Can a lender give you a title loan in Colorado? Technically yes. It has to follow the same rate caps as every other high-rate consumer loan in the state, and those caps are low enough that the usual high-cost title loan barely exists here.

A title loan is a short-term loan secured by your car's title. If you miss payments, the lender can repossess the car. Industry websites disagree about Colorado: some call the product "banned," and others call it "legal at 36%." The Colorado Attorney General's own guidance settles the main question. Title loans count as supervised loans, and any lender making one needs a state license.

Which law covers a Colorado title loan

Colorado has no separate title-loan statute. Title-secured lending falls under the general loan provisions of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, which is Colorado Revised Statutes Title 5 (2025 codification).

Under that code, any consumer loan above 12% APR is a "supervised loan." The lender must hold a Supervised Lender license from the Attorney General's Consumer Credit Unit. The Unit takes complaints at uccc@coag.gov or (720) 508-6012.

Rule Colorado, as of September 2026
Who regulates Attorney General, Consumer Credit Unit
Finance charge, balance up to $1,000 36% per year
Balance from $1,000 to $3,000 21% per year
Balance above $3,000 15% per year
Alternative Flat 21% per year on the whole balance
Maximum loan, term, rollovers Not set out in the state sources reviewed

Some consumer sites cite a $5,000 or 50%-of-car-value maximum and a 10-day repossession notice. The Attorney General's pages do not mention either figure, so treat them as unverified.

Repossession and online lenders

HB26-1261 described current law as giving borrowers a 20-day notice to cure before repossession. The bill would have made that notice 60 days, added a 48-day window to cure after repossession, and banned remote starter-interrupt devices. A House committee killed it 10-0 on March 26, 2026, so none of those changes are law. The sources reviewed do not say how surplus from a sale is handled. Ask the Consumer Credit Unit if you are in that position.

Online lenders are covered too. Colorado's 2023 law HB23-1229 blocks out-of-state lenders from importing their home state's higher rates. On November 11, 2025, the 10th Circuit upheld it. The trade groups that sued said they may appeal further. Any online offer above the caps, or from a lender without a Colorado license, is a red flag.

The state does enforce these caps

In April 2023, the Attorney General's office recovered $275,000 in restitution from a lender that charged more than the state's rate limits. On August 27, 2026, the office sued an earned-wage-access company, alleging that its product was an unlicensed high-cost loan. In the Credit Acceptance settlement, a car-secured lending case that takes effect November 2, 2026, nearly 500 Coloradans are due $678,736.

Not a payday loan, and not the only option

Payday loans fall under a different part of the code, the Deferred Deposit Loan Act, which has its own pricing rules. If you need a small amount of cash, compare a credit union loan and the small-dollar installment loans Colorado allows. The sources reviewed do not name specific credit union products or Colorado assistance programs, so ask your credit union directly.

If you are closing on a house

An underwriter reading your bank statements will notice regular payments to a lender. Expect to be asked for a letter of explanation and the loan's terms. The monthly payment usually counts in your debt-to-income ratio, and your lender's rules decide exactly how.

The cleanest route is to pay the loan off before you apply and keep the payoff letter and the released title. If you are already under contract, do not take out a new title loan before closing.