How many new businesses start in Colorado each year?

The Census Bureau counted 166,950 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +20.0% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.

What if the Colorado registry shows an inactive company with my name?

Only active registrations block a name. Of the 3.11 million entities in our copy of the Colorado registry, 1.03 million are active. A dissolved entity's name is usually available — but check whether Colorado allows reinstatement, which can revive the older claim.

Does a Colorado registration protect my name in other states?

No. It protects the name inside Colorado's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the Colorado lookup.

What does a Colorado LLC name have to end with?

One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited Liability Co.. The checker searches the name with and without the suffix, because the suffix alone never makes a name distinguishable.

Can I reserve a business name in Colorado before I file?

Yes. The Colorado Secretary of State charges $25 to reserve a name for 120 days. A reserved name shows as taken to everyone else's search.

How much does it cost to register a business name in Colorado?

The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $50 for an LLC and $50 for a corporation, then periodic report, $10, due in the anniversary month.

Colorado business name generator — every idea checked against Secretary of State records

Colorado runs an online-only registry where a filing is accepted the moment you submit it — there is no examiner reading your name first. That speed cuts both ways: nothing stops two similar names from being filed minutes apart, so the distinguishability check is yours to do before you click.

Run the Colorado check — One search covers the Colorado registry, federal trademarks and the domain. Free, no signup.

Help me name my business →

How to land a name that's actually available in Colorado

Start with the registry. Search the Colorado registry for the exact name; it's the check that decides whether you can file at all.
Then the two checks the state doesn't do. A federal trademark reaches across state lines, and the .com decides whether customers find you — both run here automatically.
Lock it in. Colorado will hold it for 120 days for $25. The system of record is the Colorado Secretary of State; confirm there before paying a filing fee.

Already have a name in mind?

You don't have to start from ideas — the same checker verifies a specific name. Enter the exact name you're considering and it's searched against the Colorado registry, federal trademark filings, and domain registrars in one pass.

Check a specific name →

Inside the Colorado registry

There are 3.11 million entities in our copy of the Colorado registry: 72% LLCs, 22% corporations and 4% nonprofits. About 1.03 million of them are active; the rest are dissolved or otherwise inactive — and only the active ones block a name.

The most common words in Colorado business names are Services, Group, Consulting, Enterprises, Solutions and Properties. A name built from those is competing with thousands of near-neighbours — fine for a search, harder for a filing. 64% of names end in an LLC designator. The average registered name is 23.2 characters long.

Name ideas that fit Colorado — and clear its registry

Registry data says what NOT to build a Colorado name from: Services, Group, Consulting, Enterprises and Solutions are the most-used words in the state's registered names, so a name leaning on them will have dozens of near-neighbours. The generator treats those as background noise and favours combinations the registry hasn't seen.

When an idea clears, Colorado lets you hold it: a name reservation costs $25 and lasts 120 days — enough time to finish the paperwork without watching the name every morning.

Remember the suffix: a Colorado LLC name has to end in LLC, L.L.C. and Limited Liability Company, and the generator appends it before checking so what you see is what you'd file.

Colorado naming rules: what the Colorado Secretary of State will and won't accept

Colorado applies one test to every proposed name: it must be distinguishable on the records of the Secretary of State. In practice that means a name that differs from an existing one only by punctuation, spacing, capitalization or the entity suffix will be refused. Designators are fixed: LLC, L.L.C. and Limited Liability Company for an LLC, Corporation, Corp. and Incorporated for a corporation.

A few words are gated. In Colorado that list includes Bank, Trust, Insurance, Credit Union and Savings and Loan — using one implies a regulated activity and the filing will be held until the relevant regulator consents.

The fees are straightforward: forming an LLC costs $50, a corporation $50 and a name reservation is $25 and holds the name for 120 days. Online only; filings are immediate.

Keeping it: Periodic report, $10, due in the anniversary month. Miss it and the entity slides to an inactive status — at which point the name can be taken by someone else.

Per the Colorado Secretary of State, (303) 894-2200 — official website (fee schedule). Fees change; confirm before filing.

