Title Insurance Code: policies, commitments and rates 20
A rate increase takes effect after a buyer has already contracted for a title policy. Does the increase apply to that policy?Answer: No; it does not reach policies contracted for before that date. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-118(3)
A search shows the mineral estate was severed from the surface. What must the commitment for an owner's policy tell the buyer?Answer: That a third party likely holds minerals and may have a right to enter. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-123(2)
A title agent files a new closing fee. The filing's effective date may be no earlier than how many days after the commissioner receives it?Answer: 30 days. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-118(2)
A title agent leaves the special taxing district statement out of a commitment. What is the effect on the commitment itself?Answer: None; its provisions are not affected or invalidated. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-122(2)
A title examination turns up a recorded spurious lien. Must the insurer disclose it in writing to the prospective insured before the policy issues?Answer: No; the Code does not oblige the insurer to disclose it. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-106(2)
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Title Insurance Code: policies, commitments and rates, continued
After a Colorado title policy issues, the evidence behind it stays on file for at least how long?Answer: 7 years. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-106(1)
As the Code defines "premium" for title insurance, what is left out of it?Answer: The service charge. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-102(5)
From whom does a title company obtain the certificate of taxes due before issuing an owner's policy on a residential sale?Answer: The county treasurer or the treasurer's authorized agent. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-122(3)
How must a domestic title insurance company formed after July 1, 1969 be organized?Answer: As a stock corporation. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-104
On what may a title company rely in deciding whether a mineral estate has been severed?Answer: Recorded documents that impart constructive notice. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-123(3)
Section 10-11-108 bars a title insurance company from one of these. Which one?Answer: Issue any kind of insurance other than title insurance. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-108(1)
What does "gap coverage" insure against in the Title Insurance Code of Colorado?Answer: Matters recorded between the commitment and the recording of closing documents. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-102(3.7)
What does a "service charge" cover, by the Code's definition?Answer: The cost of procuring and examining evidence of title. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-102(6)
What does Section 10-11-106 require the insurer to have caused before any policy or contract of title insurance is written?Answer: A determination of insurability under sound underwriting practices. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-106(1)
What does the commitment statement on remote notarization tell the buyer?Answer: That the buyer may choose not to use remote notarization. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-122(4)
What must go with every commitment for an owner's policy on a sale of residential real property?Answer: A statement that the property may lie in a special taxing district. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-122(1)
When are closing and settlement services part of the "business of title insurance"?Answer: When a title insurer or agent performs them with the issuance of a policy. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-102(3)
When may a title company leave out the certificate of taxes due on a residential sale?Answer: When the proposed insured gives written instructions to the contrary. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-122(3)
Where must a title company's rates and fees be readily available to the public?Answer: In each of its offices in the county the rates apply to. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-118(3)
Who is a "title insurance agent" under the Code?Answer: A person a title insurer authorizes to solicit insurance or issue policies. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-102(9)
Agent licensing, capital and firm names 11
A corporation contracts with a title insurer to issue policies as its agent. What is the least paid-in cash capital it must have to be licensed?Answer: $10,000. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-116(2)
A title agency stops doing business in Colorado. What must it do with its producer license?Answer: Return it to the commissioner within ten days. Source: C.R.S. 10-2-406(5)
A title agent owns a title plant. How may it meet the capital requirement in place of showing paid-in cash alone?Answer: By a certified public accountant's affidavit of its plant investment. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-116(3)
A title agent's firm name contains the words "title insurance". What must follow those words?Answer: The word "agent" or "agency". Source: C.R.S. 10-11-117
A title insurance agency changes its officers. How soon must it notify the commissioner?Answer: Within 10 days. Source: C.R.S. 10-2-406(4)
How does a Colorado attorney come to hold a title insurance agent license under Section 10-11-116?Answer: On a title insurer's written notice to the commissioner naming the attorney. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-116(1)
How must the word "agency" appear after "title guaranty" in a title agent's firm name?Answer: In the same size and type as the words before it. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-117
What does Section 10-11-103 demand of a company before it engages in the business of title insurance in Colorado?Answer: Authority under the title insurance article. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-103
