The Colorado appellate rules, formally the Colorado Appellate Rules or C.A.R., govern every appeal filed in the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court. The deadline that matters most is 49 days: that is how long you have after the trial court enters a final judgment to file your notice of appeal in most civil and criminal cases. Miss it and your right to appeal is almost always gone. The rules also control what you can appeal, how you build the record, how your briefs must look, and what happens after the court decides.
The 49-Day Deadline to File a Notice of Appeal
Under C.A.R. 4, you must file your notice of appeal within 49 days after the trial court enters the judgment or order you want to challenge. The deadline applies to civil cases, criminal defense appeals, and appeals brought by the prosecution.1Westlaw. Colorado Appellate Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken In criminal cases, if the defendant files a post-trial motion for a new trial, acquittal, or arrest of judgment, the 49-day clock restarts from the date the court denies that motion.
If you miss the deadline, the appellate court can grant up to 35 additional days, but only on a showing of excusable neglect. That is a high bar. Forgetting the date or miscalculating it generally does not qualify. The court can grant an extension with or without a formal motion, but waiting and hoping is not a plan. Treat 49 days as a hard wall.
What You Can Appeal
Colorado appellate courts generally have jurisdiction only over final judgments. Under C.R.S. section 13-4-102, the Court of Appeals hears appeals from final judgments issued by district courts, the Denver Probate Court, and the Denver Juvenile Court. A handful of matters go directly to the Supreme Court instead, including constitutional challenges to statutes, public utilities commission decisions, water adjudications, and habeas corpus proceedings.2Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 4, Section 13-4-102
A judgment is “final” when the trial court has resolved every claim between every party and nothing remains except enforcing the decision. If the case has multiple claims and the court resolves some but not all, the unresolved claims normally block any appeal. The trial court can change that by certifying its partial ruling for immediate appeal under C.R.C.P. 54(b), but only after finding there is no just reason to delay.3Colorado Judicial Branch. Musick v. Woznicki – Trial Court Jurisdiction After Appeal of Nonfinal Judgments Without that certification, an early filing will be dismissed.
Interlocutory Appeals
C.A.R. 4.2 opens a narrow path for appealing a non-final order before the case ends. The trial court must certify the order in writing, and the certification must find two things: the order involves a controlling and unsettled question of law, and an immediate appeal would either materially change the relief available or promote a more orderly resolution of the case. After certification, you have 14 days to file a petition for interlocutory appeal with the appellate court, and the other side gets 14 days to respond.4Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 4.2
The appellate court has full discretion whether to accept the petition. Filing it does not pause the trial court on its own. If you need the case below to stop, you must separately request a stay from the trial court or the appellate court. Courts grant these appeals sparingly.
Who Has Standing to Appeal
Only a party of record who suffered a concrete injury from the trial court’s decision can appeal. You must show the ruling actually harmed you in some tangible way. A party who prevailed on every issue has no basis to appeal, even if the court’s reasoning on a subsidiary point was unfavorable.
Filing the Notice of Appeal
The notice of appeal is the document that formally starts the case under C.A.R. 3. It identifies the parties, designates the specific judgment or order being challenged, and names the appellate court. Official forms are available on the Colorado Judicial Branch website and at the clerk’s office in your local district courthouse. Errors cause problems. Check every detail against the trial court docket before filing.
Licensed attorneys file through the Colorado Courts E-Filing system. Self-represented parties may file by mail or in person at the appellate clerk’s office.5Colorado Judicial Branch. E-Filing Under C.A.R. 25, you must serve copies of everything you file on every other party and include proof of service with the filing.
