Colorado: Domestic LLC Formation Filing Requirements
The short answer
One or more persons form an ordinary Colorado LLC by filing Articles of Organization online with the Secretary of State for $50. The filing identifies the company, principal office, registered agent, every organizer, management choice, and existence of at least one member; no owner or manager names are required merely because of that status. The LLC forms when the articles become effective, with an optional delay of up to 90 days, and Colorado requires no publication or immediate initial report.
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This is the general rule in Colorado. Ezel applies current Colorado law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and filing record | Colorado Limited Liability Company Act, C.R.S. Title 7 Article 80; Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State (§§ 7-80-203 to -204) |
|---|---|
| Organizer and signature | One or more organizers; an individual organizer must be 18+, and organizers need not become members. Every organizer's true name/mailing address is public. No signature or execution is a filing condition; an individual causing delivery supplies name/address and makes the § 7-90-301.5 affirmation (§§ 7-80-203, -204; 7-90-301) |
| Required entity and purpose terms | Compliant distinguishable name with an LLC designator; no purpose or duration statement required in ordinary articles, and an LLC may conduct any lawful business (§§ 7-80-103, -204; 7-90-601) |
| Addresses and service fields | Initial principal-office physical street address plus optional mailing; initial agent name, Colorado physical street address and optional mailing; required agent-consent affirmation (§§ 7-80-204, 7-90-701; SOS instructions) |
| Management and owner disclosure | Choose manager- or member-management and affirm at least one member. No member, manager, or owner names required; organizer names are disclosed separately (§ 7-80-204) |
| Optional and restricted provisions | May add other matters relating to the LLC or its articles; optional delayed effective date/time is permitted up to 90 days (§§ 7-80-204(h), 7-90-304) |
| Filing method, fee, and attachments | $50, online only. More than one organizer requires an attachment listing each additional organizer; no separate agent-acceptance attachment or signature page (SOS, accessed July 30, 2026) |
| Formation and effective date | LLC forms when articles become effective: ordinarily at filing, or at a stated later time/date capped at 90 days; date-only means 11:59 p.m. (§§ 7-80-207, 7-90-304) |
| Publication and initial follow-up | No publication, proof filing, or immediate initial report. First Periodic Report is due by the last day of the second month after the first anniversary of the formation month (§ 7-90-501(4)(c)(I)) |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law and filing record
Colorado uses Articles of Organization under the Colorado Limited Liability
Company Act. C.R.S. § 7-80-203 says one or more persons form the company by
delivering the articles to the Secretary of State under Title 7, article 90's
filing rules.
Organizer and signature
An organizer may be an individual who is at least 18 or a business entity. The
organizer does not have to become a member. Section 7-80-204 requires the true
name and mailing address of each organizer in the public filing.
Colorado separates the organizer from the individual who submits the filing.
Section 7-90-301 requires at least one delivery individual's name and mailing
address, while § 7-90-301.5 makes the act of delivery an affirmation under
penalty of perjury. Section 7-90-301(2) expressly says a signature or execution
is not required as a filing condition.
Required entity and purpose terms
The name must be distinguishable in the Secretary of State's records and use
one of § 7-90-601's LLC designators. Section 7-80-204's required-content list
does not include a purpose or duration statement. The substantive scope comes
from § 7-80-103: an LLC may be formed for any lawful business, subject to laws
regulating that business.
Addresses and service fields
The articles state the initial principal-office address and the initial
registered agent's name and address. The current online instructions require a
physical principal-office street address, not a P.O. box, and allow a different
mailing address.
The agent's street address must be a physical Colorado address; a different
Colorado mailing address is optional. C.R.S. § 7-90-701(3) requires the filing to
state that the agent consented, which the online form handles through a required
checkbox rather than a separate acceptance attachment.
Management and owner disclosure
The filing must choose whether management is vested in managers or members and
must affirm that the LLC has at least one member. Section 7-80-204 does not ask
for the names of members, managers, or owners merely because of those roles.