What must a title agent and a title insurer disclose when applying for a new license and on each continuation due date?Answer: The names of all affiliated business arrangements they are party to. Source: C.R.S. 10-2-401(6)
Which assumed name will the commissioner refuse to register for a producer?Answer: One similar to the name of a producer whose license was revoked. Source: C.R.S. 10-2-701
Which employee of a corporate title agent must be licensed under Section 10-11-116?Answer: A full-time employee authorized to countersign policies. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-116(1)
Closings, good funds and fiduciary funds 11
A closing agent may advance its own funds for incidental fees such as tax certificates and recording costs. Up to what amount?Answer: $500. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-125(2)
A seller asks, in written closing instructions given before closing, for a particular form of payment. What does Section 38-35-125 entitle the seller to?Answer: A cashier's check or an electronic transfer of the proceeds. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-125(4)
A title agent goes out of business. Where do its closing and escrow files go?Answer: To the Division of Insurance or a title company it authorizes. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-116(4)
A title insurer learns that its agent has broken the fiduciary fund segregation rules. What must the commissioner's rules require of the insurer?Answer: Notice to the commissioner. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-127(2)
How long must a licensed contractual agent of a title insurer keep its closing, settlement and escrow files after a closing?Answer: At least 7 years. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-116(4)
How must a title insurance entity hold fiduciary funds it has received that belong to others?Answer: In a fiduciary capacity. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-127(1)
What is a failure to follow the good funds section deemed to be?Answer: A deceptive trade practice. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-125(5)
When may a person providing closing and settlement services disburse funds for a real estate transaction?Answer: Once the funds are received and available for immediate withdrawal. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-125(2)
Which money is not "fiduciary funds" under Section 10-11-127?Answer: The fee the title agent charges for the closing. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-127(3)
Which of these counts as funds "available for immediate withdrawal as a matter of right" under the good funds section?Answer: A cashier's check. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-125(1)
Who may waive the good funds requirement of Section 38-35-125?Answer: The seller, in written closing instructions before closing. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-125(3)
Referrals and affiliated business 12
A real estate broker owns part of a title agency and refers buyers to it. Above what direct ownership interest is this an "affiliated business arrangement"?Answer: More than 1 percent. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-102(1.3)
After notice and a hearing, what penalty may the commissioner assess for a violation of the title insurance article?Answer: The amount of remuneration improperly paid. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-126(2)
An attorney represents the buyer and will be paid by a title insurer for issuing the commitment. What must the attorney do before the commitment issues?Answer: Disclose to the client that the attorney may be so compensated. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-108(2)
How must a title agent that makes a referral within an affiliated business arrangement disclose the affiliation?Answer: In accordance with the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-124(1)
May a title agent pay a real estate broker under an agreement for the referral of title insurance business?Answer: No; remuneration in any form for a referral is barred. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-108(1)
May a title company make use of its affiliated lender a condition of obtaining title insurance services from it?Answer: No; the Code forbids requiring the use. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-124(1)
To whom is the penalty assessed under Section 10-11-126 paid?Answer: The person aggrieved by the violation. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-126(2)
Under Section 10-11-108, which of these is not "services actually rendered"?Answer: The mere referral of title insurance business. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-108(1)
What defense does Section 10-11-126 allow a person charged with violating the affiliated business section?Answer: An unintentional, bona fide error despite reasonable procedures. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-126(3)
What remedy does Section 10-11-108 give a party to a transaction who is harmed by a violation of it?Answer: A right of action for actual loss or damage. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-108(3)
When is an affiliated business arrangement permitted under Section 10-11-124?Answer: When the referrer is paid only a return on an investment. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-124(1)
Which payment do the affiliated business sections expressly leave alone?Answer: A fee under a cooperative referral agreement between real estate brokers. Source: C.R.S. 10-11-125(2)
Deeds, recording and ownership 17
A Colorado deed conveys land to two buyers "JTWROS". What does the abbreviation mean in law?Answer: The same as "in joint tenancy". Source: C.R.S. 38-31-101(1)
A Colorado owner dies intestate. All surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, who has no other descendants. What is the spouse's share?Answer: The entire intestate estate. Source: C.R.S. 15-11-102(1)
