Colorado Law · Compliance

Is Your Colorado Association Compliant? The State Obligations Boards Cannot Miss

Colorado puts its community associations on a fixed statutory calendar. Associations register with the state every year. They adopt nine written policies, publish an annual disclosure package, and educate owners annually. They also follow a staged collections process amended by four acts since 2022. This checklist sets out the recurring statutory obligations in one place, with the pre-1992 applicability of each.

Educational notice. This information is educational in nature and should not be construed as legal advice. Statutory references are to the Colorado Revised Statutes as published by the Colorado General Assembly at the time of writing; later amendments are possible. Consult qualified association counsel regarding legal interpretation specific to your jurisdiction.

Currency: verified against the Colorado Revised Statutes 2024 (Office of Legislative Legal Services printout) and the enrolled 2025 and 2026 bills named in the text (HB 25-1043, SB 25-184, HB 25-1272, HB 26-1099, HB 26-1007), each with its effective date. Later amendments are possible.

First, Which Rules Reach a Community?

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA, C.R.S. § 38-33.3-101 et seq.) applies in full to condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities created on or after July 1, 1992. Communities created earlier are subject only to the sections listed in § 38-33.3-117, each from a stated date, unless they elect full coverage under § 118. In Accetta v. Brooks Towers Residences Condominium Ass’n, 2021 COA 87, the Court of Appeals held that § 118 is the exclusive means for a preexisting community to make that election. Small communities that qualify under § 116 (new) or § 119 (preexisting) are subject only to §§ 105–107 unless they opt in. Each item below notes its pre-1992 status under § 117. Which category a particular community falls in, and therefore which items reach it, is a question for association counsel.

Obligation 1: Annual Registration With DORA

The rule. Every association registers annually with the Division of Real Estate in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and pays a fee set by the Division director (C.R.S. § 38-33.3-401(1)–(2)). An association with annual revenue of $5,000 or less, or one that cannot impose assessments and has no revenue, is exempt from the fee but not from registering. The registration reports the association’s name, management company or agent, physical address, contact information, and number of units. Changes are updated within 90 days.

What a lapse costs. Registration is valid for one year. While an association is unregistered or expired, its right to impose or enforce a lien under § 316 and to use the enforcement mechanisms of § 123 is suspended until it registers. Recorded liens are not extinguished, pending enforcement is suspended and time limits are tolled, and re-registration revives the rights without penalty (§ 401(3)).

New since 2025. HB 25-1043 (effective October 1, 2025) added § 401(3.2). The annual registration now reports owners delinquent six months or more in the prior 12 months, judgments obtained, payment plans entered, and foreclosure actions filed.

Pre-1992: § 401 applies from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)).

The state office behind it. The HOA Information and Resource Center in the Division of Real Estate maintains the registration database, publishes educational material, and tracks inquiries and complaints (C.R.S. § 12-10-801). The 2024 text gives it no enforcement or adjudication power. SB 25-184 (effective May 24, 2025) continued the Center until September 1, 2030.

Obligation 2: The Nine Responsible Governance Policies

Section 38-33.3-209.5(1)(b) requires every association to keep accurate and complete accounting records and to adopt policies, procedures, and rules on nine subjects:

1. collection of unpaid assessments;
2. conflicts of interest involving board members (defining conflicts, setting disclosure and recusal procedure, and providing for periodic review, consistent with § 310.5);
3. conduct of meetings (which may refer to the nonprofit code or other recognized rules);
4. enforcement of covenants and rules, including notice and hearing procedures and the schedule of fines;
5. inspection and copying of association records;
6. investment of reserve funds;
7. procedures for adopting and amending policies, procedures, and rules;
8. procedures for addressing disputes between the association and owners; and
9. reserve-study disclosure: whether the association has a reserve study, whether it has a funding plan and its projected sources, and whether the study rests on physical and financial analysis (an internal study suffices).

Separately, § 38-33.3-124(1)(b) required a written dispute-resolution policy by January 1, 2007, available to owners on request, and encourages mediation and arbitration. A 2025 bill that would have required pre-suit mediation (HB 25-1123) failed.

Content requirements have moved. The collection policy’s contents are prescribed by § 209.5(5), and HB 25-1043 added new advisements to its delinquency notice. The fine policy must provide for an impartial decision maker (§ 209.5(2)), and HB 22-1137 added cure periods and the $500 cap for non-safety violations (§ 209.5(1.7)(b)). A policy adopted before 2022 was written before these changes.

Pre-1992: § 209.5 applies from January 1, 2006; the reserve-study item from July 1, 2010; § 124 from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5), (1.7)).

