Boulder County Public Trustee: How a Deed of Trust Is Released or Foreclosed
In Colorado a deed of trust names a Public Trustee who releases it at payoff and runs the foreclosure sale. How releases and Boulder County sales work.
Quick answer
In Boulder County, as across Colorado, a home loan is secured by a deed of trust that names the Public Trustee as a neutral third party. At payoff the lender asks the Public Trustee to release the deed of trust, and the release is recorded with the Clerk and Recorder. If the borrower defaults, the Public Trustee also runs the foreclosure sale.
What is a Public Trustee in Colorado?
Most states use a mortgage between two parties, the borrower and the lender. Colorado real estate loans are typically secured by a deed of trust, a three party agreement among the borrower, the lender and the Public Trustee. Boulder County describes the Public Trustee as listed on the deed and serving as a neutral third party until the loan is paid in full.
That changes where you look. A mortgage satisfaction in many states is signed by the lender and recorded by the lender. In Boulder County the release is executed by the Public Trustee, on the lender's request, and recorded with the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder. A deed search therefore reads the Clerk and Recorder's records for the deed of trust and its release, and the Public Trustee's records for anything that went to foreclosure.
Definition
Public Trustee — A county official named in a Colorado deed of trust as the neutral third party between borrower and lender. The Public Trustee releases the deed of trust when the loan is paid and conducts the foreclosure sale if the borrower defaults.
Who handles what for a Boulder County deed of trust?
Three county offices touch a deed of trust. The table shows which one answers which question.
| Question | Office | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Was a deed of trust recorded against the property? | Clerk and Recorder | The recorded deed of trust, deeds, assignments and the release |
| Was it paid off and released? | Public Trustee, then Clerk and Recorder | The Public Trustee executes the release; the Clerk and Recorder records it |
| Is the property in foreclosure? | Public Trustee | Foreclosure notices, sale lists, certificates of purchase and of redemption |
| Who is the owner and what is the parcel number? | Assessor | Owner of record, situs address and the parcel record |
| Are property taxes paid? | Treasurer | Tax bills and delinquent taxes |
How does a deed of trust get released?
The loan is paid in full
The lender holds the original evidence of debt, usually the promissory note. When the loan is satisfied, the note is marked as paid in full.
The lender asks the Public Trustee to release
The lender files a Request for Release of Deed of Trust with the Public Trustee for the county where the property lies. The requirements are in C.R.S. 38-39-102: the original note marked paid in full, or an accepted substitute.
Substitutes for a lost or missing note
If the owner of the debt is a qualified holder under C.R.S. 38-38-100.3, the Public Trustee may accept the request without the note. If the note is lost, a Lost Instrument Bond from a company authorized to issue such bonds in Colorado must be submitted.
The Public Trustee executes and records
The office checks that the release is accurate and complete, executes it, and records it with the County Clerk and Recorder. Recording is what removes the lien from the public record.
How does a Boulder County foreclosure sale work?
If the borrower defaults on a provision of the deed of trust, the lender may choose to foreclose, and the Public Trustee manages the process: protecting the rights of both sides, noticing the sale, holding the sale, processing redemptions and issuing deeds to purchasers.
Boulder County holds its foreclosure sales on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. All bidders must register. The lender has to give the Public Trustee its bid by noon two business days before the sale, and can change it until noon the business day before. If the lender's bid is not in on time, the sale is continued to the following week.
A successful bidder receives a Certificate of Purchase, which the office records and issues within five business days. The property owner gets any overbid money left after the lienholders are paid.
What happens after the sale: redemption by junior lienholders
A Colorado foreclosure sale is not always the end of the process. Junior lienholders, meaning creditors whose liens rank below the foreclosing deed of trust, may redeem the property they sold. They have eight business days after the sale to file their intent to redeem with the Public Trustee.
They redeem in order of the seniority of their liens. The most senior lienholder redeems first, between 15 and 19 business days after the sale, and has only until noon on the last day. Each other lienholder who filed an intent to redeem then follows in turn. When a property is redeemed, the office records and issues a Certificate of Redemption.
For a buyer or lender this means a certificate of purchase is not the last document to check. A later Certificate of Redemption or a Public Trustee's deed tells you how the sale ended.
What should a Boulder County title search check?
Read the chain of deeds with the Clerk and Recorder, then match every deed of trust to a release. A deed of trust with no recorded release is still a lien of record, even if the loan was paid, because the release has to be executed and recorded to remove it. Look for foreclosure activity with the Public Trustee, and for a Certificate of Purchase or Redemption that follows a sale.
A report does not replace a lawyer. HeritageDeed's Boulder County report lists deeds, deeds of trust, releases and liens recorded with the Clerk and Recorder, and the owner of record from the Assessor's parcel data. It does not search delinquent property taxes or buy document images. The same Colorado rules apply in Arapahoe County and Routt County.
Frequently asked questions
- Who releases a deed of trust in Boulder County?
- The Public Trustee, on the lender's request. The Public Trustee checks the request, executes the release and records it with the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder.
- What does the Public Trustee do in Colorado?
- It is the neutral third party in a deed of trust. It releases the deed of trust when the loan is paid and, if the borrower defaults, notices and holds the foreclosure sale, processes redemptions and issues deeds to sale purchasers.
- When are Boulder County foreclosure sales held?
- Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. in the Public Trustee's Boulder office. Bidders must register, and the lender's bid is due by noon two business days before the sale.
- What is a Certificate of Purchase?
- The document the Public Trustee records and issues, within five business days, to the successful bidder at a foreclosure sale. It is not a deed: junior lienholders may still redeem during the redemption period.
- How long do junior lienholders have to redeem in Boulder County?
- They have eight business days after the sale to file an intent to redeem. The most senior lienholder then redeems first, between 15 and 19 business days after the sale.
- Does a paid-off Colorado loan still show as a lien?
- It does until a release of the deed of trust is recorded. Paying the loan does not clear the record by itself, so a title search matches each deed of trust to a recorded release.
Legal references
Statutes and rules cited in this article.
- 1C.R.S. 38-39-102 (release of deed of trust)
- 2C.R.S. 38-38-100.3 (qualified holder)
Cite this guide
APA
HeritageDeed. (2026, November 10). Boulder County Public Trustee: How a Deed of Trust Is Released or Foreclosed. https://heritagedeed.com/blog/boulder-county-public-trustee-deed-of-trust
MLA
“Boulder County Public Trustee: How a Deed of Trust Is Released or Foreclosed.” HeritageDeed, November 10, 2026, heritagedeed.com/blog/boulder-county-public-trustee-deed-of-trust.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://heritagedeed.com/blog/boulder-county-public-trustee-deed-of-trust">Boulder County Public Trustee: How a Deed of Trust Is Released or Foreclosed</a> (HeritageDeed)HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.
