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The Colorado Secretary of State keeps the state's business register. Its lookup is Business Database Search. One box takes a business name, trademark, trade name, ID or document number, and searching is free. Colorado is generous after that too. Copies of filed documents, Certificates of Good Standing and certified copies all print from the website at no cost.
Colorado LLC and corporation search by ID or name
The Secretary of State's search tips put the ID number first. Every entity has a unique 11-digit ID, and searching by it is faster and more accurate than a name. The ID is not your tax ID number. For names, the tips are practical:
- Do not type the full name. Try one or two key words.
- Group initials into one word. To find "A.C.E. Computers, Inc.", search "ACE Computers".
- Names that start with "A", "An" or "The" are listed under that first word. "An Original Company, LLC" sits under A, not O.
- Results come in alphabetical order, 20 to a page, and you can sort by column.
More search options sit under the main box: a name availability search, an advanced search and a business survey information search. Advanced search lets you search by a range of dates, by business name or by a person's registrant name. Our LLC name search guide covers name searching across states.
Reading a Colorado record
The Summary page shows the entity's type, its ID number, its status, its principal office address and its registered agent's name and address. From there you can open the filing history and documents and view each filing as a PDF. You can also file a form or print a certificate.
Three status words matter most:
- Good Standing: the entity has met its statutory filing requirements. The office does not review or verify what was filed.
- Noncompliant: the Periodic Report is late, or there is no registered agent on file.
- Delinquent: the entity stayed Noncompliant for sixty days without filing.
When a status changes through delinquency, dissolution or withdrawal, words such as "Delinquent" or "Dissolved" are added to the end of the name. Our business entity status guide explains what each status means for a deal.
Some records are hard to find. Some older dissolved entities were removed from the database under earlier laws. The office can search its microfilm if you send a Business Services Request. Colorado entities also do not file owners, officers, directors, members or managers with the state, so the record will not list them. Try our business owner lookup guide.
Colorado name rules
An LLC name must include a term such as limited liability company, ltd. liability company, limited liability co., ltd. liability co., limited, l.l.c., llc or ltd. Section 7-90-601, C.R.S., requires a name to be distinguishable from names already on record. The office's own examples are specific. ABC LLC is distinguishable from ABC Limited Liability Company, A B C LLC, A-B-C LLC and ABC Inc. Periods, commas, apostrophes and capital letters do not count, so ABC Inc is the same as A.B.C. Inc.
There are two ways to check a name. Name availability search tells you whether one exact name is free but shows no similar names. Business database search shows similar names but does not say whether yours is available. See our guide on checking LLC name availability.
A name reservation costs $25 and lasts 120 days, and it can be renewed. Colorado law does not let a business transfer its name to another business.
The Periodic Report and staying in Good Standing
Every LLC, corporation, nonprofit and foreign entity files a Periodic Report each year. Your report month is on the entity's Summary page. You can file from two months before that month to two months after it with no penalty. The report costs $25 and must be filed online. If the month is January, for example, the report is due March 31. Missing that date makes the entity Noncompliant and adds a $50 late penalty, and a late report is then due by May 31. After that the entity turns Delinquent.
A Statement Curing Delinquency costs $100. The delinquent entity keeps its name for 400 days from the date of delinquency. After that the name is changed and the original becomes free for others. An entity delinquent for 5 years or more must add an affidavit and a government-issued photo ID to cure.
A Certificate of Good Standing is free to print, but only while the status is Good Standing. Each certificate has a confirmation number that anyone can verify on the Secretary of State's site. See our certificate of good standing guide.
The business fee schedule lists $50 to file Articles of Organization for an LLC online, $50 for a profit or nonprofit corporation and $100 for a Foreign Entity Authority Statement. Paper filings can be expedited for $150, done within 3 business days.
Colorado bulk data
Colorado gives its data away. The fee schedule lists the complete dataset for entities, trademarks and trade names as free. The Business Entities in Colorado dataset on the state open data portal has 3.13 million rows and 35 columns. It is updated every day after midnight and released as public domain.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Colorado, the Colorado registered agent rules and a Colorado operating agreement guide.
Also see our guides to the Colorado DBA and Colorado business license.