You can download every Colorado divorce paper as a free fillable PDF from the Colorado Judicial Branch’s Self-Help section. The forms are grouped by situation (no children, with children, or legal separation) and each carries a JDF number in its header. Filing costs $260, at least one spouse must have lived in Colorado for 91 days before you file, and no divorce can be finalized until 91 days after the court has jurisdiction over the respondent.
Where to Download the PDFs
Go to the Colorado Judicial Branch website, open the Self-Help area, and find the Divorce and Separation category. The fillable PDFs live there, sorted by whether your case involves children and whether you are filing jointly or alone. Every official form shows the Colorado Judicial Branch name and a JDF (Judicial Department Form) number at the top.
Skip third-party form sites. Some charge for documents the state gives away, and others post outdated versions that clerks reject. If the header does not show a JDF number, it did not come from the right place.
The Core Forms Every Case Needs
Regardless of whether your divorce is amicable or contested, three PDFs form the backbone of the filing.
- JDF 1000, Case Information Sheet. Identifying details for both spouses: names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, and contact information. If you have minor children, it also asks for each child’s name, sex, date of birth, and Social Security number.
- JDF 1101, Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The document that formally asks the court to end the marriage and covers what you want decided: property, debts, spousal maintenance, and (if applicable) parenting responsibilities and child support.
- JDF 1111, Sworn Financial Statement. Monthly income from all sources, payroll deductions, monthly expenses by category, and every asset and debt. Both spouses complete their own copy, and both get filed with the court.
If you and your spouse file together as co-petitioners, you can skip the summons. If only one of you initiates the case, two more forms come into play: JDF 1102, the Summons, which formally notifies the other spouse and prints the full text of the automatic temporary injunction; and a Waiver and Acceptance of Service, which a cooperative respondent can sign to acknowledge receipt of the petition and summons instead of being served by a process server or sheriff.
Extra Forms When You Have Children
Divorces involving minor children need additional documents, and incomplete parenting paperwork is one of the most common reasons cases stall.
- JDF 1113, Parenting Plan. Sets out who makes decisions about education, medical care, religious activities, extracurricular activities, and passport applications. It also lays out parenting-time schedules for the school year, summer, holidays, and special occasions, down to specific days and transfer times, and it requires an overnight count showing how the 365 nights per year are split between parents.
- Affidavit Regarding Children. Required by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. Lists every person each child has lived with and every address where each child has resided during the past five years. If disclosure would endanger the children, you can request to omit the addresses.
Extra Forms for an Uncontested Filing
When both spouses agree on everything, one more PDF turns that agreement into something the court can approve.
- JDF 1115, Separation Agreement. Documents the division of every asset and debt, organized by type (real estate, bank accounts, retirement accounts, vehicles, personal property). It specifies which spouse takes each item and, for financed assets, sets a deadline for the retaining spouse to refinance and remove the other spouse’s name. It also addresses spousal maintenance, including whether either party will carry life insurance to protect the other’s support interest.
What to Gather Before You Open a PDF
These forms ask for a level of financial detail that will send you back to the filing cabinet more than once if you start cold. Pulling records first saves hours.
For the Case Information Sheet and Petition, you need Social Security numbers for both spouses and any minor children, the date at least one spouse established Colorado residency, and the date of the marriage. The petition also asks you to list all marital property, including real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement funds with current values, along with debts: mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and any other obligations. If children are involved, gather their full names, dates of birth, current addresses, and a five-year address history showing everyone they have lived with.
For the Sworn Financial Statement, pull your most recent pay stubs, documentation for every income source (including self-employment, rental income, benefits, and investment returns), and a realistic monthly expense breakdown covering housing, utilities, food, healthcare, transportation, children’s costs, and personal spending. You also need current balances and account numbers for every financial account and the monthly payment amount for each debt.
Filing the Papers and Paying the Fee
File the originals with the District Court clerk in the county where you or your spouse lives. The filing fee is $260. If you cannot afford it, submit JDF 205, Motion to Waive Fees. Generally your household income must fall below 125 percent of the federal poverty line, or you must be enrolled in certain public benefits programs, to qualify.
