How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in Colorado?

In Colorado, the District Court of the county where the decedent lived appoints the personal representative and the Probate registrar in informal proceedings issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; an informal (registrar) track is available.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in Colorado

Personal Representative

The form that opens the estate

JDF 920

Petition for Formal Probate of Will and Formal Appointment of Personal Representative · Fillable PDF · View source

Start this petition for Colorado — the builder fills it with your answers. You review, sign, and file it with the court.

Where you file

District Court of the county where the decedent lived (Denver Probate Court in Denver County)

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by Probate registrar in informal proceedings

Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.

At a glance

UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filing (self-represented)Self-represented filingLocal/county forms

Self-represented filers CANNOT e-file a probate case: Colorado Courts E-Filing for non-attorneys is limited to domestic relations and eviction cases. A pro se filer takes or mails the JDF application/petition (and the original will) to the District Court — Denver Probate Court in Denver. Licensed attorneys may e-file probate, including Denver Probate Court cases, through Colorado Courts E-Filing.

Bond

Required before Letters: No
Waivable by will: Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries: Yes

Other official forms

Informal application: JDF 910 (testate) / JDF 916 (intestate)View source
Letters form: JDF 915View source

What to file with the petition

Original will and any codicils (lodged/deposited with the court) (C.R.S. §§ 15-11-515 "Deposit of will with court in testator's lifetime", 15-11-516 "Duty of custodian of will; lodging of will after death")
Acceptance of Appointment (JDF 911)
Proposed order submitted with the application/petition: informal JDF 913 (with a will) / JDF 917 (no will); formal JDF 921 (with a will) / JDF 923 (no will)
Renunciation and/or Nomination of Personal Representative where a higher-priority person yields (JDF 912)
Information of Appointment (JDF 940) mailed to heirs and devisees within 30 days of appointment
Bond only if required by the will or demanded by an interested person (C.R.S. §§ 15-12-603, 15-12-605)
Notice of Hearing (JDF 711) for the FORMAL track (JDF 920/922 petitions are heard after notice; the open-estate instructions list JDF 711 on both formal paths)
Irrevocable Power of Attorney Designating Clerk of Court as Agent for Service of Process (JDF 721) if the nominated personal representative lives outside Colorado

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form: JDF 999View source
Form name: Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit

State-specific notes

Colorado offers an informal (registrar, no hearing) and a formal (judge, notice/hearing) appointment track. Most uncontested estates use informal probate. The small-estate collection-of-personal-property affidavit (JDF 999, C.R.S. § 15-12-1201) is presented directly to asset holders ten or more days after death, is not filed with the court, does not transfer real estate, and is unavailable once a PR application/petition is pending or granted; the Colorado DMV requires its own affidavit (DR 2712) for vehicles. A COLORADO APPOINTMENT ALSO HAS A FLOOR, not just the three-year ceiling: C.R.S. §§ 15-12-303(1)(h) and 15-12-308(1)(h) bar the registrar from acting until "One hundred twenty hours have elapsed since the decedent's death" (the court states it as "You can file your paperwork to open the estate 120 hours (5 days) after the Decedent has died. The court cannot take any action before then."), and a CREDITOR petitioner must wait at least 45 days. The § 15-12-1201 threshold is statutory ("twice the amount set forth in § 15-11-403, as adjusted by § 15-10-112") and indexed for inflation, so the current dollar figure is published on JDF 998 (year-of-death schedule; $88,000 for 2026 deaths, JDF 998 R: March 19, 2026) rather than hardcoded here — the eligibility figure the builder gates on lives in probate-rules `smallEstate.affidavitLimit`.

General information about how a personal representative is appointed, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Aug 24, 2026

Colorado uses Petition for Formal Probate of Will and Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (JDF 920) (JDF 920), filed with the District Court of the county where the decedent lived. Probate registrar in informal proceedings issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, Colorado generally requires: Original will and any codicils (lodged/deposited with the court) (C.R.S. §§ 15-11-515 "Deposit of will with court in testator's lifetime", 15-11-516 "Duty of custodian of will; lodging of will after death"); Acceptance of Appointment (JDF 911); Proposed order submitted with the application/petition: informal JDF 913 (with a will) / JDF 917 (no will); formal JDF 921 (with a will) / JDF 923 (no will); Renunciation and/or Nomination of Personal Representative where a higher-priority person yields (JDF 912). The court's own checklist runs longer for particular cases.

Colorado does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.

Colorado permits a self-represented person to open an estate, using Petition for Formal Probate of Will and Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (JDF 920) (JDF 920). E-filing is attorneys only. The Colorado self-file probate assessment sets self-filing against attorney costs.

Yes. A revocable living trust passes its assets to the beneficiaries without a court appointment in Colorado: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in Colorado

Authority to act for the estate comes from Letters issued in Colorado by Probate registrar in informal proceedings, on appointment by the District Court of the county where the decedent lived. The document is Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). Colorado has adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

The estate is opened by filing Petition for Formal Probate of Will and Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (JDF 920) (JDF 920) with the court. The filing fee is $229. Colorado offers an informal (registrar) appointment track for qualifying estates.

Colorado does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one where it is needed to protect creditors or heirs.

For smaller estates, Colorado offers a small-estate procedure for estates under $88,000 that can transfer assets without a full appointment or Letters (JDF 999). The Colorado self-file probate assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Colorado statutes and official state code. How we research.

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