§ 5-1-301 — General definitions

Colorado § 5-1-301

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 05: Consumer
• Art.: General Provisions and Definitions

Text

In addition to definitions appearing in
subsequent articles, as used in this code, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Actuarial method means the method, defined by rules promulgated by
the administrator in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., of allocating
payments made on a debt between the amount financed and finance charge
pursuant to which a payment is applied first to the accumulated finance charge and
the balance subtracted from, or any deficiency is added to, the unpaid balance of
the amount financed.

(2) Administrator means the administrator designated in section 5-6-103.

(3) Agreement means the bargain of the parties in fact as found in their
language or by implication from other circumstances including course of dealing or
usage of trade or course of performance.

(4) Agricultural purpose means a purpose related to the production,
harvest, exhibition, marketing, transportation, processing, or manufacture of
agricultural products by a natural person who cultivates, plants, propagates, or
nurtures the agricultural products. Agricultural products includes agricultural,
horticultural, viticultural, and dairy products, livestock, wildlife, poultry, bees, forest
products, fish and shellfish, and any products thereof, including processed and
manufactured products, and any and all products raised or produced on farms and
any processed or manufactured products thereof.

(5) Amount financed means the total of the following items to the extent
that payment is deferred:

(a) In the case of a sale:

(I) The cash price of the goods, services, or interest in land, less the amount
of any down payment whether made in cash or in property traded in; and

(II) The amount actually paid or to be paid by the seller pursuant to an
agreement with the buyer to discharge a security interest in or a lien on property
traded in;

(b) In the case of a loan:

(I) The net amount paid to, receivable by, or paid or payable for the account
of the debtor; and

(II) The amount of any discount excluded from the finance charge described
in paragraph (c) of subsection (20) of this section; and

(c) In the case of a sale or loan, to the extent that payment is deferred and
the amount is not otherwise included in the cash price:

(I) Any applicable sales, use, excise, or documentary stamp taxes;

(II) Amounts actually paid or to be paid by the creditor for registration,
certificate of title, or license fees; and

(III) Additional charges permitted by this code described in section 5-2-202.

(6) Business day means any calendar day except Sunday, New Year's day,
the third Monday in January observed as the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Washington-Lincoln day, Memorial day, Juneteenth, Independence day, Labor day,
Frances Xavier Cabrini day, Veterans' day, Thanksgiving day, and Christmas day.

(7) (a) Cash price means, except as the administrator may otherwise
prescribe by rule promulgated in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., the
price at which goods, services, or an interest in land is offered for sale by the seller
to cash buyers in the ordinary course of business and may include the cash price of
accessories or related services such as delivery, installation, servicing, repairs,
alterations, modifications, and improvements and, if individually itemized, may also
include:

(I) Applicable sales, use, and excise and documentary stamp taxes; and

(II) Amounts actually paid or to be paid by the seller for registration,
certificate of title, or license fees.

(b) The cash price stated by the seller to the buyer pursuant to the provisions
on disclosure contained in section 5-3-101 is presumed to be the cash price.

(8) Closing costs with respect to a debt secured by an interest in land
includes:

(a) Fees or premiums for title examination, title insurance, or similar
purposes including surveys;

(b) Fees for preparation of a deed, settlement statement, or other
documents;

(c) Escrows for future payments of taxes and insurance;

(d) Fees for notarizing deeds and other documents;

(e) Appraisal fees; and

(f) Credit reports.

(9) Conspicuous means a term or clause that is so written that a
reasonable person against whom it is to operate ought to have noticed it. Whether a
term or clause is conspicuous or not is for decision by the court. A printed heading
in capitals (as: WARRANTY) is conspicuous, and language in the body of the form is
conspicuous if it is in larger or other contrasting type or color. In a telegram, any
stated term is conspicuous.

(10) Consumer means a person other than an organization who is the buyer,
lessee, or debtor to whom credit is granted in a consumer credit transaction.

