Everything you need to register a foreign LLC in Colorado.
State filing fee$100one-time
Registered agent$125/yearbased on Northwest RA
Total, all in$550
Colorado data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · sos.state.co.usTotals include the $100 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Colorado recurring state costs over the selected period.
Foreign Qualification
Filing fee
$100
Form
Statement of Foreign Entity Authority
Annual obligation
$25/year
Processing time
Colorado files business organization documents online in real time: the Secretary of State states that a document submitted online is processed immediately after payment confirmation. Paper-only documents take 7 to 10 business days. Expedited service is a $150 paper-only line and these filings have no paper channel, so there is nothing to buy and nothing to wait for.
Expedite
$150 for a three business day turnaround, printed in the paper column of the fee schedule only. Colorado files business organization documents online in real time and the same schedule shows no paper channel for them, so this tier is not something a foreign registration can buy.
Estimated year 1 cost
$125
Note: Colorado registers foreign LLCs on a Statement of Foreign Entity Authority, filed online in 3-5 business days. The $25 periodic report is due in your anniversary month, and Colorado charges no franchise tax.
Colorado data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · sos.state.co.us
Formation in Colorado
Formation fee
$50
Annual cost
$25/year
State income tax
Flat 4.4% income tax
Privacy
High
Colorado requires no member or manager names on the Articles of Organization (C.R.S. 7-80-204). The annual Periodic Report updates the registered agent and principal office only.
What triggers foreign qualification in Colorado?
Physical office or place of business
Employees working in the state
Important to know
Colorado's periodic report is due in your anniversary month rather than on a fixed calendar date, so the deadline is different for every entity and there is no single statewide due date to remember.
Activities that do NOT require registration in Colorado
The following activities are explicitly carved out by statute. On their own, they do not require a foreign LLC to register in Colorado.
Maintaining, defending, or settling any proceeding or dispute on its own behalf
Holding meetings of its owners or managers, or carrying on other activities concerning its internal affairs
Maintaining bank accounts
Maintaining offices or agencies for the transfer, exchange, and registration of its own securities or owner's interests, or maintaining trustees or depositories for them
Selling through independent contractors
Soliciting or obtaining orders, by mail or electronic transmission, through employees or agents, if the orders require acceptance outside Colorado before they become contracts
Creating, as borrower or lender, or acquiring indebtedness
Creating, as borrower or lender, or acquiring mortgages or other security interests in real or personal property
Securing or collecting debts on its own behalf, or enforcing mortgages or security interests in property securing those debts
Owning real or personal property, and nothing more
Conducting an isolated transaction completed within 30 days that is not one of repeated transactions of a like nature
Transacting business or conducting activities in interstate commerce
For a foreign nonprofit corporation, granting funds or distributing information to its members
Under C.R.S. Section 7-90-801(2), thirteen items, applied to foreign LLCs through C.R.S. Section 7-80-901. The list is expressly non-exhaustive under subsection (3). Item (2)(f), the order-solicitation item, was amended by HB 21-1124 effective 2021-04-19 to its current electronic-transmission wording.
This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Colorado SOS before filing.