Legal, Business, Tax Advice, Etc.

The Business Division of the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office performs ministerial duties in connection with receiving and filing business and commercial records and documents. Our office holds these records for public inspection and, to a limited extent, enforces associated requirements, all in accordance with applicable law. We provide various electronic filings, search and certification services via our Web site along with other useful information; and we provide certain forms and related instructions to assist the public with electronic and paper filings and requests. Our office offers general guidance and assistance to the public regarding our duties, functions, procedures, practices and services.

You should not consider any guidance or assistance that you may receive from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, in any medium, to be legal, business or tax advice. Any such guidance or assistance is no substitute for the informed advice of competent legal, business, tax or other professional counsel. If you have substantive questions, you are encouraged to consult your private attorney, business or tax advisor, or other professional. The employees of the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office are not authorized to provide legal, business or tax advice.

Complying with the law pertaining to business entities, business names, trademarks, Uniform Commercial Code and other lien and notice filings, and other areas of law within the jurisdiction of the Colorado Secretary of State, can be challenging. Such compliance begins with ascertaining the relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case. These are often unique and are known only to the party interested in such compliance. The process then involves identifying, analyzing and interpreting all of the law applicable to the case under such facts and circumstances. That law includes the pertinent Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.), and any relevant rules, regulations and case law, and may include federal law and the law of other jurisdictions. Next, such compliance requires an application of that legal analysis to such facts and circumstances; reaching correct, prudent, legal conclusions, taking into account the intent of the interested party; and, finally, taking appropriate, timely action. Responsibility for such legal analysis and compliance rests solely with the interested party and not with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office has no duty to determine whether a document submitted for filing complies with any or all requirements of any law. Compliance with applicable law remains the responsibility of the user. Questions should be addressed to the user's attorney. If you do not have an attorney, you may obtain a referral from one of the following sources within the Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins area:

• Metropolitan Lawyer Referral Service: Denver/Boulder area, call 303 831 8000 or Fort Collins area, call 970 226 2455;
• The Denver Bar Association online at www.denbar.org.

For information on free or low-cost legal services, including direct representation, clinics and classes visit www.denbar.org/group/index.cfm?category=1050&EntityID=dba.

If you need a referral in another county within Colorado you may contact the Colorado Bar Association at 303 860 1115 or online at www.cobar.org/directory/index.cfm.

Publications

All publications made available by the Business Division of the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office are provided as a public service. By posting to this Web site, neither the Colorado Secretary of State nor the author(s) of these publications or articles are providing legal advice. All publications available on the Colorado Secretary of State's Web site, and any related instructions or documentation, are offered as a public service and no representation or warranty is made concerning the application of the legal or other principles discussed by the authors to any specific fact situation, nor is any prediction made concerning how any particular judge or other official will interpret or apply such principles.

The publications made available by the Secretary of State’s Office have been prepared by a number of authors over a period of years and published at differing times under differing circumstances. The information contained in the publications may be outdated or inaccurate and may be revised from time to time without notice. While the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office updates these materials periodically, no representation or warranty is made regarding the accuracy or reliability or concerning the application of the legal or other principles discussed by the author(s) to any specific fact situation. The proper interpretation or application of the principles discussed is a matter for the considered judgment of the user or his/her legal advisor, and the Colorado Secretary of State, the Colorado Department of State and its’ staff disclaims all liability therefore.

Compliance with applicable law remains the responsibility of the user. Questions should be addressed to the user's attorney.

Copyright

Some of the publications made available on this Web site are the intellectual property of the Colorado Secretary of State, and are protected by applicable law and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the Colorado Secretary of State. For contact information for the Colorado Secretary of State, click here.

Hyperlinks

The Colorado Secretary of State's Web site contains hyperlinks to other Web sites, including Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses. All hyperlinks are provided solely as a public service and neither the Colorado Secretary of State nor any employee of the State of Colorado warrants or endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services obtained through hyperlinks from the Colorado Secretary of State Web site. Neither the Colorado Secretary of State nor any employee of the Colorado Department of State shall be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information.

Revised June 15, 2007 at 8:30AM