(11) (a) Consumer credit sale means, except as provided in paragraph (b) of
this subsection (11), a sale of goods, services, a mobile home, or an interest in land in
which:

(I) Credit is granted or arranged by a person who regularly engages as a
seller in credit transactions of the same kind or pursuant to a seller credit card;

(II) The buyer is a person other than an organization;

(III) The goods, services, mobile home, or interest in land are purchased
primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose;

(IV) Either the debt is by written agreement payable in installments or a
finance charge is made; and

(V) With respect to a sale of goods or services, the amount financed does not
exceed seventy-five thousand dollars.

(a.5) Consumer credit sale includes the recoverable expense of educating
and training a worker pursuant to section 8-2-113 (3)(a).

(b) Unless the sale is made subject to this code by section 5-2-501,
consumer credit sale does not include:

(I) A sale in which the seller allows the buyer to purchase goods or services
pursuant to a lender credit card or similar arrangement;

(II) (A) Except as required by the federal Truth in Lending Act or the federal
Consumer Leasing Act with respect to disclosure contained in section 5-3-101 and
consumers' remedies for transactions secured by interests in land as contained in
section 5-5-204, a sale of a mobile home or a sale of an interest in land if the
finance charge does not exceed twelve percent per year calculated according to
the actuarial method on the unpaid balances of the amount financed on the
assumption that the debt will be paid according to the agreed terms and will not be
paid before the end of the agreed term or, notwithstanding the rate of the finance
charge with respect to the sale of an interest in land, the sale is secured by a first
mortgage or deed of trust lien against a dwelling to finance the acquisition of that
dwelling.

(B) For the purposes of this subparagraph (II), dwelling means any
improved real property or portion thereof that is used or intended to be used as a
residence and contains not more than four dwelling units, and first mortgage or
deed of trust means a mortgage or deed of trust having priority as a lien over the
lien of any other mortgage or deed of trust on the same dwelling and subject to the
lien of taxes levied on that dwelling.

(III) A sale for a business, investment, or commercial purpose; or

(IV) A sale primarily for an agricultural purpose.

(12) Consumer credit transaction means a consumer credit sale or
consumer loan, or a refinancing or consolidation thereof, or a consumer lease.

(13) Consumer insurance premium loan means a consumer loan that:

(a) Is made for the sole purpose of financing the payment by or on behalf of
an insured of the premium on one or more policies or contracts issued by or on
behalf of an insurer;

(b) Is secured by an assignment by the insured to the lender of the unearned
premium on the policy or contract; and

(c) Contains an authorization to cancel the policy or contract so financed.

(14) (a) Consumer lease means a lease of goods and includes any insurance
incidental to the lease and any other services merely incidental to upkeep or repair
of the goods:

(I) That a lessor regularly engaged in the business of leasing makes to a
person, other than an organization, who takes under the lease primarily for a
personal, family, or household purpose;

(II) In which the amount payable under the lease does not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars; and

(III) That is for a term exceeding four months.

(b) Consumer lease does not include a lease made pursuant to a lender
credit card or similar arrangement.

(15) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (15) and except
with respect to a loan primarily secured by an interest in land as defined in
subsection (26) of this section, consumer loan means a loan made or arranged by
a person regularly engaged in the business of making loans in which:

(I) The consumer is a person other than an organization;

(II) The debt is incurred primarily for a personal, family, or household
purpose;

(III) Either the debt is by written agreement payable in installments or a
finance charge is made; and

(IV) Either the principal does not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars or the
debt is secured by an interest in land.

(a.5) Consumer loan includes the recoverable expense of educating and
training a worker pursuant to section 8-2-113 (3)(a).

(b) Unless the loan is made subject to this code by an agreement described
in section 5-2-501, consumer loan does not include:

(I) A loan for a business, investment, or commercial purpose;

(II) A loan primarily for an agricultural purpose; or

(III) A reverse mortgage as defined in section 11-38-102, C.R.S.

(c) Unless the loan is made subject to this code by an agreement described
in section 5-2-501 and except as provided with respect to the disclosure described
in section 5-3-101, consumers' remedies for transactions secured by interests in
land as described in section 5-5-204, and powers and functions of the administrator
under part 1 of article 6 of this title, consumer loan does not include a loan
primarily secured by an interest in land as defined in subsection (26) of this
section.

(16) Credit means the right granted by a creditor to a consumer to defer
payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment.

