Does the Colorado contract have default deadlines?

No. Every deadline in the Dates and Deadlines table of the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate is filled in by the parties. A deadline left blank or marked N/A or Deleted means that provision is deleted from the contract; nothing defaults in its place.

What happens if the Inspection Resolution Deadline passes in Colorado?

If the buyer delivered a timely Inspection Objection and the parties have not signed a written settlement by the Inspection Resolution Deadline, the contract terminates on that deadline, unless the seller receives the buyer’s written withdrawal of the objection by then.

Do Colorado deadlines move if they fall on a weekend?

Only if the contract says so. The form has a checkbox stating whether a deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal or Colorado state holiday will or will not be extended to the next business day. If neither box is checked, deadlines are not extended.

What time do Colorado contract deadlines end?

At 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on the deadline date, unless the parties fill in a Time of Day Deadline. That alternative time applies only to objection, resolution, examination and termination deadlines.

Colorado Real Estate Closing Timeline

How the Dates and Deadlines table in Colorado’s Contract to Buy and Sell works, from MEC to closing.

Last updated October 13, 2026 · Based on the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), mandatory January 1, 2026

Colorado brokers must use the contracts approved by the Colorado Real Estate Commission. For a home sale that is the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), known as CBS1. The current version was adopted in August 2025 and has been mandatory since January 1, 2026; its changes from the 2024 version were mostly wording, and the deadlines table is unchanged.

The heart of the contract is the Dates and Deadlines table in Section 3, which lists every deadline in the transaction. None has a default. Each is filled in with a date or a period, and a deadline left blank, or marked N/A or Deleted, deletes that provision— it doesn’t fall back to a standard period.

A sample Colorado timeline

Example only: every date in the Colorado contract is negotiated. This shows one possible arrangement of the main deadlines in a financed purchase closing 35 days after MEC.
When	Milestone	What happens
MEC	Mutual execution of the contract	The date both parties have signed. Periods like “3 days after MEC” count from here.
With the contract	Earnest money	Tendered with the contract unless an Alternative Earnest Money Deadline is filled in.
Day 5	Disclosures and title documents	Seller’s Property Disclosure, Record Title Deadline (title commitment and documents) and Association Documents Deadline.
Day 10	Inspection Objection or Termination	Buyer terminates, or delivers a written objection to the conditions the seller must correct.
Day 13	Inspection Resolution Deadline	No written settlement or withdrawal of the objection by now, and the contract terminates.
Day 15	Title and association objections	Record Title Objection and Association Documents Termination deadlines.
Day 21	Appraisal Objection Deadline	Buyer terminates or objects if the appraised value is low or the appraisal hasn’t arrived.
Day 25	New Loan Availability Deadline	Last day to terminate over loan availability. After it, the earnest money becomes nonrefundable, with exceptions.
Day 35	Closing and possession	Delivery of the deed at the closing company. Possession on the date and time in the table.

1. MEC and how deadlines are written

MEC — mutual execution of the contract — is the date both parties have signed. Each cell in the Dates and Deadlines table can be a calendar date or a period such as “three days after MEC.” When a period is used, the first day is excluded and the last day included.

2. Earnest money

The buyer tenders earnest money with the contract unless the parties fill in an Alternative Earnest Money Deadline. The earnest money holder keeps it in trust for both parties and delivers it to the closing company at or before closing. Since 2026, the contract’s definition of good funds includes real-time or instant payments. After a termination, the other party must sign and return a mutual release within three days of receiving it.

3. The objection and resolution pattern

Several contingencies — inspection, title, survey, appraisal and due diligence documents — follow an object-then-resolve pattern, and the inspection is the clearest example:

Inspection Termination Deadline: the buyer may terminate in the buyer’s sole subjective discretion — but only if the buyer hasn’t already sent an Inspection Objection.
Inspection Objection Deadline: the buyer delivers a written list of the conditions the seller must correct. Sending it ends the buyer’s right to terminate on its own.
Inspection Resolution Deadline: if there is no signed written settlement by this deadline, the contract terminates — unless the seller receives the buyer’s written withdrawal of the objection first.

Title, survey, appraisal and due diligence documents follow the same terminate-or-object-then-resolve structure. Missing a resolution deadline doesn’t waive anything; it ends the deal.

