Colorado rent receipt law: a receipt on the spot for cash or money order, within seven days on request for the rest

What does Colorado require for in-person cash or money orders?

On receiving any payment made in person by a tenant with cash or a money order, a landlord shall contemporaneously provide the tenant with a receipt. "Contemporaneously" means at the time of payment. The receipt must show the amount the tenant paid and the date of payment.

What about payments that are not in-person cash or money orders?

If the landlord receives a payment that is not delivered in person by the tenant with cash or a money order, the tenant can ask for a receipt. The landlord must then provide it within seven days after the request. That receipt must show the amount, the recipient and the date of payment.

There is an exception: the landlord does not owe a receipt if there is already an existing procedure that gives the tenant a record of the payment showing the amount paid, the recipient and the date. A tenant portal or a monthly statement that lists each payment can be that procedure.

Example a made-up tenant mails a check for $1,650 on the 1st and asks on the 4th for a receipt. If no existing procedure gives the tenant a record of the payment, you must provide one by the 11th, showing $1,650, the recipient and the date of payment.

Can the receipt be electronic?

Yes. A landlord may provide an electronic receipt, unless the tenant requests a paper receipt, in which case the landlord shall provide paper. A receipt may also be included as part of a billing statement.

Where does the rule come from?

The section was added as part 8 of article 12 of title 38 by Senate Bill 18-010, which also requires a landlord to give the tenant a signed copy of a written rental agreement within seven days after the tenant signs it. The act took effect in August 2018. The text above is from the signed act on the General Assembly's site, so read the current statute for any later change.

What does the section leave out?

It sets no retention period and no penalty of its own. For the broader picture, see do landlords have to give rent receipts, what a rent receipt should include and how long to keep rental records.

A simple receipt routine for Colorado landlords

Colorado splits payments into two groups, so sort yours. Anything handed to you in person as cash or a money order needs a receipt then and there. Everything else, such as a mailed check or a bank transfer, needs a receipt only if the tenant asks, and then within seven days. Keep a template with the three items the statute names: the amount, the recipient and the date. Many landlords answer a request by sending a payment history from their bookkeeping system, which also fits the exception for an existing procedure that already gives the tenant a record. If you use one, make sure it actually shows each payment's amount, recipient and date.

How DoorKeeping fits in Colorado

DoorKeeping matches bank deposits to tenants and units, so the amount, the date and who got the payment are on record for any request that comes in. Cash and money orders handed to you in person still need a receipt on the spot. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current text of the law and your lease before you act.

Sources

1. C.R.S. 38-12-802, Tenant payment, receipts, added by Senate Bill 18-010 (Colorado General Assembly, signed act), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Does a Colorado landlord have to give a receipt for cash rent?

Yes, at the time of payment, when the tenant pays in person with cash or a money order. The receipt shows the amount and the date.

Does a Colorado landlord owe a receipt for a check or transfer?

Only if the tenant asks, and then within seven days, unless an existing procedure already gives the tenant a record showing the amount, recipient and date.

Can a Colorado rent receipt be electronic?

Yes, unless the tenant asks for paper. A receipt may also be part of a billing statement.