Organizer names are public, but organizer status does not establish ownership.
Optional and restricted provisions
Section 7-80-204(h) permits other matters relating to the LLC or its articles.
The online filing also offers the general § 7-90-304 delayed-effective-date
choice. Additional lawful information may be uploaded as a text or PDF
attachment, but ordinary formation does not require that optional attachment.
Filing method, fee, and attachments
The current filing is online only and costs $50. The fee schedule lists no
paper option. The online form uses a required consent affirmation for the agent;
it does not require a separately signed agent-acceptance document.
If there is more than one organizer, the filer uploads an attachment with every
additional organizer's name and mailing address. The filing is not complete
until payment is made.
Formation and effective date
Under § 7-80-207, the LLC forms when its articles become effective. With no
delay, § 7-90-304 makes the filing effective at the Secretary of State's filing
time. A stated later date or time is permitted, but the delay is capped at 90
days. A date without a time takes effect at 11:59 p.m., not at the start of that
day.
Publication and initial follow-up
Colorado's articles statute and current filing package impose no newspaper or
database publication, proof-of-publication filing, or separate initial report.
The first Periodic Report is not immediate: § 7-90-501(4)(c)(I) places it after
the first anniversary, no later than the last day of the second following
calendar month.
What trips people up
The filer and organizer are separate statutory roles. The articles disclose
every organizer, but the general filing law separately asks for at least one
individual who causes delivery. The online act of delivery supplies the
statutory affirmation; Colorado does not require a standalone signature page.
A date-only delay means the end of the day. Entering only a future date
makes the filing effective at 11:59 p.m. on that date, and a date beyond day 90
is pulled back to 11:59 p.m. on day 90.
A payment rule is about to change. Chapter 226, effective August 12, 2026
unless delayed by referendum, will expressly treat a filing as unsuccessful if
payment is not processed or is reversed and will authorize the Secretary of
State to void or remove the filing and adjust entity status.
Common questions
Can delayed articles be stopped before they take effect? Yes. Section
7-90-304(3) permits a statement of correction revoking the filed document if it
is filed by the earlier of the stated effective date or day 90.
What does filing put the public on notice of? C.R.S. § 7-80-208 treats filed
articles as notice that the company is an LLC and of the facts § 7-80-204
requires the articles to state.
Does the new artist-company law change an ordinary Colorado LLC filing? No.
Chapter 297 creates a separate election for qualifying artist companies
effective August 12, 2026, and new § 7-80-1223 says that part does not affect an
LLC that is not an artist company.
Statutes and sources
- C.R.S. §§ 7-80-103, 7-80-203, 7-80-204, and 7-80-207 — lawful business,
organizers, required and optional article contents, and the formation event.
https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-07.pdf (accessed 2026-07-30) - C.R.S. §§ 7-90-301, 7-90-301.5, and 7-90-304 — filing requirements,
delivery affirmation, no-signature rule, and effective dates.
https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-07.pdf (accessed 2026-07-30) - C.R.S. §§ 7-90-501, 7-90-601, and 7-90-701 — first Periodic Report timing,
name rules, and registered-agent consent.
https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-07.pdf (accessed 2026-07-30) - Colorado Secretary of State — current Articles of Organization instructions,
public fields, attachments, delayed date, and payment completion.
https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/business/helpFiles/ARTORG_LLC_HELP.html
(accessed 2026-07-30) - Colorado Secretary of State — current Business Organizations Fee Schedule,
$50 online filing and no paper fee.
https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/info_center/fees/business.html
(accessed 2026-07-30) - Colorado General Assembly — HB 26-1088 official enacted summary, status, and
August 12, 2026 effective date.
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1088 (accessed 2026-07-30) - Colorado General Assembly — SB 26-133 official enacted summary, status, and
August 12, 2026 effective date for the separate artist-company act.
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-133 (accessed 2026-07-30)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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