When you meet someone new, what’s the first thing you want to know about them? Their name. Your name is unique—it’s how people remember you.
The same goes for your Colorado business: choosing your name is the most important step of forming your company. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just picking the name you like best from a list. That works for babies, but not businesses. Colorado has several requirements that you’ll need to follow as you pick a name.
After brainstorming a business name either on your own or through a business name generator, you’ll want to make sure it is available in your state. That’s where this guide comes in. We’ll walk you through how to use the tool, and we’ll dig into a few ways you can make your name a complete success. Let’s get started.
Compare the Best Colorado LLC Services
How to Use the Colorado Business Name Search Tool
You’ve picked a name. You’re pretty sure it’s the one. But before you seal the deal, you’ll need to ensure that it’s available for you to use. To do so, you’ll need to use Colorado’s search tool. Technically, there are two different search options: the Name Availability Search and a Business Database Search. We’ll cover the details of these searches more later, but the Name Availability Search is the most important one.
But we’ll be honest. The tool isn’t exactly the most intuitive. You might be thinking, What’s next? If you don’t know what to do, this name search can be downright overwhelming. But with a few simple pointers, it can be a cinch.
1) Type in the name you’re hoping to use
When you’re using the Name Availability Search tool, you’ll need to type in the entire legal name, including the entity type designation. For example, if you’re going to call your business Carla’s Cupcakes, then you’d need to type in Carla’s Cupcakes, LLC or Carla’s Cupcakes Limited Liability Company.
2) Make sure the tool’s settings are correct
To get the most value out of your search, you’ll want to put the right settings on the tools. For the Name Availability Search tool, all you have to do is type in the desired name (including your entity identifier) and hit “search.” But if you look at the bottom of that page, you’ll see a link for the “Business Database Search.” This one doesn’t have any complicated instructions or settings, but it lets you run a keyword search (more on this in a minute).
3) Examine the search results
Now it’s time to look through the results. Do any exact matches appear? What about similar ones?
The Name Availability Search will tell you automatically if the name is available or not (although this is not a guarantee; it could change over time). The Business Database Search will either show “no results found,” or it’ll show records for the business that uses the name in question. The search tool works this way because all business names must be distinguishable on the record.
In layman’s terms that means your name cannot be the exact same as the name of another entity. But in Colorado, it doesn’t take much to make a name “distinguishable.” Here are the factors Colorado lists as things that make names distinct enough:
- Including or excluding an article, such as “an” or “the”
- Changing an abbreviation, including entity type identifiers
- Adding or excluding spacing
Punctuation and capitalization, however, don’t make a name distinguishable. So in general, names can be very similar to each other but still be legally distinct. For example, Colorado would allow “Carla’s Cupcakes, LLC” and “Carla’s Cupcakes, Limited Liability Company” to both operate as distinguishable businesses. “Carla’s Cupcakes, L.L.C.,” however, would not count as distinguishable.
But you wouldn’t want to use such similar names. After all, customers could get confused. And you want to make sure your business stands out. That’s why we recommend conducting a keyword search with the Business Database Search tool. Simply type in a keyword from your business name, and the tool will show you all the results that include that keyword. You can compare yours to the results and see how well your name stands out from the crowd. This second search isn’t a legal necessity, but we recommend it.
Next Steps for Your Colorado Business Name
The steps we’ve listed above are just the legal requirements for a Colorado LLC name. But this is your business name we’re talking about. You don’t want to just “get by.” You want to go the extra mile and make sure your name is as great as your business concept. You want to protect it, too.
Let’s talk about what you can do to protect (and thrive with) the name you’ve chosen.
1) Double-check that your name meets state requirements
Colorado’s search tool will only tell you if your name is available to begin with. It won’t, however, tell you if your name complies with state laws for your entity type. Here are some rules to name by:
- Your name may only use letters or symbols listed on Colorado’s Acceptable Characters page. Any other symbols are off-limits.
- Your name must include an abbreviation or wording that designates your entity type. For example, you must follow “Carla’s Cupcakes” with “L.L.C.,” “Limited Liability Company,” or some other label that shows you’re an LLC. Other business types will need to include an appropriate designation.
