Search Denver County Probate Records

Denver Probate Court Overview

Denver Probate Court is the only stand-alone probate court in Colorado. The court is set apart by the state constitution and is often referred to as the 24th Judicial District. Official court text says the court has exclusive jurisdiction over all matters of probate, settlements of estates of deceased persons, appointment of guardians, conservators, and administrators, settlement of their accounts, adjudication of the mentally ill, and other jurisdiction provided by law. The court sits inside the City and County Building.

The clerk's office is at 1437 Bannock Street, Room 230, Denver, CO 80202. The main phone is 303-606-2303. Records requests go to DenverProbateRecordsRequest@judicial.state.co.us. Inside the building, take the elevator to the second floor, turn left, and the clerk's office is at the end of the hall on the right. The self-help center is around the corner at the end of the hall. Office hours run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. See the full Denver Probate Court page for added detail.

Probate cases are not handled at Denver County Court. Denver County Court hears municipal, traffic, civil up to $25,000, and state misdemeanor matters. Probate, estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, and mental health adjudications all route to the probate clerk at Bannock Street. The Clerk of Court page covers how Denver splits its many clerks.

Note: The probate clerk's office cannot give legal advice, but it can answer procedural questions and accept filings.

How to Search Denver Probate Records

The probate clerk accepts record requests in five ways: in person at the records counter, by phone at 303-606-2303, by mail to Room 230 at 1437 Bannock Street, by email to DenverProbateRecordsRequest@judicial.state.co.us, or through the state online portal. Each request should include the case number when known, the party name, the date of death, the date of birth, the county of residence, and the documents needed. A name search costs $5 per name if no case number is on file.

The statewide Colorado Judicial index does not go further back than 1988. For probate files from other counties before 1988, the file stays with the originating county clerk, and that clerk must be contacted. Denver kept its own pre-1988 probate files, but staff may need to pull them from offsite storage, which adds a $15 retrieval fee per case.

For active cases and recent dockets, the Colorado Judicial Branch docket search lets users filter by court. Pick Denver - Probate, set a date range, and the system lists hearings on that date. Use the Denver Probate docket search to view the next week of hearings. The state form for written requests is the Record/Document Request Form, which is the same form used for District Court and Juvenile Court requests.

Records staff aim to respond within three business days unless the file is offsite, suppressed, or protected. Probate files with mental health content, sealed adoption material, or other protected data may need a government photo ID and may take longer to review.

What Denver Probate Court Handles

The court's docket runs the full life cycle of estate and protective matters. Most files fall into one of seven groups, each with its own forms, fees, and hearings.

• Estates, both intestate and testate, including proceedings to appoint a personal representative.
• Special administration under C.R.S. § 15-12-614, which lets the court name a special administrator to protect an estate before a personal representative is named or where a prior appointment ended.
• Trusts, including trust accountings and disputes between trustees and beneficiaries.
• Guardianships of adults and minors.
• Conservatorships, where a court-named conservator manages funds for a protected person.
• Settlement of claims for a minor or an adult in need of protection under C.R.S. § 15-14-401 and Colorado Rules of Probate Procedure Rule 62.
• Mental health adjudications, including civil commitment and certification under Title 27.

Each case type has its own Colorado Judicial Department (JDF) forms. Denver Probate adds a small set of local forms for in-house tasks like withdrawing funds from a restricted account or asking for a transcript.

Denver Probate Fees

Probate fees are set by court rule and are paid at the time of the request. Cash, check, money order, and card are all accepted, but a 2.5% card service fee applies starting May 1, 2025.

If a copy must be both certified and mailed, all three fees stack: the per-page copy fee, the $20 certification, and the $1 postage charge for the first 10 pages. Parties and their attorneys on a case may have their own copy costs capped under state rules, but offsite and certification fees still apply.

How to Request a Denver Probate Record

A clean record request gets back faster. The probate clerk's office runs the same five-step path for nearly every file, whether it is a closed estate or an open guardianship.

1. Identify the case. Pull the date of death, party name, and county of residence, and look for a case number on prior court papers.
2. Gather the requester data. Have a full name, mailing address, phone, email, and a photo ID if the file may be protected.
3. Pick a submission method. In person, phone, mail, email to DenverProbateRecordsRequest@judicial.state.co.us, or the state online portal all work.
4. Complete the state form. Use the Record/Document Request Form and set the county field to Denver - Probate.
5. Pay the fees. Pay name search, copy, certification, and offsite retrieval costs based on the chart above.
6. Receive the records. Standard turn time is three business days. Mailed files include postage; emailed files are sent as PDF where allowed.

