How to Get a Registered Agent in Colorado
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Swyft Filings is committed to providing accurate, reliable information to help you make informed decisions for your business. That's why our content is written and edited by professional editors, writers, and subject matter experts. Learn more about how Swyft Filings works, our editorial team and standards, what our customers think of us, and more on our trust page.
Any business in Colorado must have a registered agent with a physical address in the state. This rule applies to both domestic and foreign organizations. If you don’t have an agent, you’re not in good standing with the state of Colorado, which could cause severe issues for your company.
This guide digs into the role registered agents play and the responsibilities they take on. It also goes over how to find a registered agent and elect one to represent your organization.
Key Takeaways
All Colorado LLCs, corporations, and nonprofits need a registered agent, which can be an individual or entity.
Failure to elect a registered agent in Colorado can lead to harsh penalties, including the business being classified as delinquent.
All forms must be completed online via the Colorado Secretary of State’s website.
Protect your privacy, avoid compliance issues, and choose a service trusted by over 300,000 businesses.
What Is a Registered Agent?
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, a registered agent is defined as follows:[1]
“A registered agent is an individual or a company that is your official point of contact in the state to receive service of process, legal, and state documents, and relay these communications to your business.”
Suppose somebody is to serve as a registered agent for your Colorado LLC or small business. In that case, they must have a physical address in the state. Ideally, they’ll also have experience and expertise in the many legal documents they’ll process on your company’s behalf.
A company must maintain a registered agent in Colorado even if the company’s headquarters is in a different state. Business owners who fail to appoint a registered agent fall out of good standing with the state and may face penalties.
Registered Agent Responsibilities
A Colorado registered agent has several key responsibilities when serving a company. A registered agent has to:
Maintain a physical business address they consent to be placed on the public record
Keep regular business hours to ensure they can receive documents and notifications
Take responsibility for receiving, processing, and mail forwarding essential documents
The documents a registered agent receives include, but aren’t limited to:
Corporate filings
Legal documents, such as service of process
A company’s annual report
Notifications from the Colorado Secretary of State
Choosing Your Colorado Registered Agent
Before choosing one for your business, you must understand the requirements for a registered agent. You can also choose between acting as your own agent or using a third-party service.
Colorado Registered Agent Requirements
Both individuals and entities can act as registered agents in Colorado. A business can only appoint a single individual or entity who must consent to act as a registered agent.
Individuals must meet the following criteria:
Be over the age of 18
Have their primary residence in Colorado, which will serve as their registered office
An entity must meet a different set of requirements:
Have an established place of business in Colorado where it can receive essential documents
Be in good standing with the state
Have the right to transact in Colorado if a foreign entity
Your limited liability company (LLC) or corporation will name its registered agent in its formation documents. Your business must also pay state fees to elect an agent.
A Colorado business faces several risks and potential punishments if it doesn’t have a registered agent:
May not receive service of process if another entity sues the organization
May lose good standing with the state, which causes the inability to file lawsuits, expand into other states, and limited access to business financing
May be subject to fines and penalty fees levied by the Colorado Secretary of State
May become classified as delinquent
Simply put, not having a registered agent severely hampers your ability to conduct business in Colorado. It may also cost your company financially if the state decides to levy fines.
Can I Be My Own Registered Agent in Colorado?
Colorado allows your business to serve as its own registered agent. If you decide to serve as your own agent, you must meet the same requirements as a third-party agent.
As a result, your company makes its office address a matter of public record. You also commit to maintaining regular business hours, which ensures you’re available to receive documents and notifications.
There are several reasons you may consider acting as your own registered agent. The most common is that doing so saves money. You don’t have to hire a third-party service provider, allowing you to commit more money to other aspects of your business.
Acting as your own registered agent also means you don’t have to deal with intermediaries. Important documents arrive directly at your doorstep with no delays. You may prefer this faster receipt if you can commit to sorting and organizing these documents.
Still, serving as your own LLC registered agent comes with several significant downsides, including:
Having your address on the public record and accessible to anyone
Needing to file new documents whenever you change your office address
Splitting your time between your agent duties and your business
Overlooking important documents and notifications in the plethora of mail
Maintaining normal business hours
Benefits of a Third-Party Registered Agent
You gain access to expertise with a third-party Colorado registered agent service such as Swyft Filings. A good agent service ensures timely access to essential documents while providing several benefits you don’t get when using an in-house agent.
1. Business Hours
While the need for a registered office to maintain regular business hours may not seem challenging initially, many businesses don’t keep these hours. Restaurants, bars, and nightclubs don’t work the standard 8 am to 5 pm. The same goes for many e-commerce stores and people who work from home.
You must stay open even when you’d otherwise be closed while working as your own registered agent. But with a third-party agent, you have a point of contact who can receive documents for your business even when your doors aren’t open.
Ultimately, this gives you more control over how you operate your business. You don’t need to stick to a registered agent’s regular hours when you work with a third party.
2. Privacy
Imagine meeting a client in your office, and a law enforcement official turns up with a service of process. You’ve just gotten served with documents indicating that somebody is suing you in front of somebody to whom you want to sell.
Worse yet, what if you work from home and use your street address as your registered office? That law enforcement official arrives on your doorstep, potentially in front of your neighbors.