A deed runs to two trustees and does not say how they hold. What does Colorado presume?Answer: An estate in joint tenancy. Source: C.R.S. 38-31-101(3)
A person in actual possession under color of title, made in good faith, also pays all taxes assessed on the land. After how many successive years is that person adjudged the legal owner?Answer: 7 years. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-108
Against whom does an unrecorded Colorado deed remain valid?Answer: The parties to it and those who had notice of it. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-109(1)
Besides the common law elements, what must a Colorado adverse possessor show where title vests on or after July 1, 2008?Answer: A reasonable, good faith belief of being the actual owner. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-101(3)
By what standard must a claimant prove each element of adverse possession in a Colorado civil action?Answer: Clear and convincing evidence. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-101(3)
How may one joint tenant sever a Colorado joint tenancy without the others joining?Answer: By recording a deed to himself or herself as tenant in common. Source: C.R.S. 38-31-101(5)
Two natural persons take title by a deed that says nothing about how they hold. What estate does the deed create?Answer: A tenancy in common. Source: C.R.S. 38-31-101
Under Section 38-41-101, how many years of adverse possession of land are conclusive evidence of absolute ownership?Answer: 18 years. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-101(1)
What does a Colorado special warranty deed warrant?Answer: Title as to the grantor's period of ownership. Source: C.R.S. 38-30-113(1)
What kind of recording statute does Section 38-35-109 say it is?Answer: A race-notice statute. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-109(1)
What makes a Colorado beneficiary deed effective to pass title when the owner dies?Answer: Recording it before the owner's death. Source: C.R.S. 15-15-402
Where does Section 38-35-109 say an instrument affecting title to real property may be recorded?Answer: The county clerk and recorder where the land lies. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-109(1)
Which Colorado short-form deed passes no after-acquired title of the grantor?Answer: A quitclaim deed. Source: C.R.S. 38-30-113(1)
Which words make a Colorado short-form deed a warranty deed with covenants of warranty?Answer: "and warrant(s) the title to the same". Source: C.R.S. 38-30-113(1)
While the owner who signed a beneficiary deed is alive, what interest does the grantee-beneficiary have in the property?Answer: No right, title or interest. Source: C.R.S. 15-15-402(3)
Liens, foreclosure and releases 27
A Colorado title insurance company asks the public trustee to release a deed of trust without the original note. What must it provide?Answer: An officer's affidavit that it caused the debt to be satisfied. Source: C.R.S. 38-39-102(3)
A creditor wins a money judgment in a Colorado court. What act makes it a lien on the debtor's real estate in a particular county?Answer: Recording a certified transcript of the judgment in that county. Source: C.R.S. 13-52-102(1)
A holder asks the public trustee to release a deed of trust under the bond provision, without producing the original evidence of debt. How large is the corporate surety bond?Answer: One and one-half times the original principal. Source: C.R.S. 38-39-102(3)
A homestead statement has been recorded on a married owner's house. Whose signatures are required to convey or encumber it?Answer: Both spouses. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-202(4)
A judgment transcript is recorded in a county. Does the lien reach land the debtor buys in that county later?Answer: Yes; it reaches land the debtor afterwards acquires there. Source: C.R.S. 13-52-102(1)
A junior lienor means to redeem after a foreclosure sale. Within what time after the sale must it file its notice of intent to redeem?Answer: 8 business days. Source: C.R.S. 38-38-302(1)
A lien is claimed for labor by the day or piece, with no materials furnished. Within what time after the building is completed must the statement be filed?Answer: 2 months. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-109(4)
A mechanics' lien holds the property no longer than how long after the last work, unless an action to enforce it is commenced?Answer: 6 months. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-110
A recorded deed of trust does not show when the final payment is due. From what date is the period that ends its lien counted?Answer: The date of the recorded instrument. Source: C.R.S. 38-39-201(2)
A recorded deed of trust shows when the final payment is due. How long after that date does its lien cease, absent an extension?Answer: 15 years. Source: C.R.S. 38-39-201(1)
A supplier of materials wants a Colorado mechanics' lien. Within what time after last furnishing materials must its lien statement be filed for record?Answer: 4 months. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-109(5)
All of the property in a public trustee foreclosure is agricultural. The first sale date is at least how many calendar days after the notice of election and demand is recorded?Answer: 215 days. Source: C.R.S. 38-38-108(1)
An owner wants to cure a default before a foreclosure sale. How long before the sale date must the written notice of intent to cure be filed with the officer?Answer: 15 calendar days. Source: C.R.S. 38-38-104(1)
Besides commencing its action in time, what must a mechanics' lien claimant do to hold the property?Answer: File for record a notice that the action has been commenced. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-110
Execution may issue on a Colorado judgment within how many years from its entry, unless it is revived?Answer: 20 years. Source: C.R.S. 13-52-102(2)
For property that is not agricultural, the public trustee's first sale date is at least how many calendar days after the notice of election and demand is recorded?Answer: 110 days. Source: C.R.S. 38-38-108(1)