(16.5) Credit card means a lender credit card or a seller credit card, except
as otherwise provided in this code.

(17) Creditor means the seller, lessor, lender, or person who makes or
arranges a consumer credit transaction and to whom the transaction is initially
payable, or the assignee of a creditor's right to payment, but use of the term does
not in itself impose on an assignee any obligation of his or her assignor. In case of
credit granted pursuant to a credit card, creditor means the card issuer and not
another person honoring the credit card.

(18) Dwelling means a residential structure or mobile home that contains
one to four family housing units or individual units of condominiums or cooperatives.

(19) Earnings means compensation paid or payable to an individual or for
the individual's account for personal services rendered or to be rendered by the
individual, whether denominated as wages, salary, fees, commission, bonus, or
otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension, retirement, or
disability program.

(20) Finance charge means:

(a) The sum of all charges payable directly or indirectly by the consumer and
imposed directly or indirectly by the creditor as an incident to or as a condition of
the extension of credit, whether paid or payable by the consumer, the creditor, or
any other person on behalf of the consumer to the creditor or to a third party,
including any of the following types of charges that are applicable:

(I) Interest or any amount payable under a point, discount, or other system of
charges, however denominated;

(II) Time-price differential, credit service, service, carrying, or other charge,
however denominated;

(III) Premium, or other charge for any guarantee or insurance protecting the
creditor against the consumer's default or other credit loss; and

(IV) Charges incurred for investigating the collateral or credit-worthiness of
the consumer or for commissions or brokerage for obtaining the credit.

(b) The term does not include charges as a result of default described in
section 5-3-302, additional charges described in section 5-2-202, delinquency
charges described in section 5-2-203, or deferral charges described in section 5-2-204.

(c) If a creditor makes a loan to a consumer by purchasing or satisfying
obligations of the consumer pursuant to a credit card or similar arrangement and
the purchase or satisfaction is made at less than the face amount of the obligation,
the discount is not part of the finance charge.

(21) Goods includes goods not in existence at the time the transaction is
entered into and merchandise certificates but excludes money, chattel paper,
documents of title, and instruments.

(22) Investment purpose means that the primary purpose of the credit sale
or loan is for future financial gain rather than for a present personal, family, or
household use.

(23) Lender includes an assignee of the lender's right to payment, unless
otherwise provided in this code, but use of the term does not in itself impose on an
assignee any obligation of the lender with respect to events occurring before the
assignment.

(24) Lender credit card or similar arrangement means an arrangement or
loan agreement, other than a seller credit card, pursuant to which a lender gives a
consumer the privilege of using a credit card, letter of credit, or other credit
confirmation or identification in transactions out of which debt arises:

(a) By the lender's honoring a draft or similar order for the payment of money
drawn or accepted by the consumer;

(b) By the lender's payment or agreement to pay the consumer's obligations;
or

(c) By the lender's purchase from the obligee of the consumer's obligations.

(25) Loan includes:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (25):

(I) The creation of debt by the lender's payment of or agreement to pay
money to the consumer or to a third party for the account of the consumer;

(II) The creation of debt by a credit to an account with the lender upon which
the consumer is entitled to draw immediately;

(III) The creation of debt pursuant to a lender credit card in any manner,
including a cash advance or the card issuer's honoring a draft or similar order for
the payment of money drawn or accepted by the consumer, paying or agreeing to
pay the consumer's obligation, or purchasing or otherwise acquiring the consumer's
obligation from the obligee or his or her assignees;

(IV) The forbearance of debt arising from a loan; and

(V) The creation of debt by a cash advance to a consumer pursuant to a
seller credit card.

(b) Loan does not include:

(I) A card issuer's payment or agreement to pay money to a third person for
the account of a consumer if the debt of the consumer arises from a sale or lease
and results from use of a seller credit card; or

(II) The forbearance of debt arising from a sale or lease.

