In Colorado the Secretary of State keeps the register of LLCs, corporations, nonprofits and other business entities. You look up companies in the Business Database Search, and new filings start from the File a Business Document page. Both live on the office's own website, and the links sit in the tables below.
Colorado stands out in two ways. Forming an LLC online is cheap at $50. And the yearly filing is a periodic report with a flexible window around a fixed month, so the date to remember is your report month, not a single statewide deadline.
Looking up a company in the Colorado business database
Start with the Business Database Search and enter the name of the company you want. Each record gives you the entity's status, which is the quickest way to see whether it keeps its reports current. If you are picking a name for a new business, use the entity name availability page instead.
| Official business search | sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do (sos.state.co.us, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Name availability check | coloradosos.gov/biz/FileDocNameAvailCriteria.do (coloradosos.gov, checked ) |
A name that looks free on that page is a good start, not a promise. Someone else can still file first, so if you plan to spend money on a logo or a website, file soon after you check.
Colorado status words: Good Standing, Noncompliant, Delinquent
Colorado uses three main words tied to the periodic report. Good Standing means the company has met its filing duties. Noncompliant is a warning stage after a missed due date. Delinquent comes next, when the late window has also passed.
| Status shown | What it means |
|---|---|
| Good Standing | Statutory filing requirements have been met with the office. |
| Noncompliant | Periodic report not filed by the due date; a late report is due two months later. |
| Delinquent | Periodic report still not filed by the extended date. |
Status wording from sos.state.co.us, checked .
A Delinquent company is not stuck for good. The Secretary of State's report FAQ explains how to bring the record back, and the fee schedule lists what each step costs, so read both before you file.
What Colorado charges for business filings
The Colorado fee that most people need is the $50 for online Articles of Organization. The yearly periodic report is $25 online. Fees for corporations, nonprofits and out of state companies are on the office's fee schedule, and the state has revised it before, so use the live page rather than an old printout.
| Form an LLC | $50 (sos.state.co.us, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Annual or biennial report | LLC: $25 periodic report, online; corporation: $25 periodic report, online (sos.state.co.us, checked ) |
| Good standing certificate | Free online (official version)Free at the state (sos.state.co.us, checked ) |
Rather not file it yourself? Ask our private filing service about forming or reporting in Colorado. State fees are separate.
For a side by side view, our page on LLC filing fees by state shows how Colorado compares.
The Colorado periodic report and its window
Every Colorado entity has a periodic report month based on when it was formed. You may file in the two months before that month, during it, or in the two months after, and pay only the normal $25. That gives you a span of about five months in total.
The fee, the due date, late penalties and the filing steps are in our Colorado annual report guide.
Miss the window and the record turns Noncompliant. You then have two more months to file a late report before it becomes Delinquent. The annual report guide walks through the steps if you have never filed one, and the deadlines by state table helps if you run companies in several states.
Getting a Colorado Certificate of Good Standing
Colorado calls this document a Certificate of Good Standing. You can print the official version from the Secretary of State's website for free. The certificate only reads as good standing when the record does, so file any overdue periodic report first.
What it costs, where to order it and what blocks it are in our Colorado good standing guide.
Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one when you open an account or register elsewhere. Our page on the certificate of good standing explains what they look for.
Free Colorado business data and help from the office
Colorado shares its business register as open data. The Business Entities in Colorado dataset on the state's open data portal is free, carries each entity's status and creation date, and is updated every day. A related set lists only the entities that are in good standing or delinquent.
For a question about one filing, use the contact details on the Secretary of State's business pages. This page does not list a phone number for the office yet, because we only show contact details we could confirm on the state's own site.
Sources
- www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do?resetTransTyp=Y: business search. Checked .
- www.coloradosos.gov/biz/FileDocNameAvailCriteria.do?transTyp=CERT_LP: name check. Checked .
- www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/fees/business.html: LLC filing fee, report fee. Checked .
- www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/FAQs/certGoodStanding.html: certificate fee. Checked .
- www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/FAQs/reports.html: status terms. Checked .