Vanessa Photography · Vanessa Jo Hernandez

The Colorado Department of State (CDOS) is Colorado's central filing office for corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and business trusts. A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a name that a business uses for trading commercial products or services. A business may also use its registered, legal name for contracts and other formal purposes. A trade name is an assumed name used to identify the business or activities of an individual or organization. Sometimes a trade name is referred to as a doing business as, DBA, or assumed name.

A for-profit business not using the entity's true name or an individual not using their legal first and last name to conduct business in Colorado is required to file a trade name. The following is a list of persons required to file: Individual (e.g., sole proprietorship), Non-Reporting Entity (e.g., general partnership), Estate, Trust, State, or Other Jurisdiction, Reporting Entity (e.g., corporation or limited liability company), Domestic Limited Partnership, Dissolved or Delinquent Reporting Entity or a Converted Entity. Trade names are not distinguishable or unique, so more than one person can file the same trade name.

Each trade name is registered with trade name ID, trade name description, trade name form, effective date, first name, middle name, last name, suffix, registrant organization, street address, city, state, zip, country, mailing address, mailing city, mailing state, mailing zip, mailing country, date added, entity status, entity form date, etc.

The Colorado Information Marketplace (CIM) is the central online home for state open data, giving the public greater access to public data and increasing transparency in government operations. By opening up public data, Colorado is providing fuel for entrepreneurs, researchers, and citizens to build innovative solutions and create insights.