How to start a nonprofit in Colorado

How to start a nonprofit in Colorado, step by step

1. Name your Colorado nonprofit

   No corporate ending is required. Corporation, Inc., Company, Limited and their abbreviations may be included but do not have to be, so a Colorado nonprofit can simply be named for what it does. The name must be distinguishable from entities already on record. A reservation costs $25.

2. Choose your first board of directors

   Plan on at least three people who are not related to each other. Some states allow fewer on paper, but three unrelated directors is what the IRS application works best with, and what funders expect. Pick people who will actually show up.

3. File your Articles of Incorporation (nonprofit)

   File online with the Secretary of State for $50. Colorado is online-first: all filings go through the state's portal and post immediately. There is a $150 expedite fee, but it applies only to paper submissions, so paying it is usually a mistake.

4. Name your registered agent

   Colorado requires a registered agent located in the state at a physical street address, not a post office box, and the agent must consent to the appointment.

5. Adopt bylaws and hold your first board meeting

   Bylaws are your internal rulebook: how directors are chosen, how votes work, what officers you have. At the first meeting the board adopts them, elects officers, and approves opening a bank account. Keep minutes; they are your first governance record.

6. Get your free EIN

   It is free from the IRS; any site charging for an EIN is reselling a free thing. Apply online if your responsible party has an SSN or ITIN and your principal place of business is in the US. It takes minutes. Three limits to know: one EIN per responsible party per day, the tool is not open around the clock, and it times out after 15 minutes with nothing saved. Without an SSN or ITIN you file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead, which takes weeks. You need the EIN for the bank account and every filing after this.

7. Apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

   Two forms, two fees. The short Form 1023-EZ has a $275 user fee, but you may use it only if you clear the whole Eligibility Worksheet. That means three things. Gross receipts did not exceed $50,000 in any of the past three years. They are not projected to exceed $50,000 in any of the next three years. And total assets are $250,000 or less. Churches, schools, hospitals and a few other types cannot use it at all. Everyone else files the full Form 1023, $600. This is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. The IRS currently issues 80 percent of 1023-EZ decisions within about 22 days and 80 percent of full 1023 decisions within about 191 days. It publishes current figures on its status page. Fees read 1 September 2026.

8. Handle Colorado taxes

   Colorado does not run a separate income tax exemption application; the state works from your federal determination. For sales tax, file form DR 0715, the Application for Sales Tax Exemption for Colorado Organizations. There is no fee and the certificate does not expire. You will need your IRS determination letter, your latest financial statement, your Colorado articles, and a current Certificate of Good Standing.

9. Register to fundraise

   Register with the Secretary of State's Charities and Fundraisers program before soliciting: $10 to register, $10 to renew annually, $10 to amend. Renewal is due the 15th day of the fifth month after fiscal year end, matching the federal Form 990 deadline, with an automatic three-month extension and a second one available on request. Organizations under $25,000 in gross revenue for the fiscal year are exempt, as are organizations receiving contributions from ten or fewer people. Government and 501(c)(3) grants do not count toward the $25,000.

10. Stay in good standing

    File a Periodic Report each year with the Secretary of State, $25. It is keyed to your anniversary month, not a calendar date, and you can file from two months before to two months after without penalty. Miss the window and the entity goes Delinquent; curing that costs $100, four times the report itself.

Colorado-specific things to know

1. Soliciting unregistered costs thirty times the registration

   Registration is $10. The fine for soliciting as an unregistered charity is $300, and unregistered paid solicitors face $1,000. Nowhere else is the gap between compliance and penalty this wide.

2. The expedite fee is a trap

   The $150 expedite applies to paper filings only. Online filings post immediately at no extra cost, so there is nothing to buy.

3. The periodic report fee rose in 2024

   It went from $10 to $25 on 1 July 2024. Any checklist or budget written before then has the wrong number, and there are a lot of those still circulating.

General information for people starting a nonprofit in Colorado, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and fees are updated; confirm specifics with the Colorado offices named on this page, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.

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Sources: Colorado SOS business fee schedule; Colorado charity registration FAQ; Colorado periodic report FAQ; Colorado DOR certificates of exemption. Read 1 September 2026.