Helpful Year-End Filing Tips
Delayed Effective Dates
Online Filing of Business Documents
Online Filing of UCC Financing and EFS Statements
Troubleshooting
A delayed effective date is designed to allow customers to file certain business documents up to ninety (90) days in advance of the effective date of the document. A delayed effective date may be indicated for a document available for filing online, such as articles of incorporation, as well as paper filed documents.
As an example of an online filing, if a customer needed articles of incorporation to be effective at 8:00 A.M. on January 1, 2010, since the Secretary of State’s website will be unavailable at that time and the office is not open on that date, the customer could file the document electronically prior to January 1, 2010, and specify that the articles of incorporation are to become effective on January 1, 2010, at 8:00 A.M.
As an example of a paper filing, if a customer needed the effective date of a statement of merger to be December 25, 2009, since the office of the Secretary of State is not open on that date, the customer could submit their document prior to December 25, 2009, and specify that the statement of merger becomes effective on December 25, 2009. Please note that documents must be received in our office prior to the desired date; postmark dates are not sufficient.
Online Filing of Business Documents
Annual Reports
An annual report can be filed online at our website up to two months in advance of the date it is due. For example, an annual report due October 1, 2009, may be filed as early as August 1, 2009. It is better to file annual reports prior to the last day of the month in order to avoid increased Internet filing traffic. Heavy traffic on the website may prevent the online filing of some annual reports. Annual reports not filed by the due date will be subject to late fees.
Please note that online filing will not be available between 11:30 P.M. on Thursday, December 31, 2009 and 12:00 noon on Friday, January 1, 2010. If you plan to file online on December 31st, be sure to complete the e-filing process before 11:30 P.M. or the transaction will be terminated prior to completion.
To file an annual report, visit our website at www.sos.state.co.us, and click on “Business” under the Divisions column. On the Business Division home page, click on “File an annual report” under the Business Organization Information column.
Other Business Documents
Additional business documents may be filed from the “File a document…” links on the Business Division home page.
To file a document creating a new record:
- Visit the Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.state.co.us, and click on "Business".
- On the home page, refer to the “Business Organizations Information” column and click on “File a document creating a new record”.
- On the “File a Document” page, click on the name of the document you wish to file and follow the onscreen instructions.
Also, you may file a document affecting an existing record. To file these documents or other transactions affecting an existing record online:
- Visit the Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.state.co.us, and click on "Business".
- On the home page, refer to the “Business Organizations Information” column and click on “File a document affecting an existing record”.
- Search for the entity.
- Confirm the entity.
- On the “Documents Available for Filing” page, click on the name of the document to be filed.
- Complete the form/cover sheet and follow the onscreen instructions.
The processing fee may be paid by using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit or debit card, or by using a prepaid account. If filing articles of incorporation, articles of organization, a combined certificate of limited partnership and statement of registration for a LLLP, a statement of registration for a LLP, or a statement of registration for a LLLP, a free certificate of good standing may be obtained online immediately upon confirmation of the filing.
Online Filing of UCC Financing and EFS Statements
Secured transactions records can be filed online at our website. If you already have a user account, click on the "File a UCC or EFS Record" link from the Business Division home page, log in, and follow all of the steps to complete your filing.
If you need to create a user account, click on the “Create and Manage a User Account" link under the “General Information” column on the Business Division home page. Click on “Create a User Account,” and then click on the "Create an Account" link located under the state seal. After completing and saving the information entered, click on the "Business" link at the top of the page and proceed to the "File a UCC or EFS Record" link.
For more information about user accounts, visit the UCC FAQs, which can be found by clicking on the “FAQs, Glossary and Other Helpful Information” under the “General Information” column on the Business Division home page.
Please note that online filing will not be available between 11:30 P.M. on Thursday, December 31, 2009, and 12:00 noon on Friday, January 1, 2010. If you plan to file on December 31, please make sure you complete the e-filing process before 11:30 P.M. or the transaction will be terminated prior to completion.
Information as to which web browsers and web browser versions our website presently supports can be found by clicking on the “Helpful Filing Tips and Troubleshooting Information” link on the Business Division home page under ”FAQs, Glossary and Other Helpful Information”. For more helpful information about online filing, or specific information on filing your annual report online, please read the relevant sections of our FAQs, which can be found on the Business Division home page, under "FAQs, Glossary and Other Helpful Information".
Published December 4, 2009 at 10:00 AM