented to the title company.
Wed, Dec 16: Day 7 of 7 business days. The title company can wait this long before it has to accept or ask for a certification.
Thu, Dec 17: Title asks for the agent's certification. The clock for acceptance moves to 5 business days after it arrives.
Fri, Dec 18: Your closing date. Five business days from a certification received this week lands the following week.

That is the worst case, and most files will not run that long. The point is that nothing in the statute guarantees a same-day answer, so a closing that depends on a power of attorney nobody has reviewed is a closing with no cushion.

If you want the same kind of day-counting for the rest of the year, my Q4 2026 closing date math post covers how holidays move other closing deadlines.

What Makes a Power of Attorney Work at a Closing

Colorado's rules for signing a power of attorney are short. Under C.R.S. 15-14-705, the principal signs it, or someone else signs in the principal's conscious presence. If the principal acknowledges the signature before a notary, the signature is presumed genuine.

Notarization is not what makes the document valid in Colorado. A Colorado estate planning firm explains that notarization is not strictly required for validity, but it gives the document a presumption of validity and is strongly recommended. For a real estate closing, treat a notarized document as the minimum, because the 7 business day rule above applies to acknowledged documents.

Check these before you send it to title

Does it grant authority over real property? A general document that says nothing about buying, selling, or signing deeds invites questions. Look for language that covers real estate transactions.
Is it signed and notarized? The notary block should be complete, with the principal's name matching the name on the contract.
Is the agent named, and is the agent the person who will actually be at the table? If the document names a successor agent, find out who is acting.
Is it durable? A power of attorney that is not durable ends if the principal becomes incapacitated. Ask the principal's attorney if there is any doubt.
Was it signed in another state? C.R.S. 15-14-706 says a power of attorney signed outside Colorado is valid here if it complied with the law of the place that governs it. That is good news for out-of-state sellers, but it is a question for the attorney, not the agent.
Do you have a legible copy? Under the same section, a photocopy or electronically transmitted copy has the same effect as the original, although the party relying on it can still ask to see the original.

The Certification Request: Do Not Be Surprised by It

Expect the closer to ask for an agent's certification. It is one of the three things C.R.S. 15-14-719 lets a party request and rely on without further investigation. It is a statement signed by the agent under penalty of perjury about facts concerning the principal, the agent, or the power of attorney.

In practical terms, that is where you cover the questions a closer cannot answer by reading the document: is the principal alive, has the power of attorney been revoked, and is the agent still serving. The principal pays for any translation, certification, or opinion that gets requested. If your client hears about it for the first time at the closing table, you have a frustrated seller and a late closing.

Why death matters

A power of attorney ends when the principal dies. C.R.S. 15-14-710 lists the ways one terminates, including death, revocation, and the document's own terms. There is a good-faith protection for someone who acts without actual knowledge of the termination, but you do not want a closing to depend on it. That is why the certification exists.

Recording the Power of Attorney

Colorado does not require you to record or register a power of attorney for it to be valid. The same estate planning firm notes that recording it with the county clerk and recorder where the property sits is common practice when real property is involved, because it gives the public notice of the agent's authority.

Whether a particular file needs the document recorded is a call for your closer and the underwriter on that file, and some lenders have their own rules. Ask early, and ask in writing, so you are not discovering a recording requirement on closing day.

Five Things To Do the Day You Hear About a Power of Attorney

Get a full copy to your closer immediately. Do not wait for the final signing package. The 7 business day window starts when it is presented.
Ask the closer what else they need. Certification of the agent, a recorded copy, or the lender's separate requirements should all come up in the first conversation.
Tell the client's attorney. If the document looks thin on real estate authority, the attorney can fix it faster than you can.
Ask if the principal can sign another way. If the only problem is distance, remote online notarization may be easier than relying on someone else's signature. I covered that in my post on closing from out of state with remote online notarization.
Lock down the funds instructions. When someone other than the principal is handling a closing, wire instructions deserve extra care. My wire fraud script for Denver agents is worth sending to the agent in that situation.

Where This Shows Up Before the Contract

Power of attorney problems are easier to fix before a listing goes live than after it goes under contract. If a seller has mentioned a trust, an estate, a deployed spouse, or a family member who handles their affairs, ask about it at the listing appointment. My pre-listing title check covers other ownership questions worth raising early.

As an Account Executive with Chicago Title of Colorado, I work with Denver Metro agents on exactly these timing questions. The closers I work with would rather see a power of attorney a month before closing than a day before. If you have a file with one in the mix, send it over early and ask what the closer needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a title company have to accept a power of attorney in Colorado?

Under C.R.S. 15-14-720, a person presented with an acknowledged power of attorney has 7 business days to accept it or request a certification, translation, or opinion of counsel. After receiving what they asked for, they have 5 business days to accept it.

Does a power of attorney have to be notarized in Colorado?

Notarization is not strictly required for validity, but acknowledging the signature before a notary creates a presumption that the signature is genuine under C.R.S. 15-14-705. For real estate, plan on a notarized document.

Does a power of attorney have to be recorded to be used at a closing?

Colorado does not require recording for a power of attorney to be valid, but recording it in the county where the property sits is common practice. Ask your closer whether the file needs it.

What happens to a power of attorney if the principal dies before closing?

It terminates. Under C.R.S. 15-14-710, death of the principal ends the agent's authority, which is why closers ask for a certification about the principal's status. Talk to the estate's attorney about how to proceed.

Ask Before It Becomes a Closing Week Problem

If you have a listing or contract where someone else will be signing for your client, send me a note and I will connect you with the right person at Chicago Title of Colorado so the paperwork gets looked at early. And if you want more closing mechanics like this, subscribe to my weekly emails at milehightitleguy.com.

This post is general information about Colorado statutes, current as of the date published, and is not legal advice. Confirm anything specific to a client with their attorney.