How Denver Probate Cases Work

Most Denver probate cases share a common arc, from the first filing to the final accounting. The flow is the same for testate and intestate estates, with small detours for trusts, guardianships, and conservatorships.

1. Determine the estate type and decide if a personal representative is needed.
2. Use the statewide Colorado Judicial forms for probate initiation. Denver-specific local forms are used only where listed by the court.
3. File pro se papers in person or by mail. Denver Probate does not accept pro se filings by fax or email.
4. The court reviews the case under either informal or formal probate, and notice may be required to heirs, devisees, and creditors.
5. The personal representative, guardian, or conservator files an inventory and accounting and runs the matter under court rules.
6. Interested parties can object, contest, or ask for a hearing if they see a problem with the accounting or the actions of the fiduciary.
7. The case closes through a final accounting that ends the estate, guardianship, or conservatorship.

Note: Denver Probate Court does not take pro se filings by fax or email, so plan a trip in person or use mail for first papers.

Denver Probate Local Forms

Most filings use the statewide JDF forms from the Colorado Judicial Branch. Denver Probate also keeps a short list of local forms for tasks that only run in this court.

• DPC 5 - Petition to Withdraw Funds from Restricted Registry Account.
• DPC 6 - Objection to Magistrate Hearing Case.
• DPC 8 - Decedent's Family Tree.
• Transcript Request Form, for prior hearing audio.
• Digital Recording Request Form, for copies of court audio files.

The local forms can be picked up at Room 230 or pulled from the Denver Probate page on the Colorado Judicial Branch site. Submit completed DPC forms to the clerk's office along with the matching JDF case forms.

Probate Self-Help and Legal Aid

The Denver Probate Self-Help Center sits in Room 230 at 1437 Bannock Street, the same suite as the clerk. The phone is 303-606-2502 and the email is DPCSelfHelp@judicial.state.co.us. Staff can answer procedural questions, hand out forms, and point users to the right hearing room. They cannot give legal advice or fill out forms for a party.

For free or low-cost legal help, several groups serve Denver probate users. Colorado Legal Services handles civil legal aid for low-income Coloradans, including some elder law and protective proceedings. Metro Volunteer Lawyers offers Denver-area pro bono civil help. Project Safeguard, which Denver Probate Court cites by name, helps survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking with safety planning, legal advocacy, court support, and attorney services. The Colorado Judicial self-help page hosts forms, instructions, and video walkthroughs.

For broader court-related questions, the court records page covers how the rest of the Denver court system handles its files.

Restricted Probate Records

Some Denver probate files are not open to the public. Mental health adjudications carry the most protection because they hold medical and competency data. The clerk may ask for a government photo ID before releasing such a file, and the court may redact parts of the record under Chief Justice Directive 05-01. The directive sets the public access rules for all state court files.

Adoption records also sit on a separate confidential track. Many adoption matters flow through juvenile and family channels, not probate, but probate keeps any adoption-linked file under seal. Some personal health information, Social Security numbers, and minor names are redacted as a matter of course in any probate file.

Suppressed cases, juvenile probate matters, and other protected data may require ID per the state record form warning. Sealed guardianship or conservatorship files may also be limited to parties, attorneys, and authorized agencies.

Probate Glossary

Probate uses a set of terms that show up in nearly every estate file. A quick definition helps when reading filings, orders, and letters from the court.

Testator

The person who made the will. After the testator dies, the will is filed with the probate court.

Executor (Personal Representative)

The person named in the will, or appointed by the court, who carries out the estate. Colorado uses the term personal representative in most statutes.

Intestate

Dying without a valid will. Colorado intestacy law sets who inherits in that case.

Guardian

A person named by the court to make personal or medical choices for a minor or an adult who needs protection.

Conservator

A person named by the court to manage funds and property for a minor or a protected adult.

Letters Testamentary

The court document that proves the personal representative has the power to act for the estate. Banks, title firms, and others ask for these letters.

Connecting Probate to Other Denver Records

Probate often crosses paths with other Denver record types. Marriage and divorce data help prove heirship and spousal rights, so the marriage and divorce page is a common next stop. The Clerk of Court page maps the split between Denver's many clerks, since estate property may also need recorded deeds from the Denver Clerk and Recorder. For wider case access across all Denver courts, the court records page is the main entry point, and the public records page covers open records requests under state law.