Las Animas County Clerk & Recorder lists records, deeds and contact info

Land records in Las Animas County move through one office at 200 E. First Street, Room 205 in Trinidad, where Karrie L. Apple is listed as clerk and recorder. For anyone dealing with a deed, a lien, a title question or another filing that can hold up a sale or probate matter, the clerk’s page is the county’s most direct public starting point. The practical wrinkle is timing: the office hours are posted in more than one form, so checking before making the drive can spare residents from a wasted trip.

Where to reach the office

The county’s contact listing gives the Clerk & Recorder office at 200 E. First Street, Room 205, Trinidad, Colorado 81082, with the main phone number 719-846-3314. A state archives contact listing repeats the same address and phone number, which reinforces that this is the official place to start for county clerk and recorder business.

A recorder directory also lists the office at 200 E First St, Rm 205, Trinidad, Colorado 81082 and includes 719-846-3315 x2575. That extra directory listing matters for residents who may be trying to reach staff quickly about a filing or record request, especially when the office serves people across a large rural county rather than just Trinidad itself. Apple, who was born and raised in Trinidad, gives the office a local connection that fits the county’s day-to-day reliance on land and recordkeeping.

What residents use it for

This office sits at the center of property paperwork in a county where land use, ranch operations, homeownership and estate matters all intersect. Deeds and liens are not abstract records here. They can affect whether a sale closes on time, whether a refinance moves forward, whether probate can be settled cleanly or whether ownership questions can be answered without delay.

That is why the Clerk & Recorder page functions as more than a directory. It is a public-service gateway for people who need a record filed correctly, need to confirm what is on file, or need to know where to begin when a property transfer becomes urgent. In a county with communities outside Trinidad, knowing exactly where the office is and how to reach it can matter as much as the document itself.

Hours are posted in more than one place

The office hours are not shown exactly the same way on every county-related listing. A third-party recorder directory lists the office as open Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 4:00, while the county’s Facebook page posts Monday through Friday 8am-4:30pm. That Facebook listing also notes a training closure on the third Wednesday of every month from 8am to 9am.

The broader Las Animas County Courthouse, at 200 E. 1st St., Trinidad, CO 81082, has its own public hours through the Colorado Judicial Branch: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. For anyone trying to handle courthouse business and clerk-records business in the same trip, that gap between lunch-hour courthouse access and the clerk’s posted schedule is worth knowing in advance. It is exactly the sort of detail that can keep a filing from turning into a second drive.

Property fraud protection and search limits

The county’s recording page pushes a free Document Alert service through iDoc Market as a way to help residents protect themselves against property fraud. That warning has real value in a place where a deed or lien can affect family land, inherited property or a long-held home. If a record changes unexpectedly, an alert can provide an early signal that something needs attention.

The same recording page also makes a legal limit plain: Colorado Revised Statute 30-10-101(2.5)(c) does not allow the Clerk’s office to conduct real estate record searches. That means residents should not expect the office itself to perform the kind of search that title companies, attorneys or private researchers sometimes handle. The rule creates a clear boundary between keeping records and searching them, and that distinction matters when time is short and a property issue is already causing stress.

Digital records are getting support

The county’s recordkeeping system has also received outside support for modernization. A grant letter dated October 19, 2023 says Las Animas County was awarded $20,039.00 from the Electronic Recording Technology Fund for electronic recording technology. The grant came through the Colorado Secretary of State’s Electronic Recording Technology Board, adding a concrete sign that the county is investing in the systems that move filings into more workable digital form.

That kind of funding is not just a back-office line item. Electronic recording can affect how quickly documents are processed, how easily staff can organize files, and how smoothly residents, attorneys and title professionals can move paperwork through the county. In a place where land records can carry financial and legal consequences, even modest technology upgrades can shape how accessible the office feels on a busy day.

A place for current filings and older records

Las Animas County also maintains a Historical Records Research Site, which extends the office’s role beyond today’s filings. The site provides a phone number and Karrie Apple’s email address for people working through older documents, family property questions or long-running record issues that do not fit neatly into a same-day counter visit.

That combination of current contact information, public hours, fraud-alert guidance and historical access makes the Clerk & Recorder page one of the county’s most practical tools. For residents sorting out a deed trail, checking a lien or trying to get a filing right the first time, the office remains the central place where the county’s paper record becomes a usable public service.