Colorado Rules for Using a DBA Name

• Colorado allows businesses to operate as a DBA.colorado on a roll image by John Sfondilias from Fotolia.com
  
  Business owners and entrepreneurs in Colorado have a wide range of options in how they can go about forming their operations and running their companies. One option is to operate under a trade name. Business organizations can use a business or trade name, as long as they file with the Colorado secretary of state. Trade names are generally referred to as DBAs, short for "doing business as." Colorado law sets limits and requirements for anyone wishing to operate a business under a DBA name.
  
  

General

• Businesses in Colorado can use a trade name, sometimes referred to as a business or assumed name, as long as they file with the secretary of state's office. This is required for any business, including sole proprietors and limited liability companies. For example, if John Law decides to open a private security business as a sole proprietorship or LLC, he can file to register the name "Law Security" with the secretary of state. Once his application is registered, he can then do business as "Law Security" or "Law Security LLC,", depending on which business organization he applied for.
  
  

Filing Requirement

• Filing as a DBA requires the business owner to fill out the proper form and send it in to the secretary of state's office. The form requires the owner to disclose name, street address, mailing address, the trade name desired, a brief description of the kind of business transacted, the true name and mailing address of the person declaring the business, and the effective (delayed) date upon which the trade name will apply. The form must be filled out accurately, under penalty of perjury, and sent to the Colorado secretary of state's office. LLC registrants must also include information regarding how many members there are in the LLC and in whom the management rests.
  
  

Name Availability

• Colorado limits the names of businesses to prevent confusion, and anyone who wants to start a new business in the state must first check to see if the name is already in use. Go to www.sos.state.co.us/biz/FileDoc.do, click under "Reserve a Name" to see if a business name is available in Colorado.
  
  

Taxation

• Colorado DBA rules do not directly affect how any income earned by a business is treated by the IRS. Anyone starting a business must be able to show the business is legitimate to be able to avail themselves of all the allowable tax breaks. Filing as a DBA can help but is not sufficient. In general, you must show a profit motive to your venture or have a reasonable expectation to make a profit.