Colorado Revised Statutes

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-6-311 (2026)

Appeals from county court - simplified procedure

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CO-LEGleg.colorado.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(1) (a) If either party in a civil action believes that the judgment of the county court is in error, he or she may appeal to the district court by filing notice of appeal in the county court within fourteen days after the date of entry of judgment and by filing within the said fourteen days an appeal bond with the clerk of the county court. The bond shall be furnished by a corporate surety authorized and licensed to do business in this state as surety, or one or more sufficient private sureties, or may be a cash deposit by the appellant and, if the appeal is taken by the plaintiff, shall be conditioned to pay the costs of the appeal and the counterclaim, if any, and, if the appeal is taken by the defendant, shall be conditioned to pay the costs and judgment if the appealing party fails. The bond shall be approved by the judge or the clerk.

(b) Upon filing of the notice of appeal, the posting and approval of the bond, and the deposit by the appellant of an estimated fee in advance for preparing the record, the county court shall discontinue all further proceedings and recall any execution issued. The appellant shall then docket his or her appeal in the district court. A motion for new trial is not required as a condition of appeal. If a motion for new trial is made within fourteen days, the time for appeal shall be extended until fourteen days after disposition of the motion, but only matters raised on the motion for new trial shall be considered on an appeal thereafter.

(2) (a) Upon the deposit of the estimated record fee, the clerk of the court shall prepare and issue as soon as possible a record of the proceedings in the county court, including the summons, the complaint, proof of service, and the judgment. The record shall also include a transcription of such part of the actual evidence and other proceedings as the parties may designate or, in lieu of transcription, to which they may stipulate. If a stenographic record has been maintained or the parties agree to stipulate, the party appealing shall lodge with the clerk of the court the reporter's transcript of the designated evidence or proceedings or a stipulation covering such items within forty-two days after the filing of the notice of appeal. If the proceedings have been recorded electronically, the transcription of designated evidence and proceedings shall be prepared in the office of the clerk of the county court, either by him or her or under his or her supervision, within forty-two days after the filing of the notice of appeal.

(b) The clerk shall notify, in writing, the opposing parties of the completion of the record, and the parties have fourteen days within which to file objections. If none are received, the record shall be certified forthwith by the clerk. If objections are made, the parties shall be called for hearing and the objections settled by the county judge as soon as possible and the record then certified.

(3) When the record has been duly certified and any additional fees therefor paid, it shall be filed with the clerk of the district court by the clerk of the county court, and the opposing parties shall be notified of such filing by the clerk of the county court.

(4) A written brief setting out matters relied upon as constituting error and outlining any arguments to be made shall be filed in the district court by the appellant within twenty-one days after filing of the record therein. A copy of the brief shall be served on the appellee. The appellee may file an answering brief within twenty-one days after such service. In the discretion of the district court, time for filing of briefs and answers may be extended.

(5) Unless there is further review by the supreme court upon writ of certiorari and pursuant to the rules of that court, after final disposition of the appeal by the district court, the judgment on appeal therein shall be certified to the county court for action as directed by the district court, except upon trials de novo held in the district court or in cases in which the judgment is modified, in which cases the judgment shall be that of the district court and enforced therefrom.

(6) Repealed.

Source: L. 64: p. 428, § 54. C.R.S. 1963: § 37-16-18. L. 80: (1) and (2)(b) amended, p. 511, § 1, effective April 6. L. 85: (6) repealed, p. 572, § 12, effective November 14, 1986. L. 2012: (1), (2), and (4) amended, (SB 12-175), ch. 208, p. 822, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2013: (1) and (2)(b) amended, (HB 13-1126), ch. 58, p. 192, § 3, effective July 1; (2) amended, (HB 13- 1086), ch. 32, p. 77, § 1, effective July 1.

Editor's note: Amendments to subsection (2)(b) by House Bill 13-1086 and House Bill 13-1126 were harmonized.

PART 4 COUNTY COURT - SMALL CLAIMS DIVISION Law reviews: For article, "Changes to the Statutes and Rules Governing Procedures in Colorado Small Claims Courts", see 31 Colo. Law. 29 (Feb. 2002).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1978–2022 · leading case: O'Donnell v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 186 P.3d 46 (Colo. 2008).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

O'Donnell v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 186 P.3d 46 (Colo. 2008). · cites it 33× “Bryant thus asks this court to overturn the district *48 court's ruling that section 13-6-311, C.R.S. (2007), and C.R.”

Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, L.L.C. v. Flood, 278 P.3d 348 (Colo. 2012). · cites it 3× “For example, section 13-6-311(5) provides that after final disposition of the appeal by the district court the case is returned to the county court, unless review by the supreme court occurs upon writ of certiorari pursuant to the rules of the supreme court.”

Bell v. Simpson, 918 P.2d 1123 (Colo. 1996). · cites it 2× “411(a) mirrors the requirements of § 13-6-311, 6AC.R.S. (1987). 2 . The respondents argue that Bell was determined to be indigent only with respect to the appeal of his motion to transfer and therefore that Bell had never been authorized to proceed in forma pauperis by the…”

Yeager v. Quinn, 767 P.2d 766 (Colo. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 2× “The legislative scheme in this instance is § 13-6-301 through § 13-6-311, C.R.S. (1987 RepLVol. 6A) which encompasses the “General Procedural Provisions” for county courts.”

Petry v. Cnty. Court ex rel. City & Cnty. of Denver, 666 P.2d 1125 (Colo. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 2× “Finding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction, the district court dismissed appellants’ petition.”

Tumbarello v. Superior Court, 575 P.2d 431 (Colo. 1978). · cites it 3× “Section 13-6-311(6), C.R.S. 1973 and Rule 411(6) of the County Court Civil Procedure Rules state that these provisions apply to appeals to superior court in counties in which a superior court has been established.”

Drexler v. Spahn (10th Cir. 2022). “Drexler relies on Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-6-311 . This statute governs appeals from a county court, not proceedings in federal court.”

— Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-6-311(1)(a) — 1 case

O'Donnell v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 186 P.3d 46 (Colo. 2008). “Bryant thus asks this court to overturn the district *48 court's ruling that section 13-6-311, C.R.S. (2007), and C.R.”

— Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-6-311(5) — 1 case

Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, L.L.C. v. Flood, 278 P.3d 348 (Colo. 2012). “For example, section 13-6-311(5) provides that after final disposition of the appeal by the district court the case is returned to the county court, unless review by the supreme court occurs upon writ of certiorari pursuant to the rules of the supreme court.”

— Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-6-311(6) — 3 cases

Petry v. Cnty. Court ex rel. City & Cnty. of Denver, 666 P.2d 1125 (Colo. Ct. App. 1983). “Finding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction, the district court dismissed appellants’ petition.”

Tumbarello v. Superior Court, 575 P.2d 431 (Colo. 1978). “Section 13-6-311(6), C.R.S. 1973 and Rule 411(6) of the County Court Civil Procedure Rules state that these provisions apply to appeals to superior court in counties in which a superior court has been established.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.