The Colorado military affidavit

How Colorado handles it

The rule that forces the affidavit in Colorado is not Rule 55. It is C.R.C.P. 121 Section 1-14, the statewide practice standard for default judgments. Paragraph 1(c) lists, among the documents that must accompany the motion, "an affidavit or affidavits establishing that the particular defendant is not a minor, an incapacitated person, an officer or agency of the State of Colorado, or in the military service," and adds that the moving party's attorney may execute it "on the basis of reasonable inquiry." Section 1-14 also demands the original summons showing valid service, a venue affidavit, a damages affidavit signed by someone with knowledge (never the attorney), and a proposed judgment reciting six specific items. Read in the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure published by the Office of Legislative Legal Services, August 2026.

Colorado publishes no JDF-numbered military affidavit for civil cases. The military form the judiciary actually posts is FCF 610, captioned for El Paso County District Court and written for domestic relations. It offers four boxes: the respondent is presently in the United States military, the petitioner cannot determine current status but knows the respondent served before, the petitioner cannot determine current status and knows nothing about past service, or the respondent is not presently serving. Check either of the first two and item 3 opens up, asking for rank, branch, and current and past duty assignments. A collections plaintiff in Denver or a landlord in Adams County gets no posted form and drafts the affidavit to match the Section 1-14 language directly.

FCF 610 never mentions the Defense Manpower Data Center and has no checkbox for attaching a status report. "Reasonable inquiry" is the only standard the practice standard states. If either party is asking for or waiving a stay under the SCRA, the Fourth Judicial District pairs FCF 610 with FCF 611, Acknowledgement of Rights Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 50 USC Section 3932 and Request for or Waiver of Stay. A certificate of service is printed on the second page of FCF 610 itself, with boxes for hand delivery, e-filing, fax, and mail.

What happens when the answer is not a clean "no" is spelled out in Section 1-14 paragraph 3: if the defendant is in military service, or status cannot be shown, the court "shall require such additional evidence or proceeding as will protect the interests of such party in accordance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), 50 U.S.C. Section 3931, including the appointment of an attorney when necessary." The appointment is made on the moving party's own application, and the moving party pays for it, though the expense is taxable as costs in the judgment. That paragraph and its 50 U.S.C. Section 3931 citation were amended and made effective January 12, 2017, replacing the older reference to 50 U.S.C. Section 520.

FCF 610 is not needed for a post-decree motion if the respondent already appeared in the action. The form says so at the top, which matters in modification practice where the other parent went quiet years after the decree.

What trips filers up here

• The posted form is a domestic relations form for one judicial district. Outside El Paso County, and outside family cases anywhere in Colorado, the plaintiff writes the affidavit from scratch to satisfy C.R.C.P. 121 Section 1-14(1)(c).
• Section 1-14 bundles military status with three other facts in a single affidavit: not a minor, not an incapacitated person, not an officer or agency of the State of Colorado. Leaving any one out makes the default motion incomplete even if the military answer is right.
• Checking an "unable to determine" box triggers the appointed-attorney machinery in Section 1-14(3), and the rule puts that bill on the party asking for the default.
• The form carries the federal criminal warning verbatim ("A person who issues this statement knowing it to be false, shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both") but no state perjury cite beyond the Colorado verification.

Signing it: declaration, no notary

Item 1 calls the document a statement made to the court under oath, but the signature block is a Colorado verification: "I declare under penalty of perjury under the law of Colorado that the foregoing is true and correct." There is no notary line anywhere on the form.

No notary is needed. The signature block is an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, which is what 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)(4) expressly allows. Signing it knowing the military statement is false is still a federal crime, and a state perjury exposure on top.

Colorado law on top of the federal rule

C.R.S. § 28-3-1403: The Colorado State Military Service Civil Relief Act of 2002 covers people called to state military service or state defense force active duty for more than 30 days on the governor's order. Section 28-3-1403 lets any court stay a civil action involving them on its own motion, and requires a stay on their application unless the court finds their ability to prosecute or defend is not materially affected. Verified August 15, 2026 in the Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 28.

Getting the military-status answer right

The affidavit is only as good as the search behind it. The Defense Manpower Data Center runs the free lookup that courts and creditors rely on, and since 2026 it requires a free account even for a single record. Our guide to the DMDC SCRA website covers the search itself, what a "no information found" result does and does not prove, and the batch route for high-volume filers. The federal rules behind this form, including what happens when you genuinely cannot determine status, sit on the hub page.

If one was filed against you

A false affidavit is not a technicality. In May 2026 the Justice Department settled with a Florida property manager that swore a Navy sailor was not on active duty, took a default eviction judgment, and left him with an eviction on his record that a dozen landlords then refused to rent around: $60,000 to one servicemember plus a civil penalty . If a default judgment was entered against you while you were serving, it can be reopened; the default-judgment shield walks the deadlines.

Serving in Colorado and looking for what the state adds to your own protections rather than court procedure? That is a different page: Colorado SCRA benefits.