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How water rights are conveyed and transferred
Two completely different things get called "transferring water rights," and conflating them is the most expensive mistake in Colorado water transactions.
Conveyance moves ownership — by deed for a decreed right, by stock certificate for ditch company shares, by a change-of-ownership filing for a well permit. It is paperwork, and it happens at closing.
Change of water right moves the water — to a new use, a new place, or a new point of diversion. That requires a water court case, takes months to years, and may deliver far less water than you bought. C.R.S. § 37-92-103(5)
Conveyance: moving ownership
Which instrument you need depends on what the water actually is — and this is the first question to answer in any deal.
| What you hold | How it conveys | Where it is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Decreed water right | Deed — usually a separate water deed, recorded like real property | County clerk and recorder; notify DWR |
| Mutual ditch or reservoir company shares | Stock certificate, endorsed and reissued by the company | The company's stock books — not the county records |
| Well permit | Change of ownership filed with the State Engineer | DWR well permit records |
| Municipal tap or service contract | Provider's own transfer procedure | The provider |
Whatever the instrument, tell the Division of Water Resources. Ownership records drive who receives notices — including anything affecting your right, and draft abandonment list entries. DWR · water rights administration
Change of water right: moving the water
The statutory definition is deliberately long, because it is a list of everything you cannot do without a decree:
"Change of water right" means a change in the type, place, or time of use, a change in the point of diversion except as specified in section 37-86-111 (2), a change from a fixed point of diversion to alternate or supplemental points of diversion, a change from alternate or supplemental points of diversion to a fixed point of diversion, a change in the means of diversion, a change in the place of storage except as specified in section 37-87-101 (3), a change from direct application to storage and subsequent application, a change from storage and subsequent application to direct application, a change from a fixed place of storage to alternate places of storage, a change from alternate places of storage to a fixed place of storage, or any combination of such changes.
Read that list against your plan. Buying an irrigation right to serve houses is a change in type of use. Moving water from the farm it served to a subdivision five miles away is a change in place of use. Taking it out at a different headgate is a change in point of diversion. Each requires the court's permission.
The standard, and what it costs you
The test is injury, and only injury C.R.S. § 37-92-305(3)(a). Because downstream rights have relied for generations on return flows from the original use, the court will allow you to move only the historical consumptive use — and will attach conditions preserving the return-flow pattern. The practical effect is that you buy a decree that says 5 cfs and end up moving a substantially smaller quantity. What rights are worth treats this as the central pricing question.
The statute does protect certain gaps in use from being held against you when consumptive use is calculated — land enrolled in a federal conservation program, and non-use for up to five years in any consecutive ten as a result of participating in an approved conservation program, among others C.R.S. § 37-92-305(3)(c).
The one shortcut: a simple change in point of diversion
Not every change is a full case. Colorado created a lighter path for moving a surface point of diversion without changing anything else, and it is genuinely easier:
There is a rebuttable presumption that a simple change in a surface point of diversion will not cause an enlargement of the historical use associated with the water rights being changed. The decree must not requantify the water rights for which the point of diversion is being changed.
In a simple change the applicant need not prove that the water can and will be diverted and used within a reasonable period, need not prove compliance with the anti-speculation doctrine, and need not make the future-need showing required by the Pagosa and Thornton v. Bijou line of cases C.R.S. § 37-92-305(3.5)(e)(III). Crucially, the decree must not requantify the right — which is exactly what makes a full change case expensive. If your plan can be structured as a simple point-of-diversion change, say so early.
The sequence in a real transaction
- Identify what is being sold. Decreed right, shares, well permit, or contract water — with the decree or certificate in hand.
- Verify it independently. Check the state’s records rather than the listing.
- Get the engineering. Historical consumptive use, and what would survive a change to your intended use.
- Price the change case — legal, engineering, and the time before water actually arrives.
- Close the conveyance, with the right instrument for the right kind of asset.
- File the change application in water court, and expect opposition C.R.S. § 37-92-302(1)(a). The filing fee for a change is double the ordinary rate C.R.S. § 37-92-302(1)(d)(I).
Buying water rights covers the diligence in full, and the rest of buying and selling covers the market around it.
Common questions
How are water rights conveyed in Colorado?
A decreed water right is conveyed by deed, usually a separate water deed recorded with the county clerk and recorder. Mutual ditch company shares are transferred on the company's stock books by endorsement and reissue of the certificate, not by deed. Well permits move by a change-of-ownership filing with the State Engineer.
Do I need a deed to transfer water rights in Colorado?
For a decreed water right, yes — water rights are real property and a deed is the normal instrument. But if the water is held as shares in a mutual ditch company, a deed does not transfer it; the share certificate must be endorsed and reissued by the company under its bylaws.
What is a change of water right?
A court-approved change in the type, place or time of use, the point or means of diversion, or the place of storage of an existing right, defined at C.R.S. § 37-92-103(5). Buying a right and using it for something else, or somewhere else, requires one. It is approved only if it will not injure other vested rights.
Can I move my point of diversion without a full water court case?
Possibly. C.R.S. § 37-92-305(3.5) provides a streamlined path for a simple change in a surface point of diversion, with a rebuttable presumption of no enlargement, no requantification of the right, and relief from proving can-and-will, anti-speculation compliance, and future need. It only applies to a straightforward point-of-diversion move.
How long does a change of water right take?
Commonly one to three years for a contested case, because the dispute is engineering — historical consumptive use, depletions and return flows — rather than law. Uncontested applications can move faster, but changes almost always attract statements of opposition from downstream rights and the division engineer.
Primary sources
- C.R.S. § 37-92-103(5) — definition of change of water right (Title 37, official text) C.R.S. 2025 edition
- C.R.S. § 37-92-305 — change standards, consumptive use, simple point-of-diversion changes (Title 37, official text) C.R.S. 2025 edition
- C.R.S. § 37-92-302 — applications and filing fees (Title 37, official text) C.R.S. 2025 edition
- Colorado Division of Water Resources — water rights administration read July 22, 2026