How to fill out Colorado DR 2175

The non-secure power of attorney, and the only notarised document an ordinary Colorado seller is likely to sign. Eight tickable powers, a compulsory termination date, one vehicle, and a warning in the middle of the page that decides whether it will work at all: this form cannot be used to allow one person or entity to sign as both buyer and seller disclosing and acknowledging the odometer reading.

Written against DR 2175 (08/21/12), issued under C.R.S. 15-14-701 and 15-14-705. This is the one place a notary belongs in a Colorado private sale. The certificate of title itself has no acknowledgement block and never needs one - the notarisation here is on the authority to sign, not on the signature it authorises.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank DR 2175 from the dmv.colorado.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank DR 2175 — Power of Attorney for Motor Vehicle Only PDF at dmv.colorado.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual DR 2175, rendered from the PDF the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

Colorado form DR 2175 filled in: Rosalind P. Kirchhoff of Montrose appointing Barrett N. Kirchhoff as her agent for a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, vehicle identification number 1C4RJFAGXFC418527, with the power to transfer ownership and acknowledge odometer reading ticked, a termination date of 31 December 2026, her Colorado driver licence recorded, and a notarial block completed in Montrose County by notary Nadine G. Escalante. — One power ticked, one vehicle, one termination date, and a notary. The other seven powers are washed grey because an agent should be granted what the job needs and nothing else.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Grantor - your full name as it appears on identification
Two rules at the top for the person handing over the authority.
Watch out: Spelled as the identification spells it, which is also how the certificate of title should spell it. Three different spellings across three documents is how this gets refused.
2
You fill this in
Appoint - the agent
Two more rules for the person or entity who will act.
Watch out: One agent. If two people might need to act, that is two forms, because the certificate will be surrendered with whichever original is used.
3
You fill this in
Tick the powers, cross out the rest
Eight printed powers. A seller signing a car over needs the one reading to transfer ownership and acknowledge odometer reading.
Watch out: The instruction expressly allows crossing out powers withheld. Granting all eight to somebody who only needs one is an unnecessary risk.
4
You fill this in
TERMINATION DATE REQUIRED
A day, a month and a year, and there is no way to leave it open.
Watch out: Make it short. A power of attorney over a vehicle with a twelve-month life is a twelve-month exposure, and a county will accept a date a fortnight away just as readily.
5
You fill this in
The vehicle
Vehicle identification number, year, make and model - one vehicle only.
Watch out: Copy the identification number from the face of the title. A power of attorney describing a vehicle the certificate does not describe grants nothing.
6
You fill this in
Printed name, signature and your identification
Name as identification prints it, a signature, a date, then the identification type, number, expiry and date of birth.
Watch out: The identification block here is what saves the agent needing a DR 2842 alongside. It is on this form for that reason.
7
Somebody else fills this in
The notarial block
Subscribed and affirmed, or sworn to before a notary, who records the state, county and date, signs, prints their name, and gives a commission expiry.
Watch out: Sign in front of the notary, not before. The notary is affirming that you executed this form in their presence and presented the identification described above.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The banner across the top	ANY ALTERATION OR ERASURE MAY VOID THIS DOCUMENT, printed above the form number rather than below it.
The opening paragraph	A plain-English warning that the powers may include power to pledge, sell, or otherwise dispose of the motor vehicle described below without any advance notice to you.
Grantor and agent	Two blocks of two rules each - your full name or entity name as it appears on identification, then the agent's.
The eight powers	Apply for and receive a new registration or new temporary registration; apply for and receive a certificate of title; apply for and receive a duplicate certificate of title; to transfer ownership and acknowledge odometer reading; to record a lien; to release a lien; to apply for and receive a copy of a motor vehicle record; and to receive a Persons with Disability Parking Privileges placard.
TERMINATION DATE REQUIRED	A three-part date, and a printed note that the original power of attorney must be surrendered to transfer ownership and acknowledge the odometer reading, while certified copies are acceptable for all other powers.
Vehicle Identification Number, Year, Make, Model	One vehicle per form. The powers are granted pertaining to only the motor vehicle described below.
The both-sides warning	The paragraph explaining that this non-secured form may be used where the agent completes the odometer disclosure as the buyer only or the seller only, and that signing as both requires the DR 2174 Secure Power of Attorney instead.
Notice to agents	By exercising powers under this document, the agent assumes the fiduciary and other legal responsibilities of an agent under Colorado law.
Grantor's printed name, signature and identification	Name as it appears on identification, a signature, a date, then Colorado DL, Colorado ID or Other with a number, an expiry and a date of birth.
The notarial block	Subscribed and affirmed, or sworn to before me, with the state, county, day, month and year, the grantor's name, a notary public signature, a printed name, a commission expiry and a seal.

What gets this one rejected

•No termination date. It is the only field on the form printed in capitals with the word REQUIRED beside it.
•A copy where a transfer is happening. The form says the original must be surrendered to transfer ownership and acknowledge the odometer reading.
•One agent signing as both buyer and seller. That is the DR 2174, which is secure stock and cannot be downloaded.
•No power ticked. The instruction is to check all applicable powers, and an agent with none has been granted nothing.
•A missing notarial seal on a copy. Where a general power of attorney is submitted, the department requires the notary seal to be visible on the copy.
•Two vehicles on one form. The powers are granted pertaining only to the motor vehicle described, and there is one description block.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•You may cross powers out. The printed instruction says you may cross out all powers withheld, which is unusual on a Colorado form where alteration normally voids the document.
•A power of attorney with no identification block needs a second form. If the power of attorney used has no place for the grantor's identification information, a DR 2842 Supplemental Secure and Verifiable Identification Information and Attestation Clause goes with it.

Every line here was read off DR 2175 (08/21/12) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Colorado seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Colorado involves.

How to fill out Colorado DR 2175

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Grantor - your full name as it appears on identification

Appoint - the agent

Tick the powers, cross out the rest

TERMINATION DATE REQUIRED

The vehicle

Printed name, signature and your identification

The notarial block

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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