Colorado Contract Dates and Deadlines, Explained
A Colorado home purchase contract runs on dates. Each date is a deadline to do something: deliver earnest money, object to what an inspection found, approve the loan, or close. You and the seller agree on the dates for your deal, and once the contract is signed they are strict. The Giles Team at Coldwell Banker Realty explains what the dates are for, for buyers and sellers in Castle Rock, Parker and across Douglas and Elbert County. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which contract does this page cover?
- This page follows the state's standard Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), form CBS1. The Colorado Real Estate Commission adopted it on August 5, 2025, and the state lists it for use on and after January 1, 2026.
- The Division of Real Estate has also posted updated forms for use on and after January 1, 2027, so the form your contract uses depends on when you sign. Your own contract is what counts.
- Other property types use other forms. The state has separate contracts for land, commercial property and income property, for example.
- The form itself says it has important legal consequences and that the parties should consult legal and tax counsel before signing.
Sources: Colorado Division of Real Estate, "Real Estate Broker Contracts and Forms" (dre.colorado.gov/real-estate-broker-contracts-and-forms), and the CBS1 form text (adoption date August 5, 2025; for use on and after January 1, 2026; sections 3, 19, 20, 24 and 25). Checked October 24, 2026.
What is the Dates and Deadlines table?
It is a table near the front of the contract, in section 3.1, with 43 lines. You and the seller fill in the date for each one. The lines are grouped: title, owners' association, seller's disclosures, loan and credit, appraisal, survey, inspection and due diligence, and closing and possession.
If a line is left blank or marked "N/A" or "Deleted," that deadline does not apply and the part of the contract that goes with it is deleted (section 3.2). So the dates in your contract may be fewer than 43.
The form uses the short name MEC for "mutual execution of this Contract." That is the date both sides have signed.
How does the contract count days?
- A day ends at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, unless the table sets a "Time of Day Deadline." If it does, objection, resolution, examination and termination deadlines end at that time on the date shown.
- Counting: when a period of days is counted and no end date is written, the first day is left out and the last day is counted. For "three days after MEC," the day you both signed is day zero.
- Weekends and holidays: if a deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday, federal holiday or Colorado state holiday, the contract has a box that says whether it moves to the next business day. If neither box is checked, it does not move.
Source: CBS1 section 3.3, "Day; Computation of Period of Days; Deadlines."
Why do deadlines matter so much?
The form says every date is strict. Section 20 says "time is of the essence for all dates and deadlines" and that they are "strict and absolute."
Section 24.1 covers a buyer's or seller's right to end the contract. It says that right works only when the other side receives a written notice on or before the deadline. If no notice is received by then, the party "accepts the specified matter, document or condition as satisfactory" and gives up that right. A notice that arrives after the deadline does not end the contract.
That is why we go over every date with you when you sign and remind you before each one. What a missed date would mean in your own situation is a legal question. Ask an attorney.
What do the main dates mean?
Here are the dates people ask about most. The wording here is a summary. The contract's own words are what count.
| Deadline | What it is for | Form section |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance Deadline | The offer expires unless both sides sign and the offering party gets notice of acceptance by this date and time. | 27 |
| Alternative Earnest Money Deadline | When earnest money is due if it is not handed over with the contract. | 4.3 |
| Record Title Deadline, Record Title Objection Deadline, Title Resolution Deadline | The title commitment and title documents are delivered, the buyer can review them and object, and the two sides work out any objection. | 8 |
| Association Documents Deadline, Association Documents Termination Deadline | The seller delivers the HOA's documents (rules, minutes, budget, insurance list and more). The buyer can review them and end the contract if something is unsatisfactory. | 7 |
| Seller's Property Disclosure Deadline | The seller delivers the Commission's Seller's Property Disclosure form, filled out to the seller's actual knowledge. | 10.1 |
| New Loan Application, New Loan Terms and New Loan Availability Deadlines | The buyer applies for the loan. The buyer can end the contract if the loan terms or the loan's availability are not satisfactory. The form says the earnest money becomes nonrefundable if no timely notice is received, except in cases the contract lists, such as appraisal, title and survey. | 5.1, 5.2 |
| Buyer's Credit Information Deadline, Disapproval of Buyer's Credit Information Deadline | The buyer gives the seller financial and credit information, and the seller can disapprove it by the second date. | 5.3 |
| Appraisal Deadline, Appraisal Objection Deadline, Appraisal Resolution Deadline | If the appraised value is below the price, or the appraisal is not received, the buyer can end the contract or object by the objection date. The form notes these appraisal deadlines do not apply to FHA-insured or VA-guaranteed loans. | 6, note under 3.1 |
| Inspection Termination Deadline | The last day for the buyer to end the contract because of an unsatisfactory condition, if the buyer has not already sent an Inspection Objection. | 10.3.1 |
| Inspection Objection Deadline | The last day for the buyer to give the seller, in writing, a description of the unsatisfactory conditions the buyer requires the seller to correct. | 10.3.2 |
| Inspection Resolution Deadline | If an objection was sent and the two sides have not agreed in writing by this date, the contract ends unless the buyer withdraws the objection first. | 10.3.3 |
| Property Insurance Termination Deadline | The buyer can end the contract if the availability, terms or premium of property insurance is not satisfactory. | 10.5 |
| Due Diligence Documents Delivery, Objection and Resolution Deadlines | The seller delivers documents such as current leases, and the buyer can object to what they show. | 10.6 |
| New ILC or New Survey Deadlines | If an Improvement Location Certificate or a survey is required, it is delivered, and the buyer can object to what it shows. | 9 |
| Closing Date | The day the deed passes from seller to buyer at closing, or an earlier day both sides agree to. | 12.3 |
| Possession Date and Possession Time | When the buyer gets possession of the property. | 17 |
What does the order of events look like?