2) Make sure that your name stands out
The search tool will help you ensure that your name is available in Colorado. It won’t tell you if there are similar names, though. It also won’t search names in other states. The search tool simply isn’t designed to do that.
We recommend that you also browse through local phone books and do a Google search with your name. Internet search engines pull up results that are close matches to the terms you enter. That includes similar names and businesses in other states. For example, going back to our “Carla’s Cupcakes” example, Google pulls up a hit for a cupcake shop in Virginia.
If that happened to you, it wouldn’t be a make-or-break issue right away. After all, you’re just focused on Colorado results right now. That said, if you ever wanted to expand into other states later on, then you might encounter problems. Plus, having a truly unique name is a great selling point.
3) Make sure you like the name you’ve chosen
This might seem like an obvious one, but you don’t want to overlook it. You should like your business’s name. You should be proud to say it out loud, glad to write it down, excited when you hear someone say it…you get the idea.
Yes, you’re eager to start your business. But don’t get so excited that you settle on a lackluster name that makes you think, “meh.” If you don’t like the name, odds are your customers won’t, either.
A lot of guides will tell you to make sure your name is easy to say, easy to spell, memorable, and gives your customers a clear picture of what they can expect from your business. And those are all true tidbits of advice. Follow them. But at the end of the day, we think it’s important to pick a name that you like.
4) Protect your chosen name
By now you’ve put in a lot of work to craft the perfect name for your business. Let’s make sure that name doesn’t go to waste. Colorado gives you two methods to protect your name, and you can pick one or the other—not both.
For starters, you could file a Name Reservation Request form. There’s a $25 fee for this filing, but it gives you one year of exclusive use of your name without actually commencing your business. This is the perfect option if you’ve come up with an ideal name but you’re not quite ready to form your business yet.
But if you are all set to form your business, then you should go ahead and file the Articles of Organization. This one has a $50 filing fee, but it actually creates your business. And once your business is created, your name is protected, too.
5) Get a DBA or Trade Name (Optional)
The most important name for your business is your legal name; it’s the name you’ll fill in on your Articles of Organization. But many businesses choose to have a second name, often called a DBA or trade name. For instance, you might want to offer a second product line without renaming your entire business, or you just found a new nickname you like.
Technically speaking, registering your Trade Name doesn’t protect it; Colorado allows multiple businesses to operate under the same trade name. But you do need to register it so the state has a record of who’s doing business in the state. There’s a $20 fee, too.
Want more info? Get the full scoop on registering a trade name here.
Next Steps – Getting Started
We’ve gone into a lot of detail about searching for a Colorado business name in this guide, but here’s the deal: choosing an LLC name is just one step in the much bigger process of starting a business.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that goes into it, don’t panic. We’re here to help. You can catch the full guide to set up a Colorado LLC, but here’s the fly-by version:
Choose a business name
Every business in Alabama needs a name that’s both catchy and gives potential clients a good idea what the business does. The name also needs to be unique—both for legal reasons and so your business stands out from the competition.
Appoint your registered agent
Whether you elect to use a private Colorado registered agent, serve as your own, or you hire a service like the one we’ve listed here, you can’t skip this step. Without a registered agent, you won’t become a legitimate, registered entity.
File your formation documents
If you’re forming an LLC, you’ll need to file the Articles of Organizations; corporations file the Articles of Incorporation. Once you fill it out and file it, this document is what officially forms your business in the state. Both corporations and LLCs will pay a $50 filing fee. If you need help with this step, there are plenty of good Colorado LLC services online.
Beyond that, there are plenty of ongoing costs and maintenance requirements. We won’t go into a ton of detail here, though. Your registered agent (or online registered agent service) will help you keep tabs.
Conclusion
Pro Tip: If you have found the perfect business name and would like to begin the process of registering your business with the state, there are a lot of business formation services—like LegalZoom and Zen Business—that can do it for you. Plus, many of them also offer a free registered agent service when you set your business up through their platform.
Conducting a business name search is an important part of forming your business in Colorado. The search saves you time and helps you set up a name that makes your business stand out. We hope this guide made it simple to name your business.