Enter words related to your business to get started.
Key Information
Legal Name | Colorado Secretary of State |
Address | 1700 Broadway, Ste. 550, Denver, CO 80290 |
Telephone | |
Website | https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do?resetTransTyp=Y |
How to Do a Colorado Business Search:
Follow our step-by-step guide to quickly and easily conduct a business name search on the Colorado SOS website. The business database search tool is simple, user-friendly, and free to use.
Conduct a Colorado business search online.
Go to the Colorado Secretary of State (SOS) website.
The Colorado SOS website has a simple tool for searching their database by business name, trademark, trade name, ID, or document number.
Select "Business database search."
You will see that you have the option to simply search for your name's availability, but this option does not do a detailed search for all similar names, abbreviations, or names with slight changes. It is quicker to simply search the business database.
Be sure to check for alternate spellings, abbreviations, and similar names to your chosen name. You will not be able to register it if it is too similar to an existing name.
Enter your business name in the search field.
The Colorado SOS database search tool is very user-friendly. Simply type in the name you want to use in the blank search bar and click on "Search."
View your search results.
Once you have clicked on the "Search" button, you will be taken to the results page. You will either get a message saying, "No results found for the specified name," or you will see a list of results.
In the results, you will find the ID number, document number, business name, the documents that were filed to secure the name (e.g., Articles of Organization, Trade Name, Articles of Incorporation, etc.), the business status, business type, and the formation date.
Have a look at the SOS's FAQs page for more information and tips about choosing the best name.
Additional Colorado business search steps.
Check that the domain for your name is available.
Be sure to check that the domain name for your proposed business name is also available and not currently being used by another company. This will make it easier for your customers to find you.
Search the USPTO database.
You should also search the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) database to check that your name has not been trademarked or is in the process of being trademarked.
Reserve your chosen name for later use.
You can reserve your chosen name online by clicking on "File online" next to "Statement of Reservation of Name" and following the prompts.
A Statement of Reservation of Name costs $25.00 and is valid for 120 days.
Consider registering a Colorado state trademark.
The business database search that we detailed above will also return search results for any similar state trademarked business names. If there are none, you may want to consider trademarking your business name with the state of Colorado.
Read through the SOS's trademark FAQs to help you decide if trademarking is necessary for your business.