Fees and Fee Waivers
Opening an appeal in the Court of Appeals costs $253 for the appellant. A respondent answering the appeal pays $178. On a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, the petitioner pays $225 and the respondent pays $115. Direct appeals to the Supreme Court cost $150 for the appellant and $75 for the respondent.6Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees
If you cannot afford the filing fee, C.R.S. section 13-16-103 lets any court, including the Supreme Court, allow an indigent litigant to proceed without paying costs when the judge is satisfied the person is too poor to pay. You file a motion and show your financial situation. The court’s discretion is generally limited to deciding whether you actually lack the resources, so long as the claim is not frivolous or brought in bad faith.7Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 16, Section 13-16-103
Building the Record
The appellate court does not hold a new trial. It reviews only what happened below, which means the record you designate is the universe of material the judges will consider. Under C.A.R. 10, you identify exactly which exhibits, pleadings, and court orders should be included.8Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1934 i – Record on Appeal Instructions Leave something out and you may lose the ability to argue about it on appeal.
Transcripts are a separate but essential piece of the record. You order them from the court reporter and pay a deposit to begin production. Per-page rates vary, and costs can run high in a lengthy trial. If your issue turns on what a witness said or how the judge ruled from the bench, you need the transcript. Skipping it to save money usually backfires, because the appellate court will presume the trial court acted correctly on anything the record does not show.
Stopping Enforcement While You Appeal
Filing an appeal does not automatically stop the trial court’s judgment from being enforced. If the other side won a money judgment, collection can begin while your appeal is pending. To pause enforcement, file a motion for a stay in the district court under C.A.R. 8 and C.R.C.P. 62(d).9Judicial Legal Help Center. Step 1 – Decide Whether to Appeal and Prepare to File
The court will usually require a supersedeas bond before the stay takes effect, typically set at 125% of the judgment to cover the original amount plus interest and costs that accrue during the appeal. If the district court denies the stay, you can ask the Court of Appeals to grant one, attaching the district court’s denial order to your motion.9Judicial Legal Help Center. Step 1 – Decide Whether to Appeal and Prepare to File
Standards of Review
Figuring out which standard of review applies is one of the first tasks on any appeal, because it determines how much deference the appellate court gives the trial judge. Colorado courts use three main standards.
- De novo. The appellate court starts fresh and owes no deference to the trial court’s conclusion. It applies to pure questions of law, including statutory interpretation, motions to dismiss, and summary judgment rulings decided on legal grounds. For appellants, this is the most favorable standard.
- Clear error. The appellate court defers to the trial court’s factual findings and overturns them only when the record leaves a firm conviction that a mistake was made. It applies to findings of fact from bench trials, credibility determinations, and factual findings underlying suppression rulings. Reversals are rare, especially where the trial judge heard live testimony.
- Abuse of discretion. The appellate court asks whether the trial judge’s ruling was arbitrary, capricious, or based on a misunderstanding of the law. It applies to discovery disputes, continuances, evidentiary rulings, and other areas where the trial court exercises judgment. A ruling can be wrong without being an abuse of discretion; the question is whether it fell outside the range of reasonable choices.
Many issues involve mixed questions of law and fact. Colorado courts review the underlying factual findings for clear error and the legal conclusions de novo. C.A.R. 28 requires each argument in your brief to state the applicable standard, so this is not an academic exercise.
Briefs: Structure, Word Limits, and Formatting
The briefs are the heart of any appeal. C.A.R. 28 dictates both structure and content. An opening brief must contain, in order: a certificate of compliance, a table of contents, a table of authorities, a statement of the issues, a combined statement of the case covering facts and procedural history, a summary of the argument, the argument itself (with the standard of review and preservation information for each issue), a conclusion stating the specific relief you want, and any request for attorney fees.10Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 28
Opening and answer briefs are capped at 9,500 words under C.A.R. 28(g). Reply briefs are limited to 5,700 words. Headings, footnotes, and quotations count toward the limit; the caption, tables, certificate of compliance, certificate of service, and signature block do not. Self-represented parties without access to word processing may instead file typewritten or handwritten briefs of up to 30 double-spaced pages for principal briefs or 18 pages for reply briefs.10Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 28
C.A.R. 32 enforces readability standards for font, spacing, and margins, and every brief must include a certificate of compliance confirming it meets the requirements. The clerk will reject a non-compliant brief, giving you a short window to fix and refile. Treating formatting as an afterthought creates unnecessary last-minute pressure.
