There are several benefits to registering your business in Colorado. Whether you’re registering for the first time, or registering a foreign LLC or corporation, you will be required by the secretary of state to name a registered agent in Colorado. If we form your Colorado LLC or corporation, then you receive your first year of Colorado registered agent service for free. We will also send you reminders on when to file your periodic report, or even file it for you.
You may act as your own registered agent, but we don't think it is a good idea. If you act as your own registered agent, your home address and other information will be available online. This will likely lead to not only spam calls, but junk mail too. Consider us an inexpensive spam filter!
What is a registered agent?
The concept of a registered agent is simple. Their job is to be the public face of the company and to serve as the point of contact if someone needs to reach the company. Your registered agent is responsible for receiving and relaying official documents to the company. This responsibility is one you won't think much about it until something goes wrong, then it will be too late. That is why we recommend a professional Colorado registered agent service. This is a seemingly straightforward task, but a poor provider can wreak havoc. This is why we advise against choosing the cheapest registered agent you can find.
Registered Agent Requirement
You can act as your own registered agent if you have an address in Colorado that can accept legal documents, known as service of process, during regular business hours. You can even use your home address if it meets this requirement, but if you value your privacy you will not want to do this because the registered agent's name, address, phone, and email are published to the Secretary of State's website and are searchable by Google.
3 Things Every Registered Agent MUST Do
- Have a physical address in Colorado
- Be open during normal business hours
- Accept and relay important documents to the company
The registered agent accepts official documents, is informed of the need to file reports with the Secretary of State, and provides a public face to the company since it is their information that is published by the Colorado Secretary of State.
Your agent must have a physical address and cannot be a PO Box, Personal Mail Box (PMB) or virtual office. It also should NOT be a personal residence.
Can you be your own registered agent?
Some people try to save money, and think acting as their own registered agent will provide them the cheapest registered agent in Colorado. Unfortunately, if you act as your own registered agent you will not be able to keep your ownership of your company anonymous because you will have to list your home address, phone number, email, and name in the Secretary of State records for the entire world to see. There is no good reason to share your personal information publicly. Learn more about mail forwarding and virtual offices here.
4 Reasons NOT to be Your Own Agent:
- Your name, address, and phone will be posted and searchable online.
- You may not be around to receive important documents.
- Everyone will know who the owner of the company is: You!
- Being served with a lawsuit at your home is embarrassing!
Why use our Colorado Agent service?
- We Do Everything
- Remove Your Address From The Public Record
- Remove Your Name From The Public Record
- Periodic Report Filing
- Free Mail Forwarding
The Secretary of State requires you to maintain a registered agent in Colorado. You may be your own, though there are good reasons to choose a professional service.
The first reason applies to online companies, home businesses, consultants and similar industries. If you have no office, then your home address goes into the public record. This also means every time you move there's form and a fee.
Being your own agent also means possibly missing important mail because you're not around, or you may be forced to accept embarrassing lawsuits in front of employees or friends.
Our service saves you the above worries. Plus, when important reminders come due, or the State changes laws, we let you know.
Colorado Registered Agent FAQ
Your agent is in charge of forwarding important mail, including lawsuits. An agent who doesn't pay attention doesn’t care, or charges too little to have proper staffing will be unlikely to properly forward your urgent mail. Our order form even contains a line for your attorney's email. This way in the event of a lawsuit both you and your attorney will find out immediately. Little things like this can make a big difference between cheap agents and professional registered agent services.
We make changing agents simple because we do everything. Just complete our order form. You will be automatically logged into the portal where we upload any documents we receive from you. We file your agent change the same day and it is effective immediately. After that, we won't bug you again until we have mail or your periodic report is due.
If forming yourself, then you need to buy our service prior to filing. Read our guide to incorporating in Colorado here. Forming the company yourself places your information into the public record. To preserve your privacy consider having us form your Colorado LLC or Corporation. New company formations receive their first year of agent service free. We handle everything and your company will be running within the day.
There are many ways to refer to registered agents. Each designates the address or person in charge of receiving official correspondence from the state. These interchangeable terms include registered office address, resident agent, statutory agent, and agent for service of process. Our Secretary of State formally refers to them as registered agents in Colorado.
Then your address and name will be made public. You may also have to accept embarrassing documents in front of others, or may not be around to accept important documents when they arrive.
The Colorado Secretary of State requires you to have an agent. They provide a grace period if you lose your agent for any reason. They will act as your agent in CO during this time. After this grace period, your company will be administratively dissolved and there is a fee to bring it back.
AUTHOR
Jonathan Feniak, Esq., MBA
Jonathan is admitted to practice law in Colorado and Wyoming. In this position, he helps business owners at nearly every level and in nearly every industry with asset protection, estate planning, and business formation. Beyond business owners, Jonathan also helps activists of all political persuasions to legally protect themselves.
