Step 1: Decide to Appeal and Prepare to File

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Step 1: Decide and Prepare to File

Only 13% of appeals are successful in changing the final orders in a case. These materials will help you identify if an appeal is right for you. In addition, they will help prepare you for the procedural steps of an appeal.

Decide if an Appeal is Right for You

When deciding to appeal, you first have to ask if you can appeal. Then you have to decide if the chances of a win are worth the costs.

An appeal is a check on the Small Claims court's power, but there are also many checks on the power of an appellate court. the appellate court will not be reviewing your case to determine if a better answer could have been made. The appellate court will be reviewing the case thinking, are these final orders acceptable given the law and the facts presented at the hearing.

Can you Appeal?

  1. Final Order: You must have a written, signed and dated order to appeal. That order must resolve all of the remaining legal questions or problems that brought you into court. A minute order can be a final order if signed.
  2. Right Court: A Small Claims case can only be reviewed by the District Court in the same county in which the case was heard. 
  3. Right Time: You must start the appeal within 14 days of the final order being issued.

Should you appeal?

You have to balance the costs of the appeal versus the likelihood that you will win.

  • Costs of an Appeal:
    • Worth the Money? An appeal can be expensive. 
      • Filing Fee: $163.
      • Appeal Bond: The amount of the Judgment against you or about $150 if there isn't a Judgment.
      • Waiver: The filing fee and bond may be waived if you are below 125% of the poverty line.
      • Audio Record: $35.
      • Other Costs: You will have to pay the other party's costs, and possibly their attorney's fees if you lose the appeal. 
    • Worth the Time and Effort? An appeal is a six-month process. It will require a lot of research and writing to be successful. You will ultimately create the equivalent of a 15-page graduate level research paper.
    • Worth the Conflict? An appeal will extend the conflict in your life. That will take an emotional toll on you and your family.
  • Limits of an Appeal:
    • No New Evidence: An appellate court is looking to see if the final orders are acceptable given the evidence presented at the hearing. So, no new evidence will be accepted or considered by the appellate court.
    • Determinations of Credibility: An appellate court must accept the Small Claims court’s determination of what witnesses were more truthful than others. It’s the Small Claims court's job, and not the job of the appellate court, to determine how much weight to put into exhibits and people’s testimony at the hearing based on how believable they are. Your one opportunity to show that a witness was lying, or challenge the value of exhibits, happened at the hearing.
    • No New Issues: Courts want to be as efficient as possible. To help accomplish this, an appellate court will only review questions or problems that were raised with the Small Claims court first.
  • What it takes to win:
    • Wrong Law: An appellate court wants to make sure that the correct law was used. Most appeals that win, had the final orders changed because of an error of law. These are the easiest issues with which to win an appeal.
    • Clearly Wrong Facts: An appellate court doesn't second guess the Small Claims court's factual determinations. As long as there were facts presented to support the court’s findings, the appellate court will accept (affirm) those facts. The appellate court will step in if the trial court made up facts, or made unreasonable assumptions about the facts. These are the second hardest issues with which to win an appeal.
    • Abuse of Decision Making Power: At some point, to resolve the conflict, someone must make a judgment call. That power generally rests with the Small Claims court. The appellate court gives a great deal of latitude to the deciding court in making decisions. An appellate court will keep (affirm) the Judge’s decision as long as it falls within the zone of possible reasonable decisions that could have been made. A decision becomes unreasonable if the law was applied incorrectly, a factor was considered that should not have been, a factor was not considered that should have been, or a clearly wrong fact (see the section above) was relied on to make the decision. These are the hardest issues with which to win an appeal

Prepare to File

  • Be On Time: You have 14 days from the date the final order is issued to start the appeals process (Step 2).
  • Filing Fee: There is a $163 filing fee due when you open the appeal in the District Court (the appellate court). If you cannot afford to pay that fee, you may request that it be waived. File a Motion to Waive Filing Fee - JDF 205 and a Proposed Order - JDF 206 with the District Court when you file.
  • Appeal Bond: For the appeal to move forward you must post an Appeal Bond with the County Court clerk when you file.
    • Why: Because so few appeals are successful, the bond ensures the other parties costs to appeal are covered if you lose.
    • How Much: If there is a judgment against you, the bond is the amount of the judgment. If there is not a judgment, then you must post an Appeal Bond that will cover the other parties' costs if you lose the appeal (about $150 - $250).
    • Form: a Motion to Set the Appeal Bond into the Small Claims case to have the appeal bond set or waived.
    • How to Waive the Bond: If you cannot afford the Appeal Bond, check the option to waive the bond in the form. File that into the Small Claims case. Also, include the financial affidavit included in the motion. Note that if the Appeal Bond is waived, the judgment will not be stayed on appeal. This means that collection on a judgment may continue during the appeals process.
  • Audio Recording:
    • What: This is an audio recording of what was said in court at the hearing.
    • Why: An appellate court may not consider any new facts or evidence. It must rely solely on the facts that were presented to the Small Claims Magistrate or Judge. Many facts come onto the record through the testimony at the hearing.
    • How to Order: Submit a Transcript Request Form - JDF 4 with the County Court clerk. Make sure to note on the form that you just want an audio CD versus a typed transcript.
    • Cost: The audio CD is $35. If you would prefer a typed transcript, it would cost about $150 for every hour you were in court. The cost of a typed transcript cannot be waived.

More Information and Law

This list is to help you start your legal research and is not a comprehensive list of the laws that may affect your case.

Colorado Judicial Branch Small Claims Page

Use of electronic recording versus a transcript in a small claims appeal.
Colorado Revised Statute (C.R.S.) § 13-6-410.

Procedures for County Court and Small Claims Cases
Colorado Revised Statute (C.R.S.) § 13-6-311.

Small Claims Rule for Appeals (Directs to Rule 411)
Colorado Rules for Small Claims (C.R.C.P.) 519.

Appeals Procedure
Colorado Rule of County Court Civil Procedure (C.R.C.P.) 411

View or Research Case Law
Make sure to check the case law button below the search bar in Google Scholar.

Form Kits

This kit contains a motion, proposed order, and financial affidavit. Only file the financial affidavit if you are requesting that the Appeal Bond be waived.

Motion to Set or Waive the Appeal Bond (670 KB)
File into the Small Claims/County Court case.

How to Get More Help

Appeals are hard. Click the Contact Options link below to get help. On that screen, go into the Sherlocks section to find self-help staff to answer your procedural or forms questions. Find a time to get legal information or advice in the clinic or events calendar sections. Or, find a free or moderate fee lawyer in the Find a Lawyer section.

Contact Options