Colorado also allows self-represented parties to file electronically through the Colorado Courts E-Filing system after registering for an E-Filing User ID. Two limits are worth knowing: if the court granted you a fee waiver, you currently cannot use e-filing and must file in person, and you can only e-file into your own case, not on behalf of someone else.
Once the clerk processes your paperwork, the case receives a unique case number that goes on every future document. You will then receive a Notice of Initial Status Conference and a Case Management Order in the mail. Read the Case Management Order carefully; it lists every deadline, including when disclosures are due and when the initial status conference is set.
Serving Your Spouse
If you did not file as co-petitioners, you must give the respondent formal notice. The easiest route, when the other spouse is cooperative, is the Waiver and Acceptance of Service, which confirms they received the petition, summons, and case management order. Otherwise you hire a private process server or arrange for the county sheriff to hand-deliver the documents. You cannot serve the papers yourself.
Proof of service must then be filed with the court. This step is not optional, and the 91-day clock to finalization does not start until the court has jurisdiction over the respondent, meaning either the date of proper service or the date the respondent signed a waiver. A respondent served inside Colorado has 21 days to file a response; a respondent served outside the state has 35.
Financial Disclosures You Exchange, Not File
The Sworn Financial Statement goes to the court, but Colorado also requires a broader financial exchange directly between the spouses. Under Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 16.2(e), this exchange must happen within 42 days after the petition is served.
The required documents include three years of income tax returns, three years of personal financial statements, documentation for all bank and financial institution accounts, pay stubs and other income verification, retirement plan statements, investment account records, real estate documents such as appraisals and title records, all personal debt records including loan statements and credit card statements, insurance documentation, and employment benefits information. If children are involved, you also exchange childcare cost documentation and records of any extraordinary children’s expenses.
These documents move between the parties only. What gets filed with the court is JDF 1104, a Certificate of Compliance confirming the exchange happened. Missing this deadline can trigger sanctions, and judges treat incomplete disclosure as a signal that assets may be hidden.
The Automatic Injunction That Starts at Filing
The moment the petition is filed and the other spouse is served (or signs a waiver), an automatic temporary injunction takes effect under C.R.S. 14-10-107. No one has to ask for it, and no judge has to sign it. It stays in place until the final decree is entered or the case is dismissed. For co-petitioners, it applies to both spouses starting on the filing date.
The injunction prohibits either spouse from transferring, hiding, or disposing of marital property without the other’s written consent or a court order. Routine spending on daily necessities and ordinary business transactions are allowed, but any extraordinary expenditure requires advance notice and an accounting to the court. Neither spouse can cancel, modify, or let lapse any health, homeowner’s or renter’s, auto, or life insurance policy that covers either spouse or the children; any such change requires at least 14 days’ written notice and the other party’s consent or a court order. The injunction also bars either parent from removing the children from the state without consent or a court order. The full text of these restrictions prints directly on the JDF 1102 Summons.
Timeline to a Final Decree
Under C.R.S. 14-10-106, the court cannot enter a final decree until 91 days after it acquires jurisdiction over the respondent. That is separate from the residency requirement, which asks that at least one spouse have lived in Colorado for 91 days before the petition is filed.
If your case involves minor children, both parents must complete a court-approved parenting education class before the divorce can be finalized. Under C.R.S. 14-10-123.7, these programs cover the impact of divorce on children and teach co-parenting strategies. Each parent pays their own fee, and the court cannot waive it, though some providers offer reduced rates. File the certificate of completion with the court once you finish.
Finalizing at exactly 91 days is realistic only when both spouses agree on every issue and every document is filed on time: the petition, case information sheet, financial disclosures, sworn financial statements, separation agreement, parenting plan if applicable, any required child support orders, and a proposed decree of dissolution. In an uncontested case, if the judge finds the agreements fair and the requirements met, the decree is signed without a hearing. Contested cases go to hearings before the decree is entered. Nothing becomes binding, and no property division takes effect, until the judge signs.