How long after the entry of judgment does a Colorado judgment lien last, unless the judgment is revived?Answer: 6 years. Source: C.R.S. 13-52-102(1)
How long before filing a mechanics' lien statement must the notice of intent to file be served?Answer: At least 10 days. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-109(3)
How much of a homestead occupied as a home by its owner is exempt from execution and attachment, when no owner or dependent is elderly or disabled?Answer: $250,000. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-201(1)
The larger homestead exemption is for an elderly or disabled owner, spouse or dependent. From what age is a person "elderly" in the homestead section?Answer: 60 years. Source: C.R.S. 38-41-201(2)
On whom is the notice of intent to file a mechanics' lien statement served?Answer: The owner and the principal or prime contractor. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-109(3)
To what time do Colorado mechanics' liens relate back for priority?Answer: The start of work under the owner's contract with the first contractor. Source: C.R.S. 38-22-106(1)
What is a "spurious document" under the same part of Colorado law?Answer: One that is forged, groundless or patently invalid. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-201(3)
When title vests in the holder of the certificate of purchase, what becomes of liens junior to the lien foreclosed?Answer: Title is free and clear of them. Source: C.R.S. 38-38-501(1)
Which lienor is entitled to redeem after a Colorado foreclosure sale?Answer: A junior lienor whose lien was recorded before the notice of election. Source: C.R.S. 38-38-302(1)
Which recorded claim is a "spurious lien" under Colorado law?Answer: A purported lien with no statute, owner consent or court order behind it. Source: C.R.S. 38-35-201(4)
Who releases a Colorado deed of trust once its provisions have been complied with?Answer: The public trustee, on the holder's written request. Source: C.R.S. 38-39-102(1)
How this list was compiled: Colorado Revised Statutes 2026: Title 10, Article 11 (the Title Insurance Code of Colorado, Sections 10-11-102 to 10-11-127) and Sections 10-2-401, 10-2-406, 10-2-701 and 10-2-704; Title 38 (Sections 38-22-106, 38-22-109, 38-22-110, 38-30-113, 38-31-101, 38-35-109, 38-35-125, 38-35-201, 38-38-104, 38-38-108, 38-38-302, 38-38-501, 38-39-102, 38-39-201, 38-41-101, 38-41-108, 38-41-201 and 38-41-202); Section 13-52-102; and Sections 15-11-102 and 15-15-402, read on October 16, 2026 in the copy the Office of Legislative Legal Services of the Colorado General Assembly posts for download (https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-10.htm and the files of the same name for Titles 13, 15 and 38, linked from https://leg.colorado.gov/agencies/office-legislative-legal-services/2026-crs-titles-download); annotations were not read as law. The topics follow the Title - Colorado Specific and Title - General Knowledge content outlines in the Colorado Insurance Content Outlines effective January 1, 2024 (https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/120606.pdf), which the exam page linked from the Colorado Division of Insurance (https://doi.colorado.gov/insurance-industry/for-producers/agents) carries with the Candidate Handbook of July 2026. Each question names its section; the link opens the whole title, where the section number can be searched. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the text of the law. Nothing comes from a testing vendor, a prep course or an exam question pool.
How it works
This unofficial Colorado title insurance license study guide is a bank of 98 practice questions written from the Title Insurance Code of Colorado and state deed, lien and foreclosure statutes. Not affiliated with the Colorado Division of Insurance.
Read the full guide
What the real exam holds
The Title exam has two parts. General knowledge asks terms and concepts (8 questions), policies (7), and 5 each on real estate ownership, rights and interests, legal descriptions, and transfers and conveyances. The Colorado part asks definitions, rates, prohibited practices, consumer protections and standards of conduct from the statutes and the Division's regulations.
What is asked here, and what is not
The Colorado part is asked from the statutes its outline cites, chiefly the Title Insurance Code and producer licensing. Closings, ownership, liens and conveyances are asked from Colorado's good funds, recording, deed, mechanics' lien, public trustee foreclosure and release statutes. Policy forms, legal descriptions and the Division's regulations are not asked.
Evidence of the title examination and an agent's closing files are each kept at least seven years (Sections 10-11-106 and 10-11-116).
A mechanics' lien statement is due in four months, two for day labor, after ten days' notice of intent (Section 38-22-109).
A judgment lien starts when the transcript is recorded in the county and runs six years from entry of judgment (Section 13-52-102).
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the Colorado title insurance exam?
The content outlines effective January 1, 2024 list 35 scored general knowledge questions and 40 scored Colorado questions. The Candidate Handbook of July 2026 allots the Title exam, number 83, one hour and 15 minutes.
What is the passing score for the Colorado title exam?
The handbook prints no percentage. It says the Division set the passing score after a study of each exam, that raw scores are converted to scaled scores from 0 to 100, and that numeric scores go only to candidates who fail.
Do Colorado attorneys have to take the title insurance exam?
No. The handbook says licensed Colorado attorneys applying for Title are exempt from the Title examination and submit a copy of their Colorado attorney bar card with the license application.
How much capital does a Colorado title agency need?
At least $10,000 of actual paid-in cash capital, or the same net worth for an individual, under Section 10-11-116. The handbook asks agency applicants for a notarized accountant's letter verifying it.