Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Otero County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
County government
- Clerk & Recorder Brand Records · 2013 archival inventory1889-1898
- Clerk & Recorder Examiner’s Reports · 2013 archival inventory1914
- Clerk & Recorder Purged Voter Registrations · 2013 archival inventory1934-1938
- County Commissioners Minutes of Proceedings · 2013 archival inventory1889-1904
- Treasurer Cash Book · 2013 archival inventory1889-1900
- Treasurer Fund Book · 2013 archival inventory1889-1895
Marriages, births and deaths
Court records
- County Court Civil & Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1889-1904; 1906-1914; 1916-1931; 1917-1937; 1932-1934
- District Court Cash Books · 2013 archival inventory1910
- District Court Cash Journal · 2013 archival inventory1911-1924
- District Court Civil & Criminal Cases · 2013 archival inventory1889–1957 · separate segments; gaps possible
- District Court County Treasurer Audit Reports · 2013 archival inventory1889-1916
- District Court Domestic Relations Cases · 2013 archival inventory1979-1983; 1985-1990
- District Court Execution Docket · 2013 archival inventory1890-1960
- District Court JP Criminal Transcripts · 2013 archival inventory1889-1916
- District Court Judges Docket · 2013 archival inventory1889-1923
- District Court Judges Docket & Judgment Books · 2013 archival inventory1889-1943
- District Court Judgment Books · 2013 archival inventory1889-1938
- District Court Judgment Docket · 2013 archival inventory1910-1943
- District Court Statement of Fees · 2013 archival inventory1892
Wills and estates
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected county and court series from the Colorado State Archives 2013 Finding Aids Quick Index. Only unambiguous dated rows marked Open in that historical index are included. That label does not certify current access. Confirm custody and restrictions with the Archives. Spans summarize separate storage units and may contain gaps.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Otero County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk and recorder and the district court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk and recorder
Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses.
- The district court
Probate (wills and estates) in every county but Denver, which has its own probate court, plus divorces and civil cases.
- The Colorado State Archives
In Denver: county and court records, territorial records and indexes.
- Colorado State Archivesfree
The state archives in Denver, with county, court and territorial records and indexes to many of them.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Colorado, Otero" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Bent County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Bent County
Later formed partly from Otero County: Crowley County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1889, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
A 1907 law set up statewide registration of births and deaths in Colorado; the state's own records begin with deaths in 1900 and births in 1910. Before 1861 the area was part of Kansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico territories, so an early settler's records can be in any of them.