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Formation ClassClass is in session: LLC paperwork, state by state.

Class 1 · Colorado

Colorado LLC Formation Class (2026): 7 Assignments and the 3 Best LLC Services

Graded for 2026, the best help with starting an LLC in Colorado comes from Colorado Registered Agent.co ($199), Mainstay Filing ($199) and CO Registered Agent.org ($199), in that order. Starting the LLC means 7 assignments and $50 to the state, then the periodic report every year.

Taught by the Formation Class faculty

Class overview

State filing fee$50Source for this: coloradosos.gov, October 2026
Periodic report$25 a yearHand-in date: last day of the entity's anniversary month
Three-year state cost$100Filing plus the repeating state fees
Assignment count7Listed below

By the end you will know

  • What Colorado charges for a new LLC and where the filing goes
  • What the agent rule says
  • What happens once the LLC exists
  • Our recommendations, with reasons

Who we would hire in Colorado

Tuition over three years leads, then homework done, year-two tuition, Colorado fit and readable fees (grading page).
Best overall

1. Colorado Registered Agent.co: best for Colorado LLCs with a small budget

Formation $199, renewal $99 yearly

Colorado Registered Agent.co earns the top grade in Colorado: the Colorado LLC is formed for $199 with the agent covered in year one, and the agent renews at $99.

Mainstay Filing loses to it on three-year tuition, and tuition is a big slice of the grade.

You still file the periodic report every year.

Covered by the tuition

  • The filing is done for you
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • No agent fee in year one
  • The agent renews at $99
  • $199 and the state fee

Weak spots

  • No periodic report service on offer
  • Help with the EIN is $99 more
All fifty states

2. Mainstay Filing: best for having the periodic report filed by someone else

First year $199; renewal $199; state fee extra

Mainstay Filing makes a respectable second: its $199 yearly tuition pays for the filing, the registered agent and the periodic report, and next year costs the same $199.

A $200 gap to Colorado Registered Agent.co over three years decides where it lands.

You never touch the periodic report; the $25 state fee is passed through and nothing more.

Covered by the tuition

  • Formation filing prepared and sent
  • Registered agent for the whole year
  • Periodic report filed on time
  • EIN application included
  • State fee at cost

Strengths

  • No extra charge for the EIN application
  • $199 per year for the whole package
  • Renews for $199

Weak spots

  • $100 a year more than Colorado Registered Agent.co at renewal
Colorado specialist

3. CO Registered Agent.org: best for owners who prefer to do their own reports

Formation $199, renewal $99 yearly

CO Registered Agent.org makes a respectable third: the Colorado LLC is formed for $199 with the agent covered in year one, and the agent renews at $99.

You still file the periodic report every year.

It charges exactly what Colorado Registered Agent.co charges.

Covered by the tuition

  • The filing is done for you
  • A year of agent service is part of the price

Strengths

  • The agent renews at $99
  • $199 and the state fee
  • No agent fee in year one

Weak spots

  • No periodic report service on offer
  • Help with the EIN is $99 more

3 services, side by side

#ServiceFirst yearFrom year twoThree-year total
1Colorado Registered Agent.co$199$99/yr$397Visit Colorado Registered Agent.coPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
2Mainstay Filing$199$199/yr$597Visit Mainstay FilingPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
3CO Registered Agent.org$199$99/yr$397Visit CO Registered Agent.orgPartner link. We may earn money if you buy.
Prices come from each company's own site, read November 13, 2026. The $50 state fee is left out of these figures.

Formation in order

  1. Assignment
    1

    Name the company

    Your first assignment is a name search at the Colorado Secretary of State, so you do not file under a name that someone else uses.

    Have a runner-up name ready in case the first is taken.

  2. Assignment
    2

    Name the registered agent

    Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address. A person 18 or older whose home or usual place of business is in Colorado (since July 1, 2025 the person has to hold a Colorado driver's license or ID or otherwise verify residency), or a business entity in good standing with a usual place of business in Colorado. The agent has to consent.

    The address has to be a physical address in Colorado, either a home or a usual place of business. P.O. boxes are not accepted.

    All of the graded services provide a registered agent.

    Textbook page: Source for this: sos.state.co.us, October 2026

  3. Assignment
    3

    File on your own or hire a service

    Skip the service and you pay the state $50. Use one of the graded services and you pay $199 more to skip the forms.

  4. Assignment
    4

    Work up the Articles of Organization

    Your homework here is the Articles of Organization. It is addressed to the Colorado Secretary of State and costs $50.

    Textbook page: Source for this: coloradosos.gov, October 2026

  5. Assignment
    5

    Request an Employer Identification Number

    After Colorado approves the LLC, ask the IRS for an Employer Identification Number; banks and payroll providers need it. This assignment is inside the Mainstay Filing package.

  6. Assignment
    6

    Prepare the operating agreement

    Owners sign it to settle shares, votes and what happens when a member leaves. It is private and never filed.

  7. Assignment
    7

    Stay in good standing in Colorado

    To stay active, send in the periodic report every year ($25) by last day of the entity's anniversary month. Late filings bring $50.

    Textbook page: Source for this: coloradosos.gov, October 2026

What each assignment costs in Colorado

ItemWho gets paidPrice
Formation feeState agency$50
Periodic reportState agency$25 every year
Missing the deadlineState agency$50
A filing service (optional)Your service$199 for year one
State total across three yearsState agency$100
The state's fees come from official pages, listed below. Added up over three years they are the filing, two reports and, in a few states, a minimum tax.

How we graded the Colorado picks

What decided it was tuition across three years, which carries 30% of the grade.

Three years with Colorado Registered Agent.co add up to $397, which is $200 under Mainstay Filing.

What students ask

Which Colorado fees come with a new LLC?

Plan on $50 to file. Hire a service and add $199.

Which form creates the LLC?

Once the Colorado Secretary of State has accepted the Articles of Organization, your LLC is real.

Is a registered agent required?

Every LLC must name a registered agent with an in-state street address.

What does Colorado require each year?

Mark the periodic report on your calendar: $25, every year, last day of the entity's anniversary month.

Can I form the LLC without a service?

Nothing stops you. Colorado wants $50, and the LLC has to name a registered agent, which you can do yourself or hire out.

Which LLC service should a first-time founder use?

The grade order is Colorado Registered Agent.co, Mainstay Filing and CO Registered Agent.org, and Colorado Registered Agent.co is first since a formation fee of $199, followed by $99 a year for the agent.

Keep learning

Textbook pages and extra reading

  1. Study tip for Colorado Secretary of State: everything above comes from sos.state.co.us, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  2. Study tip for Colorado Secretary of State: everything above comes from sos.state.co.us, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  3. Study tip for Colorado yearly filing: Periodic report, official source: everything above comes from coloradosos.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  4. Study tip for Colorado report due date: everything above comes from colorado.public.law, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  5. Study tip for Colo: everything above comes from sos.state.co.us, which we reread in August 2026. Open it and follow along.
  6. Study tip for Colorado formation fee: Filing fee, official source: everything above comes from coloradosos.gov, which we reread in October 2026. Open it and follow along.
  7. Colorado Registered Agent.co's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026
  8. Mainstay Filing's Colorado service page, read on November 13, 2026
  9. CO Registered Agent.org's pricing page, read on November 13, 2026