Free — no account, no credit card, no trial

Colorado Eviction Notice

A Colorado eviction notice for unpaid rent gives a standard residential tenant 10 days after written notice to pay the rent or deliver possession of the premises (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d)); a material lease violation takes the same 10 days to comply or quit (§ 13-40-104(1)(e)). A substantial violation — violence, drugs or danger to persons or property — takes only 3 days, with no cure right (§ 13-40-107.5(4)(a)). Ending a month-to-month tenancy takes 21 days' written notice (§ 13-40-107(2)(c)). This free template computes the deadline from your service date.

A Colorado eviction notice for landlords: the 10-day notice to pay rent or deliver possession, the 10-day notice to comply or quit for a material lease violation, and the 21-day notice to end a month-to-month tenancy — each with the exact statutory deadline calculated from your service date, and each carrying the statute citation and verification date.

Deadlines verified September 21, 2026 against lexisnexis.com/hottopics/colorado — Colorado Revised Statutes, Free Public Access (LexisNexis under contract with the Colorado General Assembly) — Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-40-104, 13-40-107, 13-40-107.5, 13-40-108; HB 24-1098 (2024). New York is also covered from the home page.

Read this before serving: this template is not legal advice and does not replace an attorney. Deadlines and service rules vary, and cities can add their own rules (rent control, just-cause ordinances). A notice served with the wrong period or the wrong form can get the case dismissed and cost months. Have a local attorney review your notice before serving it.

1Build your Colorado notice

State of the rental property

Reason for the notice

Date you will serve the notice

2The Colorado deadlines, notice by notice

Every deadline below was read in the Colorado Revised Statutes on September 21, 2026 (text current through July 1, 2026). Colorado's periods depend on the type of rental agreement, not only on the reason: shorter 3-day and 5-day periods exist for nonresidential, employer-provided and exempt residential agreements. And since 2024, the for-cause law (HB 24-1098, § 38-12-1303) restricts no-fault terminations for covered residential tenancies. The notice types available in the tool:

10-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Possession (nonpayment) — Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d).
10-Day Notice to Comply or Possession (material lease violation) — Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(e).
21-Day Notice of Termination (month-to-month tenancy) — Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107(2).

3How the Colorado notice period is counted

The 10-day periods run from service of the written notice: the statute speaks of notice duly served upon the tenant and then an action (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d), (e)). Service methods are fixed by § 13-40-108 — hand delivery to the tenant or a person over 15 residing on the premises, or posting after attempts at personal service on two separate days. Keep dated proof of service.
The days are calendar days — the Colorado statute gives a flat ten (10) days with no weekend or holiday exclusion (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d), (e)).
Shorter periods for special agreements: 3 days for a nonresidential agreement or an employer-provided housing agreement, and 5 days for an "exempt residential agreement" — a single-family home leased by a landlord who owns 5 or fewer single-family rental homes, with the exemption disclosed in the lease (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d), (e), (5)(d)). The 10-day notice for these cases cannot be waived, and neither can the 5-day exempt period be extended by the lease.
The no-fault tiers scale with the tenancy: 91 days (one year or longer), 28 days (six months to one year), 21 days (one month to six months — the month-to-month case), 3 days (week-to-month or at will), 1 day (less than one week) (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107(2)); the notice must describe the property and the termination date and be signed (§ 13-40-107(3)).
For-cause overlay (HB 24-1098): for a covered residential tenancy — generally a tenant of the same premises for 12 months or more (§ 38-12-1302(1)(e)) — the landlord may not serve a no-fault notice or demand at all unless cause exists (§ 38-12-1303(1)-(2)). The no-fault grounds the law does allow (demolition, substantial repairs, landlord or family move-in, sale, refusal to sign a new lease, repeated late rent) each require at least 90 days' written notice plus relocation assistance of 2 months' rent — 3 months if a minor, senior, low-income or disabled person lives in the unit (§ 38-12-1303(3)-(5); § 38-12-1304). The 21-day notice in this tool is the § 13-40-107 channel, available to landlords not covered by that regime.