Cross-Appeals
When both sides are unhappy with parts of the trial court’s decision, the appellee can file a cross-appeal under C.A.R. 28.1. The party who filed first is the appellant. The cross-appellant then files a combined “opening-answer brief” that both raises its own issues and responds to the original appeal in a single document, subject to the same 9,500-word cap. The original appellant files an “answer-reply brief” responding to the cross-appeal and replying to the answer portion. A final reply brief from the cross-appellant is limited to 5,700 words and must address only cross-appeal issues.11Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 28.1
Amicus Curiae Briefs
Non-parties can file an amicus curiae brief only with the court’s permission or at the court’s request under C.A.R. 29. The motion for leave must explain the filer’s interest and why the brief would help the court. The brief itself is limited to half the maximum length of a party’s principal brief, so 4,750 words.12Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 29
Oral Argument
Oral argument in the Court of Appeals is not automatic. Under C.A.R. 34, a party must request it in writing within ten days after briefing closes, and the court can also order argument on its own. Each side normally gets 15 minutes. You can ask for more time within the same ten-day window, but only good cause will get it granted. The court can cut argument short at any point.13Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 34
Oral argument is not a second chance to present your case. The judges have already read the briefs. They use the time to probe weak points and test the limits of each side’s position. If you cannot answer a question directly, say so.
The Decision and What Comes After
Under C.A.R. 35, the appellate court can dismiss an appeal, affirm the trial court, or vacate, modify, reverse, or remand any portion of the ruling. It can dismiss or affirm without a written opinion, but it must issue a written opinion when it vacates, modifies, reverses, sets aside, or remands.14Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 35 An affirmance without opinion means the court found no error worth discussing. Either way, the decision does not take immediate effect; that happens when the mandate issues.
Petition for Rehearing
If you believe the court overlooked or misunderstood a point of law or fact, you may file a petition for rehearing within 14 days after entry of the judgment under C.A.R. 40. The petition must identify each specific point and include a supporting argument, and it cannot exceed 1,900 words. No oral argument is allowed, and the court generally will not request a response unless it finds the petition warrants one. In the Supreme Court, rehearing is available only after an opinion, not after a summary order granting or denying certiorari.15Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 40
Certiorari to the Colorado Supreme Court
A party who loses in the Court of Appeals can petition the Colorado Supreme Court for discretionary review under C.A.R. 49. The Supreme Court is not obligated to hear the case and generally does not grant review solely to correct legal errors that affect only the parties.16Colorado Judicial Branch. Supreme Court Protocols Cases that raise issues of statewide importance, present conflicts between Court of Appeals divisions, or involve significant constitutional questions have the strongest chance. The petitioner pays $225 and the respondent pays $115.6Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees
The Mandate
The mandate is the formal order that returns jurisdiction to the trial court and makes the appellate decision effective. Under C.A.R. 41, the mandate issues automatically after the time for rehearing or certiorari expires. In the Court of Appeals, the mandate typically issues 42 days after the opinion. In the Supreme Court, it is 14 days. A petition for rehearing or a motion to stay the mandate delays its issuance until the court rules. Once the mandate issues, the appellate court’s involvement is over.
How to Count Appellate Deadlines
C.A.R. 26 controls how you count every deadline in the appellate rules. Exclude the day of the event that triggers the deadline. For periods shorter than 11 days, also exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. If the last day of any period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline extends to the end of the next business day.17Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Appellate Rules – Rule 26
Getting this calculation wrong is one of the most common preventable mistakes in appellate practice. The 49-day appeal deadline is too long to trigger the intermediate-day exclusion, but the weekend-and-holiday rule for the final day still applies. If day 49 lands on a Saturday, you have until Monday. When in doubt, file early.