Obligation 3: Annual Disclosures Under § 209.4

Contact disclosure (§ 209.4(1)): within 90 days after assuming control from the declarant, and within 90 days after any change, the association makes available its name, its designated agent or management company, a physical address and phone number for each, the community’s name, and the declaration’s initial recording date and reception number.

Annual package (§ 209.4(2)): within 90 days after turnover and within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, the association discloses:

• the date its fiscal year starts;
• the current operating budget;
• current regular and special assessments by unit type;
• the annual financial statements, including amounts held in reserve;
• the results of the most recent audit or review;
• a list of all insurance policies (company, limits, deductibles, additional named insureds, expiration dates);
• the bylaws, articles, and rules;
• the prior year’s board and member meeting minutes;
• the responsible governance policies; and
• from August 12, 2026, the most recent declarant reserve study (§ 209.4(2)(j), added by HB 26-1099).

Delivery: at no cost to owners, by website (with notice of the address by mail or e-mail), a literature binder at the principal office, or mail or personal delivery (§ 209.4(3)).

Pre-1992: from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)).

Obligation 4: Annual Owner Education

The association provides free education to owners at least annually on the association’s operations and on the rights and duties of owners, the association, and the board under Colorado law (§ 209.7). Separately, under § 209.6 the board may reimburse Colorado-specific governance education as a common expense. Colorado has no director-certification mandate of the Florida type. The statutory education duty runs to owners.

Pre-1992: from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)).

Obligation 5: The Budget Meeting, and Audit or Review on Request

Budget ratification (§ 303(4)(a)): within 90 days after adopting a proposed budget, the board delivers a summary to all owners (website posting counts) and sets an owners’ meeting within a reasonable time. Unless the declaration requires otherwise, the budget is deemed approved unless a majority of all unit owners veto it at that meeting, whether or not a quorum is present. Assessments are based on a budget adopted at least annually (§ 315(1)).

Audit or review (§ 303(4)(b)): an audit by a CPA is required only if annual revenues or expenditures are at least $250,000 and owners of at least one-third of the units request it. A review is required on request of one-third of the owners. Copies are available to owners within 30 days of completion.

Pre-1992: § 303(4)(a) from July 1, 2017 (§ 117(1.8)), with an exception for budgets within a declaration’s assessment cap. § 303(4)(b) from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)).

Obligation 6: Statutory Insurance Terms Under § 313

Section 38-33.3-313 sets the coverages an association maintains, to the extent reasonably available: property insurance on the common elements for broad-form covered causes of loss at full insurable replacement cost less deductibles, and commercial general liability insurance. Associations with horizontal unit boundaries, such as condominiums, and cooperatives also insure the units, excluding finished interior surfaces. Owners are notified if coverage is unavailable or lapses. For associations with 30 or more units where an owner or employee controls or disburses funds, fidelity coverage is required at no less than two months of current assessments plus reserves. Independent-contractor managers of such associations carry the same unless they are named under the association’s policy.

This item lists statutory terms only. Coverage amounts, carriers, and claims decisions are for the association’s insurance professionals and counsel. Pre-1992: § 313 does not appear in the § 117 list.

Obligation 7: Records and the Inspection Clock

Section 38-33.3-317(1) lists the records an association keeps, including financial statements for three years and tax returns for seven, current contracts and those from the prior two years, the most recent reserve study, and ballots and proxies for one year. Owners may inspect and copy them; the association may require a written request describing the records with reasonable particularity at least 10 days in advance, and may not require a statement of proper purpose (§ 317(2)(a)). If inspection is not allowed within 30 calendar days after a certified-mail request and payment of fees, § 317(4.5) (HB 21-1229) provides for penalties of $50 per day beginning on the 11th business day, up to $500 or the owner’s actual damages, whichever is greater.

Management-company turnover (new). From August 12, 2026, HB 26-1099 added § 317(9). When an association that uses a management company ends or does not renew the agreement, the former company delivers all association property, money, accounts, records, passwords, keys, and information within 45 days at no charge. Unless the association and the former company otherwise agree in writing, a company that misses the deadline is liable for resulting interest, late fees and other damages, owes $250 per business day of noncompliance, and owes treble actual damages plus attorney fees and costs if the violation is found willful (§ 317(9)(b)). The written-agreement qualifier attaches to those consequences, not to the 45-day duty.

Pre-1992: § 317 from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)). How § 317(9) interacts with § 117 has not been addressed in the sources CICSC reviewed.

Obligation 8: What the Collections Statutes Require

The items below are the statute’s terms, listed for reference rather than as a procedure. Whether they have been met on a particular account is a question for association counsel. Owners facing collection commonly consult their own attorney; the DORA HOA Information and Resource Center publishes general information.