4Mistakes that get a Colorado eviction notice thrown out

Using a 3-day notice for ordinary nonpayment. Colorado's 3-day period survives only for nonresidential agreements, employer-provided housing, and substantial violations (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d); § 13-40-107.5(4)(a)). For a standard residential nonpayment or lease violation the period is 10 days since House Bill 19-1118 (2019) — any guide still saying 3 days for residential rent default is stale.
Treating a substantial violation like a curable breach. The 3-day substantial-violation notice has no cure right, but its grounds are statutory and narrow — acts endangering persons or property, violent or drug-related felonies, or qualifying public-nuisance crimes (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107.5(3)-(4)). An ordinary lease breach belongs on the 10-day comply-or-quit path, and the landlord bears the burden of proving the substantial violation (§ 13-40-107.5(5)(a)).
Forgetting the for-cause law on a no-fault termination. Since 2024, a landlord of a covered residential tenancy (tenant 12 months or more) cannot end the tenancy without cause at all; the permitted no-fault grounds carry a 90-day notice and relocation assistance (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-1303(3)-(5); § 38-12-1304). Serving a bare 21-day notice on a covered tenancy invites dismissal and an affirmative defense (§ 38-12-1306).
Serving by a method the statute does not recognize. Colorado service is hand delivery to the tenant or a person over 15 residing on or in charge of the premises, or — only after attempts at personal service on two separate days — posting in a conspicuous place (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-108(1)). Keep proof; a notice the tenant never legally received fails.
Skipping the lease check for exempt and employer-provided housing. The 5-day exempt-residential and 3-day employer-provided periods apply only when the statutory definitions are met — e.g. the exempt agreement must be a single-family home of a landlord with 5 or fewer single-family rentals, with the exemption disclosed in the lease (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(5)(c)-(d)). When in doubt, serve 10 days.

Questions landlords ask about Colorado

How many days does a Colorado eviction notice give for unpaid rent?

Ten days for a standard residential agreement: written notice requiring payment of the rent or possession of the premises, with suit only after those 10 days run (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(d)). The period is 3 days for a nonresidential or employer-provided housing agreement, and 5 days for an exempt residential agreement — a single-family home of a landlord with 5 or fewer single-family rentals, exemption disclosed in the lease.

What notice does a Colorado lease violation require?

Ten days for a standard residential agreement: written notice requiring compliance with the material condition or covenant, or delivery of possession (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-104(1)(e)). A repeat violation of the same covenant after a prior notice takes a new 10-day notice with no cure right (§ 13-40-104(1)(e.5)). A substantial violation — danger to persons or property, a violent or drug-related felony — takes a 3-day notice to terminate, no cure (§ 13-40-107.5(3)-(4)).

How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Colorado?

Twenty-one days' written notice for a tenancy of one month or longer but less than six months — the ordinary month-to-month case (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-107(2)(c)); the tiers run from 91 days (one year or longer) down to 1 day (under one week). The notice must describe the property and termination date and be signed (§ 13-40-107(3)). For covered tenancies (12+ months), the 2024 for-cause law requires a § 38-12-1303 ground: 90 days' notice plus relocation assistance.

What is the for-cause eviction law Colorado passed in 2024?

House Bill 24-1098 added §§ 38-12-1301 to 38-12-1307 to Colorado law: for covered residential tenancies (most rentals — excluding short-term rentals, owner-occupied small properties, employer-provided housing and tenancies under twelve months, § 38-12-1302) a landlord may not serve a termination notice or demand for possession without cause (§ 38-12-1303(1)). The allowed no-fault grounds (demolition, repairs, move-in, sale and similar) require at least 90 days' notice plus relocation assistance of 2 months' rent (3 months for vulnerable households).

How is a Colorado eviction notice served?

By delivering a copy to a known tenant occupying the premises, or by leaving it with a person or family member older than fifteen residing on the premises; if no one is there after attempts at personal service on two separate days, the notice may be posted conspicuously (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-108(1)). A victim-survivor tenant must be served personally where reasonably possible, then by posting plus certified or courier mail with proof (§ 13-40-108(2)). Keep dated proof of service.

Can a Colorado tenant stay after the notice period expires?

Yes — the notice is the statutory first step, not the eviction. If the tenant neither pays, complies nor leaves, the landlord must file a forcible entry and detainer action in the county court and obtain a judgment for possession before the tenant can lawfully be removed; after judgment the court issues a writ of restitution, which for a tenant receiving SSI, SSDI or Colorado Works assistance is delayed (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-40-122(1)). Self-help lockouts are not lawful.

Is this Colorado eviction notice template really free?

Yes — no account, no credit card, no trial. The document is built in your browser and nothing you type is stored or sent. The optional email field only notifies you when another state is verified; it never receives the contents of your notice.

Neighboring states

Arizona is a neighboring state with a verified notice (below). New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska are in the state selector, but their eviction notice requirements are not yet verified against an official source, so no notice is offered for them — an out-of-state notice fails in court. Verified notices for other states:

Every deadline for these states was read in the official statute text on September 21, 2026. For all other states, the state-by-state requirements table shows what is verified — and what is not.

This tool is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Colorado deadlines verified September 21, 2026 against lexisnexis.com/hottopics/colorado — Colorado Revised Statutes, Free Public Access (LexisNexis under contract with the Colorado General Assembly) — Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-40-104, 13-40-107, 13-40-107.5, 13-40-108; HB 24-1098 (2024). Not a substitute for a licensed Colorado attorney.