(26) (a) Loan primarily secured by an interest in land means a consumer
loan secured by a mobile home or primarily secured by an interest in land if, at the
time the loan is made the value of the collateral is substantial in relation to the
amount of the loan, and:

(I) The rate of the finance charge does not exceed twelve percent per year
calculated according to the actuarial method on the unpaid balances of the
principal on the assumption that the debt will be paid according to the agreed
terms and will not be paid before the end of the agreed term; or

(II) Notwithstanding the rate of the finance charge, and other than a
precomputed loan as defined in subsection (35) of this section, the loan is secured
by a first mortgage or deed of trust lien against a dwelling to:

(A) Finance the acquisition of that dwelling; or

(B) To refinance, by amendment, payoff, or otherwise, an existing loan made
to finance the acquisition of that dwelling, including a refinance loan providing
additional sums for any purpose whether or not related to acquisition or
construction.

(b) As to any refinance loan in the form of a revolving loan account that is in
whole or in part for purposes other than acquisition or construction, section 5-3-103
shall apply.

(c) With respect to loans secured by a first mortgage or deed of trust lien
against a dwelling to refinance an existing loan to finance the acquisition of the
dwelling and providing additional sums for any other purpose that are not subject to
this code pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (26), the lender shall disclose
to the consumer that the refinance loan creates a lien against the dwelling or
property and that the limits set forth in section 5-5-112 on the amount of attorney
fees that a lender may charge the consumer are not applicable.

(d) For purposes of this subsection (26):

(I) A loan secured by a first mortgage or deed of trust lien against a
dwelling to finance the acquisition of the dwelling includes a loan secured by a
first mortgage or deed of trust lien against a dwelling to finance the original
construction of such dwelling or to refinance any such construction loan;

(II) Dwelling means any improved real property, or portion thereof, that is
used or intended to be used as a residence and contains not more than four
dwelling units; and

(III) First mortgage or deed of trust means a mortgage or deed of trust
having priority as a lien over the lien of any other mortgage or deed of trust on the
same dwelling and subject to the lien of taxes levied on that dwelling.

(27) Material disclosures means the disclosure, as required by this code, of
the annual percentage rate, the method of determining the finance charge and the
balance upon which a finance charge will be imposed, the amount of the finance
charge, the amount to be financed, the total of payments, the number and amount
of payments, and the due dates or periods of payments scheduled to repay the
indebtedness.

(28) Merchandise certificate means a writing not redeemable in cash and
usable in its face amount in lieu of cash in exchange for goods or services.

(29) Mobile home means a dwelling that is built on a chassis designed for
long-term residential occupancy, that is capable of being installed in a permanent
or semi-permanent location, with or without a permanent foundation, and with
major appliances and plumbing, gas, and electrical systems installed but needing
the appropriate connections to make them operable, and that may be occasionally
drawn over the public highways, by special permit, as a unit or in sections to its
permanent or semi-permanent location.

(30) Official fees means:

(a) Fees and charges prescribed by law that actually are or will be paid to
public officials for determining the existence of or for perfecting, releasing, or
satisfying a security interest related to a consumer credit transaction; or

(b) Premiums payable for insurance in lieu of perfecting a security interest
otherwise required by the creditor in connection with the consumer credit
transaction if the premium does not exceed the fees and charges described in
paragraph (a) of this subsection (30) that would otherwise be payable.

(31) Organization means a corporation, limited liability company,
government or governmental subdivision or agency, trust, estate, partnership,
limited liability partnership, cooperative, or association.

(32) Payable in installments means that payment is required or permitted
by agreement to be made in more than four periodic payments, excluding a down
payment. If any periodic payment other than the down payment under an
agreement requiring or permitting two or more periodic payments is more than
twice the amount of any other periodic payment, excluding the down payment, the
consumer credit transaction is payable in installments.

(33) Person includes a natural person or an individual and an organization.

(34) (a) Person related to means, with respect to an individual, the spouse
of the individual; a brother, brother-in-law, sister, or sister-in-law of the individual;
an ancestor or lineal descendant of the individual or the individual's spouse; and any
other relative, by blood or marriage, of the individual or the individual's spouse who
shares the same home with the individual.

(b) Person related to means, with respect to an organization, a person
directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the
organization; an officer or director of the organization or a person performing
similar functions with respect to the organization or to a person related to the
organization; the spouse of a person related to the organization; and a relative by
blood or marriage of a person related to the organization who shares the same
home with such person.