• First contact (§ 209.5(1.7)(a)(I), as revised by HB 24-1233): before a delinquency is referred, the owner receives the delinquency notice by certified mail plus two of phone call, text, or e-mail, using contact information the owner supplied. A record of each contact is kept.
• Board vote to refer (§ 209.5(1.7)(a)(II)): referral to a collection agency or attorney requires a majority board vote, recorded at a meeting. Executive session is permitted (§ 308(4)(e)). A management company may not refer an account without that vote.
• Interest and statements: interest of no more than 8 percent per year (§ 209.5(8)(a), § 315(2)), a monthly itemized statement, and no fee for a statement of the total owed.
• Payment plan: a good-faith effort to set up a plan of at least 18 months (§ 316.3), and a written 18-month repayment-plan offer before judicial foreclosure (§ 209.5(7)).
• Foreclosure vote (§ 316(11)): the balance must equal or exceed six months of common expense assessments, and the board formally resolves, by recorded vote, to file against the specific unit. That duty cannot be delegated to an attorney, insurer, or manager. There is no foreclosure on fines-only debt (§ 209.5(8)(c)).
• Owner-occupied homes (§ 316(10.5)–(10.6), HB 24-1337, for debts accrued on or after August 7, 2024): for a unit an individual owns as a principal residence, foreclosure is generally conditioned on a prior personal judgment, with listed exceptions.
• Mediation notice (§ 316(10.7), HB 24-1337): at least 30 days before initiating legal action to foreclose, written and electronic notice of the owner’s right to mediate.
• HB 25-1043 (enforcement actions instituted on or after October 1, 2025): periodic requests for owner contact information, new delinquency-notice advisements, a 30-day notice of intent to foreclose, and an owner motion to stay the auction.

Pre-1992: §§ 316 and 316.3 from July 1, 1992 (§ 117(1)); § 209.5 from January 1, 2006 (§ 117(1.5)). For the full sequence, see the Colorado collections article listed below.

Obligation 9: Watch the 2026–2027 Effective Dates

• August 12, 2026 — HB 26-1099: the declarant pays for an independent 30-year reserve study before turnover (§ 209.2), which is added to disclosures and turnover deliverables; plus the management-company turnover rule above. Whether § 209.2 reaches communities already past turnover, or pre-1992 communities, has not been confirmed.
• January 1, 2027 — HB 26-1007: portable-scale solar generation devices become a protected energy-efficiency measure under § 106.7. Covenants that unreasonably prohibit or restrict them are void, and reasonable restrictions remain permitted.
• Construction defects — for claims brought on or after August 6, 2025, HB 25-1272 raised the owner approval required before the board files a defect action from a majority to at least 65 percent of the association’s votes (§ 303.5(1)(d)(I)(A)) (certain votes, such as those of units owned by development parties and of owners deemed nonresponsive, are excluded from the count under § 303.5(1)(d)(III)); § 303.5 applies to all communities (§ 117(1.9)). The procedure is not a substitute for counsel; associations typically engage counsel before considering a claim.

What Colorado Does Not Require: A Manager License

Colorado required community association managers to be licensed from July 1, 2015. After the continuation bill failed in 2018 and the recreation bill (HB 19-1212) was vetoed on May 31, 2019, the program ended at the Division of Real Estate on June 30, 2019. Later licensing bills, HB 22-1239 and HB 24-1078, did not pass, and CICSC’s search found none in 2025 or 2026. A manager acting for the association is subject to CCIOA to the same extent as the association itself (§ 302(3)(a)). The association’s compliance obligations stay with the association whether or not it uses a manager. See The Only Experiment America Ever Stopped: Colorado, 2015–2019.

The Checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if a Colorado HOA lets its DORA registration lapse?

Under C.R.S. § 38-33.3-401(3), while an association is unregistered or expired, its right to impose or enforce a lien under § 316 and to use the enforcement mechanisms of § 123 is suspended until it registers. Recorded liens are not extinguished, pending enforcement is suspended and time limits are tolled, and re-registration revives the rights without penalty. How this applies to a particular association is a question for association counsel.

What written policies does Colorado law require an HOA to adopt?

Section 38-33.3-209.5(1)(b) requires policies, procedures, and rules on nine subjects: collections, board conflicts of interest, conduct of meetings, covenant and rule enforcement including fines, records inspection, reserve-fund investment, adopting and amending policies, owner disputes, and reserve-study disclosure. The content of the collection and fine policies has changed since 2022 under HB 22-1137 and HB 25-1043, so a policy adopted before 2022 was written before those changes. Whether a given set of policies meets the statute is a question for association counsel.

What must a Colorado HOA disclose to owners each year?

