Colorado business entity search and name check

What the Colorado search covers

Every Colorado business entity on record since 1864, in every status: Colorado and out-of-state corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, nonprofits, cooperatives and more. Trade names and trademarks are searched separately.

When you search Colorado here, keep in mind:

• Published by the Colorado Secretary of State as open data and updated daily; filings from the last day may not appear yet.
• Covers entities of every status, plus trade names and trademarks filed with the Secretary of State.

Each record has a ID Number (for example 20131647034). Choose “Look up an existing business”, then “Registry number”, to search by it.

How to read Colorado results

Colorado uses its own status labels. We always show the official wording; here is what the common ones mean according to the state:

A status describes the registry filing only. It isn’t evidence of a license, tax compliance or reputation, and a record with the same name as a company you know may be a different business. More on statuses.

Colorado business name rules

An LLC name must include one of: limited liability company, ltd. liability company, limited liability co., ltd. liability co., limited, l.l.c., llc, ltd.. A corporation uses one of: corporation, incorporated, company, limited, corp., inc., co., ltd..

Your name must be distinguishable from names on the Secretary of State's records (7-90-601, C.R.S.). Colorado treats a different entity ending (ABC LLC, ABC Limited Liability Company and ABC Inc.), an added "the" or "a", spaces, hyphens and parentheses as enough to make a name distinguishable. (7-90-601, C.R.S.) Source: sos.state.co.us

When comparing names, Colorado disregards: periods; commas; underscores; apostrophes and inverted apostrophes; capital versus lowercase letters. Our name check applies these same rules.

Professional LLCs

A professional LLC or corporation uses one of these endings: P.L.L.C., PLLC, Professional Company, Professional Corporation, P.C., PC, P.L.L.P. or PLLP (source: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/helpFiles/designators.html).

Reserving a name in Colorado

Colorado lets you reserve a name before you form the business for $25, held for 120 days. You can renew it by filing a Statement of Renewal of Reservation of Name ($25), and transfer it to someone else for $25.

File a Statement of Reservation of Name online, including an entity ending such as LLC in the name (7-90-301, 7-90-602).

Colorado name reservation Source: sos.state.co.us

Searching on this site doesn’t reserve anything. Only CO SOS can.

Forming an LLC in Colorado

Document

Articles of Organization (filed online)

State filing fee

$50
Fees were revised on July 1, 2024. Articles are filed online; a $150 expedite option exists only for filings that must be made on paper.

File online

CO SOS filing

Processing

Online filings are processed immediately once payment is confirmed. Paper-only filings usually take 7 to 10 business days, or 3 business days if expedited.

Registered agent

Your registered agent needs a physical street address in Colorado; the mailing address can be a PO box. Since July 1, 2025, an individual agent must hold a valid Colorado driver's license or ID (or otherwise prove Colorado residency) and live or have a usual place of business in Colorado. A business acting as agent must be in good standing.

Out-of-state LLC registering here

$100 (Statement of Foreign Entity Authority)

Fees change. Confirm them on the official Colorado fee schedule before you file.

Keeping a Colorado LLC in good standing

Periodic Report: $25. You can file from 2 months before your report month (shown on the business's Summary page) until the end of the 2nd month after it. For a January report month, the deadline is March 31. Late fee: $50. Source: sos.state.co.us

A late report costs the $25 fee plus a $50 penalty, and the business becomes Noncompliant, then Delinquent after 60 days. A Delinquent business can fix its status with a Statement Curing Delinquency ($100). The periodic report fee rose from $10 to $25 on July 1, 2024 (SB23-276) (sources: https://coloradosos.gov/pubs/newsRoom/pressReleases/2024/PR20240617Fees.html; https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/fees/business.html).

Proof of status: Certificate of Good Standing ($0). Source: sos.state.co.us

Assumed names (DBAs)

A for-profit business that operates under a name other than its true name must file a Statement of Trade Name with the Secretary of State: $20 online, $5 to renew. Trade names aren't exclusive: several businesses can file the same one, and a trade name can't be reserved or transferred. Source: sos.state.co.us

Good to know about Colorado

• A different entity ending (ABC LLC versus ABC Inc.) or an added article makes a name distinguishable in Colorado, which most states don't allow. Source: sos.state.co.us
• Status is written into the business name on the record, for example "Delinquent May 1, 2022" or "Dissolved December 1, 2000", so you'll see it in search results. Source: sos.state.co.us
• Periodic reports cost $25 a year; the fee rose from $10 on July 1, 2024 to fund county election-cost reimbursements. Source: coloradosos.gov
• Certificates of Good Standing are free online, but only for businesses currently in good standing. Source: sos.state.co.us
• Trade names are filed with the Secretary of State but aren't exclusive, and they can't be reserved. Source: sos.state.co.us
• The full business registry is published free and updated daily on the Colorado Information Marketplace. The same data costs $3,000 to $12,000 a year as a Business Master File subscription. Source: coloradosos.gov

Sources and accuracy

We checked this page against official Colorado sources on October 30, 2026. Our monitor rechecks the official search, filing portal and fee pages daily and flags changes for review.

See something wrong? Tell us. We can fix how we present information, but only CO SOS can change an official record.