(1) (a) Every sheriff, county clerk and recorder, and county treasurer shall keep his or her respective office at the county seat of the county and in the office provided by the county, if any such has been provided, or, if there is none provided, then at such place as the board of county commissioners shall direct. Subject to the provisions of part 2 of article 72 of title 24, C.R.S., and any judicially recognized right of privacy, all books and papers required to be in such offices shall be open to the examination of any person, but no person, except parties in interest, or their attorneys, shall have the right to examine pleadings or other papers filed in any cause pending in such court.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1), the sheriff, county clerk and recorder, county treasurer, and clerk of the district and county courts may maintain his or her office at a location other than the county seat when authorized to do so pursuant to part 1 of article 5 of title 13, C.R.S.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the sheriff, county clerk and recorder, and county treasurer may keep one or more offices outside of the county seat or such other place authorized pursuant to part 1 of article 5 of title 13, C.R.S. Any such office shall be in addition to his or her respective office kept pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) and shall be within the same county. Any such additional office may be kept only if the board of county commissioners of such county makes office space or funding available to provide for the office.
(d) As used in this section, "office" shall mean a place where some or all of the duties of a sheriff, county clerk and recorder, county treasurer, or clerk of the district and county courts are conducted.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2.5) of this section, any person or corporation and their employees engaged in making abstracts or abstract books or in the business of title insurance, as defined in section 10-11-102 (3), C.R.S., shall have the right, during usual business hours and subject to such rules and regulations as the officer having the custody of such records may prescribe, to inspect and make memoranda, copies, or photographs of the contents of all such books and papers for the purpose of their business; but any such officer may make reasonable and general regulations concerning the inspection of such books and papers by the public or by such abstractors or title insurance personnel. If, for the purpose of making such copies, it becomes necessary to remove such records from the room where they are usually kept to some other room in the courthouse where such copying apparatus may be installed for such purpose, the county clerk and recorder, in his or her discretion, may charge to the person or corporation making such copies a fee of ten dollars per hour for the service of the deputy who has charge of such records while they are being so copied; but such fees shall not be charged to one person or corporation unless the same fee is likewise charged to every person or corporation copying such records.
(2.5) (a) In lieu of affording the right of inspection and copying set forth in subsection (2) of this section, any clerk and recorder may make available to abstractors, title insurance personnel, and others, by subscription and on such medium as the clerk and recorder shall determine in accordance with the provisions of section 30-10-407, a daily copy in bulk of all documents recorded and filed in such office or less than all if the clerk and recorder determines it to be feasible to sort the bulk as requested. Such bulk copy shall be available to the subscriber no later than the third business day following the date of recording or filing. The fee to be charged by the clerk and recorder for bulk copies supplied in accordance with this subsection (2.5) shall be sufficient to cover the direct and indirect costs of production incurred by the clerk and recorder.
(b) Upon tender of the appropriate fee as provided in section 30-1-103 (2)(j), the clerk and recorder shall furnish single copies of documents upon demand.
(c) The clerk and recorder shall not be required to conduct a search of the real estate records in order to locate any document for copying or for any other purpose.
(3) If any person or officer refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall forfeit for each day he so refuses or neglects the sum of five dollars, to be collected by civil action, in the name of the people of the state of Colorado, and pay it into the school fund; but this shall not interfere with or take away any right of action for damages by any person injured by such neglect or refusal.
Source: G.L. § 554. L. 1885: p. 157, § 1. R.S. 08: § 1352. L. 13: p. 227, § 1. L. 19: p. 368, § 1. C.L. § 8829. CSA: C. 45, § 176. CRS 53: § 35-1-1. C.R.S. 1963: § 35-1-1. L. 77: (1) amended, p. 1435, § 1, effective May 26. L. 83: (2) amended, p. 1226, § 5, effective July 1. L. 91: (2) amended, p. 709, § 5, effective July 1. L. 93: (1) amended, p. 91, § 2, effective July 1. L. 96: (2) amended and (2.5) added, p. 1556, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2001: (1)(c) and (1)(d) added, p. 652, § 1, effective May 30. L. 2010: (1)(a) amended, (HB 10-1062), ch. 161, p. 556, § 1, effective August 11. L. 2014: (2.5)(a) amended, (HB 14-1073), ch. 30, p. 176, § 4, effective July 1.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For note, "One Year Review of Wills, Estates and Trusts", see 41 Den. L. Ctr. J. 118 (1964).
The amendment to art. VI, Colo. Const., transfers most of the former jurisdiction of the then county courts to the district courts, including, among others, the type of matters (juvenile, mental health, domestic relations, probate) intended to be kept private by this section. Times-Call Publ'g Co. v. Wingfield, 159 Colo. 172, 410 P.2d 511 (1966).
Other than "interested" persons allowed access to court records. This section does not mean that judges and clerks of courts of record are prohibited from allowing persons other than parties in interest or their attorneys to examine the pleadings or other papers on file in such courts; however, it does mean that although there is no absolute right to examine such pleadings or other papers, persons could be allowed to do so at discretion of court. Times-Call Publ'g Co. v. Wingfield, 159 Colo. 172, 410 P.2d 511 (1966).
Press not barred from court records. This section, originating in 1885, was certainly not intended to bar the press from access to pleadings and court records in civil actions involving matters of public interest such as school bond election contests. Times-Call Publ'g Co. v. Wingfield, 159 Colo. 172, 410 P.2d 511 (1966).
This section was not designed to allow individuals who wish to abstract the entire records for future profit in their private business, the privilege of using continuously the public property, and of monopolizing from day to day, for months and years, a portion of the time and attention of the county clerk against his will and without recompense. Bean v. People ex rel. Uppercu, 7 Colo. 200, 2 P. 909 (1883).
Mandamus proper remedy. Where a county clerk and recorder refuses to allow abstractors the use of the county records for the purpose of making abstracts, mandamus is a proper remedy for them to resort to. Stocknan v. Brooks, 17 Colo. 248, 29 P. 746 (1892).
Sufficient allegation for mandamus. An allegation by plaintiffs, in their petition for mandamus, that the county clerk and recorder refused to allow them to examine the records, or make memoranda therefrom, though often requested to do so, is sufficient, since by the terms of this section any person has the right to inspect the records; and it is not necessary to allege that plaintiffs did not have all the information that could be acquired by the enforcement of the writ. Stocknan v. Brooks, 17 Colo. 248, 29 P. 746 (1892).
No mandamus to allow abstracting entire land records. A county clerk is not compellable, by mandamus, to allow abstract makers to use his office and the county records for the purpose of abstracting the entire records of the land titles of the county for sale. Bean v. People ex rel. Uppercu, 7 Colo. 200, 2 P. 909 (1883).
Applied in In re W.D.A. v. City & County of Denver, 632 P.2d 582 (Colo. 1981).