How to Complete Colorado DMV Power of Attorney DR 2175

The Colorado DMV power of attorney DR 2175 lets you authorize another person to handle a title, registration, ownership transfer, duplicate title, or lien transaction at a county motor vehicle office on your behalf. To use it, you fill in your information, your agent’s information, the vehicle details, and the specific authorities you’re granting, then sign the form in front of a notary. Your agent takes the notarized form to a county motor vehicle office with their own photo ID and completes the transaction.¹

What Authority the Form Grants

The DR 2175 uses checkboxes so you grant only the authority your agent actually needs. The options are:¹

Apply for and receive a certificate of title.
Apply for and receive a new registration or temporary registration.
Sign documents to transfer the vehicle to a buyer and acknowledge the odometer reading.
Request a duplicate title if the original is lost or damaged.
Record or release a lien on the title.

Check only the boxes that apply. An agent authorized for registration alone cannot sign off on a sale, and that limitation is the point: the form keeps your agent’s reach tied to the task.

Make Sure You Have the Right Form

Colorado has two motor vehicle power of attorney forms, and pulling the wrong one is a common mistake. The DR 2175 is the standard form for private owners authorizing someone to handle registration, duplicate titles, lien work, or an ownership transfer. The DR 2174, called the “Secure Power of Attorney for Motor Vehicle,” is a tamper-resistant form used mainly by dealers to complete title assignments and odometer disclosures printed on the title itself.² If you’re a private owner appointing a friend or family member, the DR 2175 is almost always the right form.

Filling Out the DR 2175

You can download the form from the Colorado Department of Revenue website or pick one up at any county motor vehicle office.³ Four blocks of information have to be complete and correct:

Your full legal name as it appears on your ID, plus your address.
Your agent’s full legal name and address.
The vehicle’s VIN, year, make, and model.
The checkboxes for the specific transactions you’re authorizing.

Accuracy matters more than on most government forms. The DR 2175 warns that any alteration or erasure may void the document.¹ That means no correction fluid, no cross-outs, no writing over a mistake. If you slip, start over on a fresh form rather than risk rejection at the counter.

Getting the Form Notarized

Colorado law requires the principal’s signature on a power of attorney to be acknowledged before a notary public.⁴ You sign the DR 2175 in front of the notary, show a valid government-issued photo ID, and the notary stamps the form and records the act in their journal.⁵ The notary doesn’t verify the agent’s identity; that happens later at the county office.

Colorado caps notary fees at $15 per document for in-person notarization and $25 for electronic or remote notarization.⁶ If you’re out of state, you can notarize the form wherever you are. The DR 2175 has space for the notary to record the state and county where the acknowledgment happened.

Bringing the Form to the County Office

Your agent takes the notarized DR 2175 to a county motor vehicle office along with their own valid government-issued photo ID. The clerk checks that the agent’s name and ID match the form and then processes the underlying transaction.

Whether the county needs the original or will accept a certified copy depends on what the agent is doing. For ownership transfers and odometer acknowledgments, the original must be surrendered to the county office. For registration, duplicate titles, and lien work, certified copies are acceptable.¹ That distinction matters if you expect the POA to cover more than one errand. A single original handles one ownership transfer; a certified copy can be reused for other purposes. Once the clerk processes the transaction, the surrendered document becomes part of the vehicle’s permanent title history.

Colorado doesn’t publish one statewide fee schedule for title transactions, so call your county motor vehicle office for exact costs before the visit.

The Odometer Disclosure Wrinkle

Federal law requires the seller to disclose a vehicle’s mileage in writing whenever ownership changes hands. For model year 2011 and newer vehicles, that disclosure requirement runs for the first 20 model years. Model year 2010 and older vehicles follow the previous 10-year rule.⁷

When the physical title is in hand, the odometer statement goes on the title itself. When the title is held by a lienholder or has been lost, federal regulations let the seller grant a power of attorney to the buyer specifically for mileage disclosure.⁸ The seller still discloses the mileage on the POA form, and the person exercising that authority certifies the figure matches what the seller provided. Without that step, Colorado can’t finalize the transfer.

Military Power of Attorney

Active-duty service members can use a military power of attorney instead of the DR 2175, with a wrinkle on copies. Colorado accepts a general military POA as a copy, but a limited military POA must be an original.³ Either way, the agent also has to complete a DR 2842 (Supplemental Secure and Verifiable Identification Information and Attestation) to satisfy federal ID requirements. Military legal assistance offices prepare these documents at no cost, but confirm with your county motor vehicle office that the format works before your agent makes the trip.

Deadlines When the POA Is Used for a Sale

If the DR 2175 is being used for a vehicle sale, the clock matters. Colorado law requires the buyer to present the signed-over title and apply for a new certificate of title within 60 days of the purchase.⁹ The seller, or the agent signing under the POA, affirms the transfer under penalty of perjury. Miss the 60-day window and late fees run $25 per month or partial month the vehicle goes unregistered.¹⁰

When the DR 2175 Ends and How to Revoke It

The DR 2175 is not a durable power of attorney, so it does not survive your incapacity. Under Colorado law, it terminates automatically when you die, become incapacitated, revoke it, complete the transaction it was created for, or when the agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns and no alternate is named.¹¹

To revoke the POA before your agent uses it, sign a written revocation, have it notarized, and deliver it to your agent. Tell the county motor vehicle office too, especially if you’ve already given them a copy. Colorado law protects third parties who act on a POA in good faith without knowing it was revoked, so speed matters. One detail that trips people up: signing a new power of attorney does not automatically cancel an older one. Unless the new document says so, both remain in effect.¹¹

1
Colorado Department of Revenue. DR 2175 – Power of Attorney for Motor Vehicle Only
2
Colorado Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Forms in Number Order
3
Larimer County. Power of Attorney
4
Colorado Public Law. CRS 15-14-705 – Execution of Power of Attorney
5
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – Official Stamps and Journals
6
Colorado Secretary of State. Notary Public FAQs – General Questions
7
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert – Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
8
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 580 – Odometer Disclosure Requirements
9
Justia. Colorado Code 42-6-110 – Certificate of Title – Transfer – Department Records – Rules – Definition
10
Colorado Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Vehicle Taxes and Fees
11
Justia. Colorado Code 15-14-710 – Termination of Power of Attorney or Agent’s Authority