It is different in every contract, because the two sides choose the dates. Here is the usual path, with no day counts on purpose.
- Both sides sign. That is MEC, and the clock starts for dates counted from it.
- Earnest money is delivered, with the contract or by the alternative date.
- The seller delivers disclosures, title documents and HOA documents, if there is an HOA.
- The buyer orders inspections and applies for the loan.
- The buyer reviews what came back and may object, ask for repairs or end the contract before the matching deadline.
- Both sides work out objections in writing before each resolution deadline.
- The appraisal comes back and the loan moves toward approval.
- Closing and possession.
What should sellers watch for?
- Deliver what the contract says by the dates it says: title documents, HOA documents, the Seller's Property Disclosure and due diligence documents.
- The form requires you to disclose, in writing, adverse material facts you actually know about. If you learn of a new one after signing, you must disclose it on time (section 10.2).
- Answer objections before the resolution deadlines. If the two sides have not agreed in writing by then, the contract can end.
- Any change to the contract's terms, including its dates, is valid only if it is in writing and signed by the parties (section 25).
Thinking about selling? Start with our Sell Your Home page.
Buying acreage? There are extra dates.
Wells, water rights and surveys bring their own lines in the contract. This is what the form says, and our Acreage Guide covers the county rules.
- Water Rights Examination Deadline: if the contract includes water rights, the buyer has a right to end it if the examination is unsatisfactory (section 2.7.6).
- Wells: if the well is a "Small Capacity Well" or a "Domestic Exempt Water Well" used for ordinary household purposes, the form says the buyer must complete a Change in Ownership form for the well before or at closing (section 2.7.3).
- Survey: if the contract requires a new Improvement Location Certificate or survey, it has its own delivery, objection and resolution dates (section 9).
- Septic: if the local health department requires a septic Use Permit, the form says the seller pays for it and furnishes it by the health department's deadline (section 10.6.1.5). That deadline is not a line in this table, and the county's rules decide when a permit is needed.
The form recommends talking to your own attorney if water rights, mineral rights or leased items are included or excluded in the sale (section 19).
What can the Giles Team do, and who should you ask about the rest?
- Explain what each date in your contract is for.
- Go over every date with you when you sign, and remind you before each one.
- Work with your lender, inspectors, title company and the other side's Realtor to keep things moving.
- An attorney: legal questions about your contract, your rights, or what a missed date would mean.
- Your title company: the title commitment, closing and funds.
- Your lender: your loan and appraisal.
- The county: permits and records, such as septic and wells.
We do not give legal advice.
Colorado contract deadline questions we hear often
What is the inspection objection deadline?
It is a date written into your contract. The state's form has a blank for it, and the buyer and seller fill it in. Look in the Dates and Deadlines table, section 3.1.
What happens if I miss a deadline?
The form says time is of the essence and that deadlines are strict. What a missed date means for you depends on your contract and the facts. Ask an attorney.
Do deadlines include weekends and holidays?
A deadline that lands on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day only if the "Will" box is checked in section 3.3.3. If neither box is checked, it does not move.
Can the dates be changed after we sign?
The form says a later change to its terms is valid only if it is in writing and signed by the parties (section 25). Talk to your Realtor and an attorney before you agree to one.
What does MEC mean?
MEC stands for "mutual execution of this Contract," the date both parties have signed.
Is this the form every Colorado home sale uses?
No. This page covers the residential form, CBS1. Other forms exist for land, commercial and income property, and updated forms take effect January 1, 2027.
Writing an offer soon? Let's go over your dates first.
Call or text (720) 593-2378, email team@gilesteam.com, or send us a message. See also Buy a Home and Moving to Castle Rock and Parker.
Giles Team | Coldwell Banker Realty South Metro · 6501 E Belleview Ave, Suite 500, Englewood, CO 80111 · (720) 593-2378 · team@gilesteam.com
McLean Giles, Colorado license FA.100052648 · Ginger Giles, Colorado license FA.100052642
General information about the Colorado Real Estate Commission's standard residential contract (CBS1), checked October 24, 2026. It is not legal advice. For legal questions, talk to an attorney. Your contract controls.
