Colorado is one of the few states where real estate brokers must use contracts written by the state. The Colorado Real Estate Commission approves the forms, the Division of Real Estate publishes them, and brokers fill in the blanks. For a home purchase that form is the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), known as CBS1. The current version was adopted on August 5, 2025 and has been mandatory since January 1, 2026 (Colorado Division of Real Estate, Contracts and Forms, checked 2026-10-18).
This guide explains how the contract is organized and how its deadlines work, in plain words. It is general information, not legal advice; the contract itself tells the parties to consult legal and tax counsel before signing.
Do Colorado brokers have to use the state forms?
Yes. The Division's forms page says applicable law requires brokers to use Commission-approved contracts and forms as appropriate to the transaction. A broker who is a party to the transaction may have an attorney prepare a form instead, as long as it conspicuously says it is not a Commission-approved form (Commission Rule 7.1). The printed text of an approved form may not be modified except as the Commission's rules allow; terms the parties negotiate go in the blanks and in the additional provisions section (Colorado Division of Real Estate, Contracts and Forms).
The main Colorado purchase contracts
| Form | Used for |
|---|---|
| CBS1 | Residential: most single-family homes, condos and townhomes |
| CBSF1 | Residential sales covered by the Colorado Foreclosure Protection Act |
| CBS2 | Income-residential properties |
| CBS3 | Commercial property |
| CBS4 | Land |
| MHC1 | Manufactured homes on a leased lot |
The forms that travel with a residential offer most often are the Counterproposal, the Agreement to Amend/Extend Contract, the Inspection Objection Notice and Inspection Resolution, the Seller's Property Disclosure, the Source of Water Addendum, the Earnest Money Receipt and the Closing Instructions. All are on the Division's page.
How the CBS1 is organized
- Parties and property (section 2). Who is buying, who is selling, the legal description, and what stays with the home (inclusions) and what goes (exclusions).
- Dates and deadlines (section 3). One table holds every date in the deal. More on this below.
- Price and terms (section 4). Purchase price, earnest money, the loan amount, and seller concessions.
- Financing and appraisal (sections 5 and 6). The loan conditions, the buyer's credit information, and what happens if the appraisal comes in low.
- HOA (section 7). The association documents the seller must deliver and the buyer's right to terminate after reviewing them.
- Title and survey (sections 8 and 9). The title commitment, objections, and an improvement location certificate or survey.
- Disclosure, inspection and due diligence (section 10). The seller's property disclosure, the buyer's inspection, and the objection and resolution process.
- Closing, possession and costs (sections 12 to 17). Who pays which closing costs, prorations, and when the buyer gets the keys.
- Default, mediation and termination (sections 20 to 24). Time is of the essence; what happens to earnest money if a party defaults or terminates.
- Additional provisions (section 30). The space for negotiated terms that the printed form does not cover.
How Colorado contract deadlines work
Instead of fixed periods written into the text, the CBS1 puts every deadline in the section 3.1 table: the record title and objection deadlines, the association documents deadline, the seller's property disclosure deadline, the loan application, terms and availability deadlines, the appraisal, inspection objection and resolution deadlines, and the closing date, among others. The parties fill in each date. A deadline left blank or marked N/A does not apply, as section 3.2 explains.
Most deadlines come in pairs or triplets: a deadline for something to be delivered, a deadline to object to it, and a deadline to resolve the objection. Miss an objection deadline and the right to object is usually gone. That is why agents and transaction coordinators calendar every date the day the contract is signed.
Common mistakes on Colorado contracts
- Counting days without checking weekends and holidays, or a closing date that falls on a day the title company is closed.
- Typing negotiated terms into the printed text instead of the blanks or section 30.
- Forgetting the Source of Water Addendum or the HOA documents deadline.
- Sending an inspection objection after the deadline, or without the right form.
- Using an old version of a form after a new one became mandatory.
Write and run Colorado contracts with Offers & Contracts
Offers & Contracts is live in Colorado. Say the terms the way you would text them, and the CBS1 fills in from the listing, the county record and the client's file. Every deadline is counted the contract's way, a closing that lands on a weekend is flagged, and the client signs on their phone. Only the blanks are filled: the Commission's printed text is never changed, and nothing goes out until you approve it. It is {addon.contracts.extra} per agent a month on its own. See also what a transaction coordinator does and the purchase agreement guide.