Colorado Business Name Search
Data verified July 17, 2026 · Official database: Colorado Secretary of State
LLC filing fee
Name reservation fee
Reservation hold
Quick answer: Colorado names are checked in the Secretary of State’s Business Entity Search, a single statewide database that returns trade names alongside entities, so one query covers both. C.R.S. § 7-90-601 accepts an unusually wide designator list, down to plain “limited” or “ltd.”, and the state is explicit that capitalization, punctuation, and spacing never separate two names, though a different designator can. The Business Division settles the question when it processes your filing.
How to check a name in Colorado
The checker above sweeps Colorado records for you. Below, the same Business Entity Search is walked screen by screen, so you can repeat the query at the source and read the result yourself. Treat a clear result as encouraging rather than settled. In Colorado the answer is fixed only when the Business Division processes the filing itself.
Step 1: Open the Business Entity Search
Open the Business Entity Search. The page shows a “Business paper documents processed through” date and states that results “will only include Colorado business organizations on record with the Secretary of State.”
Enter your proposed name in the Organization name field. The Organizational ID# box below it is for looking up a record you already know by number, so leave it empty for a name check. Press Search, or Cancel to clear the form.
Step 2: Enter your proposed name without LLC
Type the distinctive words of your name into Organization name and leave off the ending (LLC, L.L.C.). Searching “Blue Ridge Coffee” rather than “Blue Ridge Coffee LLC” surfaces every entity that uses those words.
Colorado matches on the words you type, so the core words of your name pull back the closest records. Keep Organizational ID# empty and press Search.
Step 3: Read the Business Search Result list
Colorado opens a Business Search Result table with ID #, Name, and Address columns, and asks you to “Select the business organization ID for detailed information and to confirm.”
Read past the first exact hit. Status words such as Delinquent and Dissolved appear right inside the Name column. A delinquent or dissolved record still holds its name until the state resolves it, so treat those as live conflicts, not open names. Open any relevant row by clicking its ID #.
Step 4: Open the Organization Record Confirmation
The detail page is headed Organization Record Confirmation. It lists the ID Number, Name, Registered Agent, and the record’s Status, Form (for example Corporation or Limited Liability Company), Jurisdiction, and Formation Date.
Confirm those fields before you treat a hit as a real conflict. A similar name on a foreign or dissolved record may not block you the way an active Colorado LLC does. If the list comes back empty for your wording and its close variations, you have a favorable reading and nothing more. Put the name on the record with a reservation or with the Articles themselves before you print anything that carries it.
Colorado LLC naming rules
Colorado’s entity-name rules come from the Colorado Corporations and Associations Act, C.R.S. § 7-90-601:
- Required ending: the name must contain a limited liability company designator: “limited liability company,” “ltd. liability company,” “limited liability co.,” “ltd. liability co.,” or a short form such as “limited,” “l.l.c.,” “llc,” or “ltd.”
- Distinguishability: the name must be distinguishable on the state’s records from every registered entity and every reserved name. Colorado states plainly that capitalization, punctuation, and spacing do not make a name distinguishable, though a different designator (an LLC where the other record is an Inc.) can.
- Length and clarity: the name should not imply the entity is organized for a purpose it is not authorized to pursue.
Words that need approval in Colorado
| Term family | Examples | Who must sign off |
|---|---|---|
| Banking | bank, trust, credit union, savings and loan | Colorado Division of Banking |
| Insurance | insurance, casualty, surety | Colorado Division of Insurance |
Colorado restricts these terms and any derivation of them. If one appears in your name, the Secretary of State needs consent from the associated state department before it will accept the filing.
Reserving a name in Colorado
If you are not ready to file Articles of Organization, Colorado lets you hold a name for 120 days for $25. The request is filed online through the Secretary of State’s reservation service, and because Colorado processes online filings in real time, the reservation takes effect immediately.
Colorado is unusual in one respect: you can renew the reservation for another 120 days for a second $25, where most states, Georgia and South Carolina among them, treat a reservation as one-time only. Forming the LLC itself costs $50, and Colorado companies then file a periodic report each year during their anniversary month window, with an online fee of $25.
If you want to trade under a name that is not your registered LLC name, Colorado files a trade name (a DBA) with the Secretary of State statewide for $20. It is cheap and it shows up in the same search as entities, but it grants no rights in the name, because Colorado does not require trade names to be distinguishable.
Colorado trade names
A Colorado trade name is the cheap, visible version of a DBA: $20, filed online with the Secretary of State, and recorded in the same statewide database as entities, so the ordinary business search returns it. An entity’s trade name stays effective while the entity remains in good standing; one filed by an individual or general partnership expires after a year and must be renewed. Visibility is the whole benefit. Colorado does not check trade names for distinguishability, so several businesses can register the same one, and the filing carries no rights in the name itself.
If your Colorado name is taken
A conflict in the Business Entity Search does not end the naming process:
- Add a genuinely distinguishing element. Colorado has already told you what will not work: spacing, punctuation, and capitalization do not separate you from an existing record. A different designator can, and so can a new word that carries actual meaning.
- Check the record’s status. A name held by a delinquent or dissolved entity may free up once the state resolves the record, so a marginal conflict can be worth monitoring rather than abandoning.
- Consider whether you need that exact legal name. A Colorado LLC can register a separate trade name, which changes what customers see without changing the entity’s registered name.
Colorado processes online filings in real time, so a name that reads clear does not have to sit in a queue while someone else files it. If yours is clear, you can start your Colorado LLC under that name.
Official Colorado sources
- Colorado Business Entity Search: the authoritative database
- Business FAQs: entity names: the naming and distinguishability rules
- Business filing fees: formation, reservation, and trade name fees
- Reserve a name: the 120-day reservation process
An open Colorado name is only yours once you file
Forming an LLC under your name is the only way to lock it in. Northwest handles the Colorado filing, registered-agent service, and paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check LLC name availability in Colorado?
Search the Colorado Secretary of State's Business Entity Search for your proposed name and its close variations. If no active entity or reservation matches, the name is likely open. The office makes the final call when it processes your Articles of Organization or reservation.
Does a Colorado LLC name have to include "LLC"?
Yes. The name must contain a limited liability company designator, such as LLC, L.L.C., or the words "limited liability company." Colorado also accepts "ltd. liability company," "limited liability co.," and short forms down to "limited" or "ltd."
How much does it cost to reserve a business name in Colorado?
A reservation is $25 online and holds the name for 120 days. Colorado is one of the few states that lets you renew the reservation for another 120 days for a second $25, rather than treating it as one-time only.
Can two Colorado businesses register the same trade name?
Yes. Colorado does not check trade names for distinguishability, so more than one business can file the same trade name. A trade name is a $20 statewide filing that discloses who uses a name; it does not give any rights in the name.
Does Colorado charge an annual fee to keep an LLC active?
Yes. Colorado LLCs file a periodic report each year during the anniversary month window, and the online fee is $25. It is separate from the one-time $50 formation fee.