How busy is Colorado right now?

Businesses in Colorado filed 166,950 new business applications in the twelve months to August 2026 — +20.0% on the year before, the 12th-highest total of any state and 28.0 per 1,000 residents (ranked 5th per person). April was the busiest month with 19,148 applications, and Colorado accounts for 2.7% of all U.S. filings.

That's the crowd your name has to stand apart from — the generator scores ideas against what's already registered, not against a blank slate.

What America names its businesses — 26 million registered names decoded →

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly, not seasonally adjusted). 2019 comparison: 86,458 applications in calendar 2019.

What people are checking in Colorado

Over the last three months, visitors ran 21 Colorado checks here, and 86% of them came back clear at the state level. The words that came up most: Shack, Bakery, Sugar, Sweets and Nails. (Aggregate figures only — we don't publish individual searches.)

What makes a name available in Colorado?

It must be distinguishable from names already on the Colorado registry — usually more than a difference in punctuation, spacing, or an entity suffix.
Only active registrations block a name. A dissolved or revoked entity with the same name typically doesn't stop you — though a recently inactive one can carry a reinstatement risk worth knowing about (our checker flags exactly that case).
Entity suffixes are required, not decorative. An LLC's legal name must carry an LLC designator; a corporation needs Inc., Corp., or an equivalent accepted in Colorado.
Registry clearance is not trademark clearance. The Colorado Secretary of State checks its own records only — it will register a name that infringes a federal trademark. Check both.

Note: naming rules, fees, and reservation windows are set by Colorado statute and change over time — treat the Colorado Secretary of State's own guidance as final for filing decisions. This page is a practical guide, not legal advice.

About the Colorado Secretary of State

The Colorado Secretary of State maintains Colorado's registry of corporations, LLCs, and other registered entities — it is the system of record for Colorado business names. Useful official resources:

Official Colorado business entity search — the state's own lookup.
Colorado Secretary of State — official website — filings, forms, fees, and contact details.

Confirming the result on the Colorado Secretary of State's site

Treat the checker as the fast filter and the state's own search as the final word. Once a name comes back clear here, open the Colorado entity search and type the name the way it will appear on the formation document — designator and all. Read down the list of matches rather than stopping at "no exact match": look at each record's status (only active ones block you) and at how close the spelling is, because Colorado rejects near-duplicates as well as duplicates. If the name is still clear, reserve it or file the same day; registrations are first-come, first-served and the registry moves daily.

Frequently asked questions

How many new businesses start in Colorado each year?: The Census Bureau counted 166,950 business applications in the twelve months to August 2026, +20.0% on the year before. Not every application becomes a registered entity, but each one is a name someone intends to use.
What if the Colorado registry shows an inactive company with my name?: Only active registrations block a name. Of the 3.11 million entities in our copy of the Colorado registry, 1.03 million are active. A dissolved entity's name is usually available — but check whether Colorado allows reinstatement, which can revive the older claim.
Does a Colorado registration protect my name in other states?: No. It protects the name inside Colorado's registry only. Nationwide protection comes from a federal trademark, which is why the checker runs the USPTO search alongside the Colorado lookup.
What does a Colorado LLC name have to end with?: One of the state's accepted designators — LLC, L.L.C., Limited Liability Company and Limited Liability Co.. The checker searches the name with and without the suffix, because the suffix alone never makes a name distinguishable.
Can I reserve a business name in Colorado before I file?: Yes. The Colorado Secretary of State charges $25 to reserve a name for 120 days. A reserved name shows as taken to everyone else's search.
How much does it cost to register a business name in Colorado?: The name itself is free to search. Filing the entity is what costs money: $50 for an LLC and $50 for a corporation, then periodic report, $10, due in the anniversary month.
Are there words I can't use in a Colorado business name?: Words that imply a regulated business need consent first. In Colorado that includes Bank, Trust, Insurance, Credit Union and Savings and Loan. Names that suggest a government agency are refused outright.

Already have a name? Run the Colorado Secretary of State business search to see if it's taken.

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