Looking for how to have a different name than your personal name or seeking a unique name for branding purposes in Colorado? Do not worry, it is not rocket science to file a DBA in Colorado. We make this process easier with our 3-step DBA guide.
Important! Please keep in mind that DBA is not a business structure, so it won’t protect you from liabilities, lawsuits, or any other unforeseen situations. DBA stands for Doing Business As. – often precedes the name under which a business operates, which is not the legal name of the business.
Therefore, before starting, make sure you understand the difference between informal business structures such as sole proprietorship and formal ones like corporations and LLCs.
To register or renew the trademark, trade name, or service mark for your company in Colorado you need to file the application to the Secretary of State. Here is what you need to do:
Colorado Business Entity Search
Your company’s trade name should be unique and have not been acquired by any other entity in Colorado. Moreover, this name must also meet the business name requirements of Colorado.
First, visit the Colorado Name Availability Search section of secretary of state’s website and search for the DBA that you wish to have for your business. Here, make sure, this name isn’t already in use.
Note: You can also find a complete guide on business name search here.
Once you are done searching, the next step is to review the naming requirements of the state of Colorado. Your DBA should not include:
- Words that are commonly used by a government agency such as Treasury, FBI, State Department, etc.
- Words indicating or implying that your company is engaged in an unauthorized business by law to pursue.
Register Your Colorado DBA ($20)
To get a Colorado business license, you need to file online at the Colorado secretary of state website. The website contains multiple forms. You can choose a form depending on your business structure.
The following information must include in the Colorado trade name form:
- Your business name
- Entity type (eg; LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation)
- Trade name’s description
- The effective date of the trade name
Top Tip:
Instead of doing it yourself, save some time by hiring a reliable formation service like ZenBusiness. You can see editors’ Review on ZenBusiness to decide if it’s the best choice for your company.
Renew Your Colorado DBA ($5)
Renewal of Trade Names for LLCs and Corporations
If the LLC or corporation remains in good standinghe with the state, the DBA for such business does not expire. In case of loosing good standing status, the trade name will expire after one year. However, if the company gets back to good standing with Colorado state, the trade name expiration will be canceled.
If your are operating as an LLC or a corporation and your trade name has expired, you will have to file a new registration form to use that DBAit again.
Renewal of Trade Names for Sole Proprietorship and Partnerships ($5)
After one year of the filing, the DBA for sole proprietorships and partnerships in Colorado expires on the first day of the next month of anniversary. For example, if a fictacious name was registered on June12, 2020, it would expire on July 1, 2021.
Such businesses must renew their ficticious names online before the expiration date. This renewal can be done at any point during the three months before reaching the expiration date.
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