(35) Precomputed means a consumer credit sale or consumer loan in which
the debt is expressed as a sum comprising the amount financed and the amount of
the finance charge computed in advance or in which any portion of the finance
charge is prepaid and the amount of that portion of the finance charge either
computed in advance or prepaid constitutes more than one-half of the total finance
charge applicable to the consumer credit sale or consumer loan.

(36) Presumed or presumption means that the trier of fact must find the
existence of the fact presumed unless and until evidence is introduced that would
support a finding of its nonexistence.

(37) Regularly has the same meaning as stated in the federal Truth in
Lending Act and the federal Consumer Leasing Act.

(38) Revolving credit means an arrangement pursuant to which:

(a) A creditor may permit a consumer, from time to time, to purchase or lease
on credit from the creditor or to obtain loans from the creditor;

(b) The amounts financed and the finance and other appropriate charges are
debited to an account;

(c) The finance charge, if made, is computed on the account periodically; and

(d) Either the consumer has the privilege of paying in full or in installments
or the creditor periodically imposes charges computed on the account for delaying
payment and permits the consumer to continue to purchase or lease on credit.

(39) Sale of goods includes any agreement in the form of a bailment or
lease of goods if the bailee or lessee agrees to pay as compensation for use a sum
substantially equivalent to or in excess of the aggregate value of the goods
involved and it is agreed that the bailee or lessee will become, or for no other or a
nominal consideration has the option to become, the owner of the goods upon full
compliance with his or her obligations under the agreement.

(40) Sale of an interest in land includes a lease in which the lessee has an
option to purchase the interest and all or a substantial part of the rental or other
payments previously made by him are applied to the purchase price.

(41) Sale of services means furnishing or agreeing to furnish services and
includes making arrangements to have services furnished by another.

(42) Seller, except as otherwise provided, includes an assignee of the
seller's right to payment, but use of the term does not in itself impose on an
assignee any obligation of the seller with respect to events occurring before the
assignment.

(43) Seller credit card means an arrangement pursuant to which a person
gives to a buyer or lessee the privilege of using a credit card, letter of credit, or
other credit confirmation or identification primarily for the purpose of purchasing or
leasing goods or services from that person or from that person and any other
person.

(44) Services includes:

(a) Work, labor, and other personal services;

(b) Privileges with respect to transportation, hotel and restaurant
accommodations, education, entertainment, recreation, physical culture, hospital
accommodations, funerals, cemetery accommodations, and the like; and

(c) Insurance provided by a person other than the insurer.

(45) Supervised financial organization means a person, other than an
insurance company or other organization primarily engaged in an insurance
business:

(a) Organized, chartered, or holding an authorization certificate under the
laws of any state or of the United States that authorize the person to make loans
and to receive deposits, including a savings, share, certificate, or deposit account;
and

(b) Subject to supervision by an official or agency of any state or of the
United States.

(46) Supervised lender means a person authorized to make or take
assignments of supervised loans under a license issued by the administrator or as a
supervised financial organization.

(47) Supervised loan means a consumer loan, including a loan made
pursuant to a revolving credit account, in which the rate of the finance charge
exceeds twelve percent per year as determined according to the provisions on
finance charges contained in section 5-2-201.

(48) Written or in writing means any record conveying information and
that is in a form the consumer may retain, or is capable of being displayed in visual
text in a form the consumer may retain, including paper, electronic, digital,
magnetic, optical, and electromagnetic.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2000: Entire article R&RE, p. 1183, � 1, effective July 1; (17) amended, p. 443, � 2, effective July 1. L. 2001: (1), (5)(b)(II), (15)(a)(III), and (26)(c) amended, p. 27, � 1, effective March 9. L. 2003: (16.5) added, p. 1892, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2004: (11)(b)(II)(A) and (15)(c) amended, p. 1187, � 6, effective August 4. L. 2020: (6) amended, (HB 20-1031), ch. 43, p. 143, � 3, effective September 14. L. 2022: (6) amended, (SB 22-139), ch. 149, p. 958, � 2, effective May 2. L. 2024: (11)(a.5) and (15)(a.5) added, (HB 24-1324), ch. 316, p. 2119, � 1, effective August 7.