You have no privacy when you serve as your own registered agent. Your address is on the public record, which means anybody can access it. When you use a third party, you gain a valuable barrier that prevents embarrassing situations.
3. Good Standing
Let’s assume you’ve assigned an employee as your Colorado registered agent. That’s all well and good until the employee leaves. When that happens, you must appoint a new agent, or your company falls out of good standing.
Alternatively, what if you change your office address? That means you’ve got to file with the Colorado Secretary of State again.
Keeping up with the filing needed to remain in good standing takes a lot of work. With a registered agent service, you get the consistency that ensures you don’t have to worry about your standing with the state.
4. Junk Mail
We mentioned earlier that being on the public record means anybody can access your registered office’s address. That includes marketers.
Marketers can send reams of junk mail to your office, which could obscure the crucial documents you need to see. You may miss a notification from the Secretary of State because it’s buried in spam. Alternatively, acting as your own agent when you work from home could lead to junk mail landing on your home’s doorstep.
Third-party registered agents are filters to eliminate the junk mail you don’t need to see.
5. Incorporation Advice
The best registered agent services offer far more than document organization. They include additional business services, including advice on business formation and what to do with your legal notices.
You can think of your third-party registered agent as an advisor. They have the experience and expertise to guide you through complex compliance issues. The result is that you face less hassle and reworking due to making fewer mistakes.
How to Set Up Your Colorado Registered Agent
New business owners need to know how to elect a registered agent to ensure they’re in good standing with the state. But you’re not out of the woods if you lead a Colorado LLC that already has an agent. You also need to know how to change your agent should the time come.
Electing a Colorado Registered Agent
Colorado differs from many states because it doesn’t allow business owners to use a paper form when electing a registered agent. You can only file online using the state’s Secretary of State website.[2]
While you can create an online account on the website, it isn’t required to file your forms. You also have to complete different forms depending on your business type.
Electing a Registered Agent for a Colorado LLC
You must complete the Articles of Organization form to elect a registered agent for an LLC.[3] This form is available for online filing, along with a helpful checklist for ensuring you follow the appropriate steps.[4]
Typically, the state fees for submitting this form are $50. However, Colorado reduced the LLC formation filing fees to $1 on July 1, 2022. This $1 fee will stay in place until June 30, 2023.
Electing a Registered Agent for a Colorado Corporation
When creating a corporation, you must file the Articles of Incorporation for a Profit Corporation form via the Colorado Secretary of State website.[5] Enter your registered agent’s name and contact information in the appropriate sections.
Once completed, submit the form online alongside a $50 filing fee.
Electing a Registered Agent for a Colorado Nonprofit
The formation document for a nonprofit corporation in the state is the Articles of Incorporation for a Nonprofit Corporation form.[6]
Ensure you enter your registered agent’s address, name, and other details requested when completing this form. Then, submit the form online along with a $50 filing fee payment.
Changing a Colorado Registered Agent
You may need to change your Colorado registered agent for a few reasons. Your elected agent may move out of state or simply no longer consent to acting in the role.
The Colorado Secretary of State makes it simple to amend your formation documents so you can assign a new registered agent. Unfortunately, you don’t have the option of sending your forms via mail or in person.
Follow these steps to change the registered agent for a Colorado LLC, corporation, or nonprofit:
Head to the Record Identification or I.D. Service database and enter your company’s name in the search box[7]
Locate and complete the Statement of Change - Changing the Registered Agent Information form[8]
Submit the Articles of Amendment form online and pay $10 in state fees
Avoid Penalties: Every business is legally required to have a registered agent in any state where it operates.
Prioritize Your Privacy: We go on record with the government so you don’t have to, meaning any legal actions come to us, not your home or office.
Stay Flexible: We are always available at a physical address during business hours, so you’ll never miss an official notice.
FAQs
Who can be a Colorado registered agent?
Individuals can serve as Colorado registered agents if they’re above 18 and have a physical address. A business entity can also serve as a registered agent, including your own business.
How much does a registered agent in Colorado cost?
Fees vary depending on the level of service the registered agent offers.
How can I change my registered agent in Colorado?
You must complete the Statement of Change - Changing the Registered Agent Information form online and submit it with a $10 filing fee.[8]
How can I find a registered agent in Colorado?
The Colorado Secretary of State’s website maintains a database of businesses and registered agents.[9] You can use this database to find registered agents.
What is a Colorado registered office?
A Colorado registered office is the physical address where your registered agent receives legal documents and important notifications.
What’s the difference between a registered agent and a resident agent or statutory agent?
Resident and statutory agents are synonyms for registered agents. However, a resident agent may also be authorized to act on behalf of a property they don’t own.
What is a registered agent service?
A registered agent service is a third party that fulfills the registered agent requirements on behalf of the business. Swyft Filings offers a reliable registered agent service that maintains your privacy, provides immediate access to vital documents, and gives you more time to focus on your business.
Bibliography
Colorado Secretary of State. “Business FAQs - Registered Agent.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Home.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Limited Liability Company (LLC).” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Checklist for Filing a Limited Liability Company Procedure.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Articles of Incorporation for a Profit Corporation.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Articles of Incorporation for a Nonprofit Corporation.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Record Identification or ID Search.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Statement of Change - Changing the Registered Agent Information.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
Colorado Secretary of State. “Advanced Search.” Accessed December 20, 2022.
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