Under § 38-33.3-209.4(2), within 90 days after turnover and after each fiscal year-end, the association discloses items including its fiscal-year start date, operating budget, regular and special assessments by unit type, financial statements with reserve amounts, the latest audit or review results, an insurance policy list, governing documents, prior-year minutes, and its governance policies. From August 12, 2026, HB 26-1099 adds the most recent declarant reserve study. Disclosure is at no cost to owners by website, literature binder, or mail or personal delivery (§ 209.4(3)), and its application to a specific association is a question for counsel.

How long does a Colorado HOA have to respond to an owner’s records request?

The association may require a written request describing the records with reasonable particularity at least 10 days in advance and may not require a statement of proper purpose (§ 38-33.3-317(2)(a)). If inspection is not allowed within 30 calendar days after a certified-mail request and payment of fees, § 317(4.5) provides for penalties of $50 per day beginning on the 11th business day, up to $500 or the owner’s actual damages, whichever is greater. How the clock runs on a particular request is a question for association counsel.

Does Colorado require community association managers to be licensed?

Colorado required manager licensing from July 1, 2015, and the program ended at the Division of Real Estate on June 30, 2019; later bills, HB 22-1239 and HB 24-1078, did not pass, and CICSC found none in 2025 or 2026. A manager acting for the association is subject to CCIOA to the same extent as the association itself (§ 38-33.3-302(3)(a)), and compliance obligations stay with the association whether or not it uses a manager. Questions about a particular management arrangement are best taken to association counsel.

Key Takeaways

• A lapsed DORA registration suspends the association’s lien and enforcement rights until it registers again.
• Nine written policies are mandatory, and the collections and fines policies have changed repeatedly since 2022.
• Disclosures run on 90-day clocks after turnover and after each fiscal year.
• Owner education is an annual statutory duty.
• Unless the declaration requires otherwise, the budget is deemed approved unless a majority of all owners veto it.
• Records requests carry a 30-day clock and a per-day penalty.
• Collections and foreclosure each require a recorded board vote.
• Colorado has no current manager license. Compliance rests with the association.

References & Sources

1. C.R.S. §§ 38-33.3-116, -117, -118, -119, -124, -209.4, -209.5, -209.6, -209.7, -302(3)(a), -303(4), -303.5, -313, -315, -316, -316.3, -317, -401. C.R.S. 2024, Title 38 (OLLS)
2. C.R.S. § 12-10-801 — HOA Information and Resource Center. C.R.S. 2024, Title 12 (OLLS)
3. HB 21-1229, ch. 409, eff. Sept. 7, 2021. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb21-1229
4. HB 22-1137, ch. 367, eff. Aug. 10, 2022. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1137
5. HB 24-1233, ch. 334, and HB 24-1337, ch. 422, eff. Aug. 7, 2024. hb24-1233 · hb24-1337
6. HB 25-1043, ch. 433, eff. Oct. 1, 2025. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1043
7. SB 25-184, ch. 242, eff. May 24, 2025. leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-184
8. HB 25-1272, ch. 183, eff. Aug. 6, 2025. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1272
9. HB 26-1099, ch. 42, eff. Aug. 12, 2026. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1099
10. HB 26-1007, ch. 127, HOA provisions operative Jan. 1, 2027. leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1007
11. HB 19-1212 (vetoed May 31, 2019). leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1212; DORA bulletin, June 4, 2019. content.govdelivery.com
12. Accetta v. Brooks Towers Residences Condominium Ass’n, 2021 COA 87. Slip opinion

Related Resources & Additional Reading from the CIC-SC Library

• Registering With DORA — registration in depth.
• The Nine Policies Under § 38-33.3-209.5.
• Collections in Colorado — the full sequence.
• Colorado HOA Records Under § 38-33.3-317.
• HOA Assessment Authority in Colorado — budget ratification.
• Colorado HOA Board Member Governance Guide.

Tags: Colorado HOA compliance · DORA registration · C.R.S. 38-33.3-401 · 209.5 policies · 209.4 annual disclosure · owner education 209.7 · budget ratification · HOA records 317 · HB 25-1043 · HB 26-1099 · HB 26-1007 · CCIOA · pre-1992 communities

Disclaimer. This article is published by the Common Interest Community Standards Council for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Statutory references and procedural frameworks are intended to support informed governance, not to substitute for advice from qualified Colorado legal counsel. Boards and managers should consult their association’s attorney about the application of any statute, governing-document provision, or governance decision to their specific circumstances. CIC-SC, its authors, and its members assume no liability for actions taken in reliance on this content.

Published by the Common Interest Community Standards Council (CICSC). Part of the CICSC Member Education Library. © 2026 CICSC. Educational use permitted with attribution.