The first step to incorporating your business within the state of Colorado is to choose a corporate name. The name that you choose for your corporation must be distinguishable from any other business that is registered in the state of Colorado, this means it cannot be the same as or similar to any registered business or reserved name. Each corporation’s name must contain a term that allows it to be easily identifiable as a corporation.

Once you have chosen and reserved your corporation’s name you will need to fill out and file the articles of incorporation. When filling out the articles of incorporation you will need to include some specific information that is required by the state of Colorado. The first thing that you will need to include is the personal information of any of the incorporators of the corporation; this includes their name and address. The incorporators must also sing the articles of incorporation before they are filed. Articles of incorporation usually include the purpose of the corporation, but Colorado does not require you to include your corporation’s purpose. Most articles of incorporation include information on the directors of the corporation, but under Colorado formation requirements, you do not need to include this information.

Stock information must be included in the articles of incorporation. In the articles of incorporation, you must include the number of shares of stock that you will be issuing and the class of stock that you will be issuing. If your corporation plans to issue more than one class of stock, you will need to include the number of shares you wish to issue for each class of stock. Cumulative voting also needs to be addressed with the stock information. If your corporation does not want to use cumulative voting during the election of directors, that must be stated in the articles of incorporation under the stock information section.

Limited liability companies use an operating agreement to dictate the rules that will govern their business. A corporation does not have an operating agreement; instead, they have the articles of incorporation and the corporation’s bylaws. The articles of incorporation can include any regulations on the powers of the corporation, shareholders, or board of directors. The bylaws are adopted by the board of directors for the corporation to follow. In most cases, the bylaws are written so that the corporation’s business and affairs are handled in a specific manner. The one thing that you need to remember is that the bylaws cannot conflict with the corporation’s articles of incorporation.

The articles of incorporation must be filed with the Secretary of State to form the corporation, when filing the articles of incorporation a filing fee must be paid. The bylaws do not have to be filed with the state, but they do have to be kept on file at your corporation’s executive office.

An LLC can be opened with ease if you can adhere to a few rules and regulations governing the subject. The key to forming an LLC is to do it right with the proper paperwork within the given legal structure. There are slight changes in the rules and regulations that differ according to the state you are in. Therefore, when you are opening a LLC you should always refer to the legal requirements of your state. The steps that you can take to form a Limited Liability Company are as follows:

• The business has to be named in line with the rules that apply to LLCs in the particular state that it is going to be located
• The filing of the Articles of Organization and any fees attached to be done
• Having an operating agreement that sets out the rights as well as the responsibilities of the LLC members
• Some states require a public announcement of the intent to form an LLC
• All licenses and permits that relate to the business to be obtained

The business name

The name of the LLC has to be unique and should always end with ‘Limited Liability Company’. In each state they have certain words that people are barred from using in their names such as bank etc. You have to be careful of copyright laws when you register the name. Filing your articles of organization will automatically register the name.

The Articles of Organization

This can also be known as the ‘certification of formation’ or ‘certificate of organization’ and refers to the document that is required to form the LLC. Each state may have different requirements regarding this and also have fees which vary according to the state. Sometimes it is $100 and other states charge as much as $800 in addition to the filing fee as an annual tax.

Articles of organization carry the information relevant to the LLC and its members. Its location and other relevant details will be shown here.

Registered Agent

This person will be the one authorized by the LLC to act as its agent in all matters of ‘service or process’ and will be the one contacted in case of a legal dispute. This is usually a person who is a member of the LLC.

The Operating Agreement

Forming LLCs are usually done by Operating Agreements. This is where the rules and regulations of ownership, member’s rights, voting powers and responsibilities are set out among other things. In short it will show how the business is to be run and the procedure when dealing with specific situations the LLC faces from time to time. This includes all rules pertaining to the meetings of the organization as well as the procedure if a member wants to sell his interest in the organization.

Other requirements

In some states a public notice in a newspaper is required to do this over a period of time and then provide an ‘affidavit of publication’ to the LLC filing office. You are able to do this through your local newspaper. Every business requires that you obtain the necessary licenses and permits to operate the business.

Once you have completed the above steps you have officially filed the papers needed to establish a Limited Liability Company.