4. Financing and appraisal

New Loan Application Deadline: the buyer makes a lender-verifiable application, if the lender requires one.
New Loan Terms Deadline: the buyer may terminate if the loan’s rate, payments, costs or conditions are unsatisfactory, in the buyer’s sole subjective discretion.
New Loan Availability Deadline: the buyer may terminate if not satisfied with loan availability based on the lender’s underwriting. If the seller doesn’t receive the buyer’s notice by this deadline, the buyer’s earnest money becomes nonrefundable, except where another provision such as appraisal or title still applies.
Appraisal Objection Deadline: if the appraised value is below the price, or the appraisal hasn’t arrived by the Appraisal Deadline, the buyer may terminate or deliver an Appraisal Objection. Unresolved by the Appraisal Resolution Deadline, the contract terminates. The appraisal deadlines don’t apply to FHA or VA loans when those boxes are checked.
Lender property requirements: if the lender requires repairs the seller hasn’t agreed to, the contract terminates three days after the seller receives them (or at closing, if sooner) unless the parties agree in writing, the work is done, or the buyer waives it. This deadline isn’t in the table.

5. Title, association documents and disclosures

The title commitment and title documents are due by the Record Title Deadline, and the buyer may object or terminate by the Record Title Objection Deadline. Unresolved objections end the contract at the Title Resolution Deadline. A tax certificate listing any special or metropolitan taxing districts is also due by the Record Title Deadline.

For properties in an owners’ association, the seller provides the association documents by the Association Documents Deadline, and the buyer may terminate by the Association Documents Termination Deadline. That is a termination-only right, with no objection step.

When documents arrive late, the deadlines move: late title, association and due diligence documents give the buyer ten days after receipt (but no later than closing), so a tracker should recalculate from the actual delivery date. The Seller’s Property Disclosure must be current as of the Seller’s Property Disclosure Deadline, a 2026 change.

6. Extensions and closing

Deadlines change only by a written agreement signed by both parties, for example the Commission’s Extension or Termination of Contract form, which takes effect only if both parties sign and receive notice of acceptance before the expiration it sets. Closing is delivery of the deed on the Closing Date or an earlier date the parties agree, and possession transfers on the possession date and time in the table unless a post-closing occupancy agreement says otherwise.

According to the Real Estate Commission, a title company acts as the closing company in most transactions, with escrow agents, brokers and attorneys occasionally providing closing services. The closing company works from written closing instructions, and the Commission encourages using its approved Closing Instructions form.

How Colorado counts days

A day ends at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time. If the parties fill in a Time of Day Deadline, objection, resolution, examination and termination deadlines end at that time instead.
Whether weekends and holidays extend a deadline is a checkbox. If neither box is checked, deadlines aren’t extended.
A notice to terminate is effective when received, and a late one is ineffective. The contract limits which notices a broker can receive on a party’s behalf — termination notices sent electronically must be received by the party — so check Section 26 before relying on delivery to a broker.
Dates and deadlines are “strict and absolute”: time is of the essence.

Colorado deadlines that trip agents up

Leaving a row blank and assuming a default. Blank deletes the provision.
Not checking either weekend box, then expecting a Saturday deadline to roll to Monday.
Sending an Inspection Objection and then trying to terminate unilaterally. That right is gone once the objection is delivered.
Letting a resolution deadline pass during negotiations. The contract terminates automatically.
Missing the New Loan Availability Deadline, after which the earnest money is at risk.
Overlooking the three-day lender property requirements deadline, which isn’t in the table.
Not recalculating title and document deadlines when documents arrive late.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Colorado contract have default deadlines?: No. Every deadline in the Dates and Deadlines table of the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate is filled in by the parties. A deadline left blank or marked N/A or Deleted means that provision is deleted from the contract; nothing defaults in its place.
What happens if the Inspection Resolution Deadline passes in Colorado?: If the buyer delivered a timely Inspection Objection and the parties have not signed a written settlement by the Inspection Resolution Deadline, the contract terminates on that deadline, unless the seller receives the buyer’s written withdrawal of the objection by then.
Do Colorado deadlines move if they fall on a weekend?: Only if the contract says so. The form has a checkbox stating whether a deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal or Colorado state holiday will or will not be extended to the next business day. If neither box is checked, deadlines are not extended.
What time do Colorado contract deadlines end?: At 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on the deadline date, unless the parties fill in a Time of Day Deadline. That alternative time applies only to objection, resolution, examination and termination deadlines.