Start a nonprofit · Colorado
How to Start a Nonprofit in Colorado
Colorado charges $50 to file nonprofit articles and $25 for the periodic report, and it keeps charity registration cheap: $10 to register, $10 to renew. The rule worth knowing is the threshold. A charity that neither intends to raise nor actually raises more than $25,000 in gross revenue in a fiscal year is exempt from registering, and so is one that receives contributions from ten or fewer people.
Every fee and rule on this page was checked against the agency's own publication on November 8, 2026. Sources are linked under each item.
At a glance
The Colorado requirements in one table.
| Type of entity | A Colorado nonprofit corporation, created by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State. Sources: SOS business fee schedule |
|---|---|
| State filing fee | $50 online for articles of incorporation of a nonprofit corporation. The schedule is revised July 1, 2024 and says fees are subject to change without notice. Sources: SOS business fee schedule |
| Board size | One or more directors, with the exact number set in the bylaws, under C.R.S. 7-128-103. This comes from an uncertified printout of the Act, so confirm the current text before relying on it. Sources: Nonprofit Corporation Act |
| Federal exemption | Form 1023 ($600) or Form 1023-EZ ($275), filed electronically on Pay.gov. Sources: IRS fee page, IRS e-filing notice |
| Periodic report | $25 online, with a separate $50 penalty for filing late. Sources: SOS business fee schedule |
| Charity registration | Required for charities that solicit in Colorado, unless they fit an exemption. The fee is $10 for new registration and $10 for the annual renewal. Sources: SOS charities FAQ, SOS charities fee schedule |
The steps
Four steps, in the order they happen.
Decide on a board and prepare the articles.
Under C.R.S. 7-128-103, a board of directors consists of one or more directors, and the bylaws set the number or a range. That text comes from an uncertified printout of the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, so confirm the current statute before you rely on it.
The Secretary of State publishes instructions for filing a document. Read them before filing, because the office is strict about the formal contents of a filing.
Sources: Nonprofit Corporation Act
File the articles and pay $50.
The online filing fee for articles of incorporation of a nonprofit corporation is $50. The fee schedule also lists expedited service at $150 as a paper-filing fee, in addition to the base filing fee, fulfilled within three business days.
Sources: SOS business fee schedule
Apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status.
Forming a Colorado corporation does not make it tax-exempt. The federal application is Form 1023, with a $600 user fee, or the shorter Form 1023-EZ, with a $275 user fee, for smaller organizations that pass the eligibility worksheet in the form instructions. Both are filed electronically on Pay.gov, and the IRS returns paper applications. The IRS notes that the amounts can change.
The IRS answers with a determination letter, the written ruling that recognizes the exemption.
Sources: IRS fee page, IRS e-filing notice
Register as a charity before you solicit, if it applies.
Charitable organizations that solicit contributions in Colorado, have contributions solicited on their behalf, or take part in a charitable sales promotion must register. They file before any solicitation campaign or charitable sales promotion. The Secretary of State reviews each registration and responds within ten days, and the organization may begin soliciting once approved.
The fee is $10 for a new registration number. Failing to file a renewal carries a $60 fine, and soliciting while unregistered carries a $300 fine. The exemptions are in the section below.
Sources: SOS charities FAQ, SOS charities fee schedule
Charity registration exemptions
Who does not have to register as a charity.
These come from the Secretary of State's charities FAQ. Confirm your own situation with the Charities Team at [email protected] or 303-894-2200.
Under $25,000.
A charity that neither intends nor actually raises gross revenue over $25,000 in a fiscal year is exempt. Government grants and grants from 501(c)(3) organizations are excluded from that calculation.
Sources: SOS charities FAQ
Ten or fewer contributors.
A charity that receives contributions from ten or fewer persons in a fiscal year is exempt.
Sources: SOS charities FAQ
Churches.
Organizations that qualify as churches under federal tax rules are exempt, including integrated auxiliaries and church-affiliated schools below college level that do not file IRS Form 990. Religious organizations that file Form 990 must register.
Sources: SOS charities FAQ
Member-only solicitation.
Organizations that only solicit their members are likely exempt. Bona fide membership dues generally are not considered contributions.
Sources: SOS charities FAQ
Out-of-state and online organizations.
These are not exempt by default. An out-of-state nonprofit is treated as a foreign entity and first files a Statement of Foreign Entity Authority. An organization soliciting online must register unless exempt.
Sources: SOS charities FAQ
After you form
Staying in good standing.
Two things recur: the periodic report and the charity renewal.
File the periodic report every year.
Your due month appears on the entity's Summary page under Periodic report month, and you can file up to two months before or two months after that month without a penalty. The fee is $25 online, and a late filing carries a $50 penalty. File even if nothing has changed. Timely filing keeps the entity in Good Standing, and an unfiled report makes its status Delinquent.
Sources: SOS periodic reports FAQ, SOS business fee schedule
Renew the charity registration.
The annual registration renewal fee is $10, and failing to file the renewal carries a $60 fine. The renewal timing is on the Secretary of State's filing notice schedule.
Sources: SOS charities fee schedule, SOS charities FAQ
Reinstate if the entity falls out of good standing.
Reinstatement costs $100 online.
Sources: SOS business fee schedule
Common questions
Quick answers.
How much does it cost to start a nonprofit in Colorado?
The government fees are $50 to the Secretary of State plus the IRS user fee, which is $275 for Form 1023-EZ or $600 for Form 1023. That totals $325 or $650 as of the date this page was verified. Charity registration adds $10 if it applies.
How many directors does a Colorado nonprofit need?
C.R.S. 7-128-103 says one or more, with the bylaws setting the number. That comes from an uncertified printout of the Act, so confirm the current text.
Do I have to register to raise money in Colorado?
If the charity solicits in Colorado, yes, unless it fits an exemption. A charity that neither intends nor actually raises more than $25,000 in gross revenue in a fiscal year, excluding government and 501(c)(3) grants, is exempt, as is one that receives contributions from ten or fewer people.
What happens if a Colorado nonprofit solicits without registering?
The fee schedule lists a $300 fine for soliciting while unregistered and a $60 fine for failing to file a renewal.
After the filing
What comes next for a Colorado nonprofit.
The state filing is the short part. These are the next four jobs, and the book that handles each.
- Book I
Get the federal application and first-year budget right
The name, bylaws, the IRS application, a founding board and a first-year budget that balances.
- Book X
Start from finished documents
Forty annotated documents, including bylaws, budgets, policies, job descriptions and board papers, as editable Word files.
- Book VII
Build the board on purpose
What a board is for, recruiting for the skills you lack, working with the chair and running meetings that reach decisions.
- Book VIII
Stay in good standing
Charitable solicitation registration, operating in a second state, insurance and annual filings.
The complete set
All ten books and forty documents, $149.
All ten books in PDF and EPUB, plus the forty documents from Book X as editable Word files. The books are not sold separately.
Free when you join the list
Every Document a New Nonprofit Needs
Articles, bylaws, minutes, the exemption application, the policies and the filings: the whole sequence a new organization has to produce, in the order it arrives.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
- Colorado Secretary of State, Business Organizations Fee Schedule
- Colorado Secretary of State, Charities and Fundraisers Fee Schedule
- Colorado Secretary of State, Charities and Fundraisers FAQs
- Colorado Secretary of State, Periodic reports, Business FAQs
- 2024 Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act, sections 7-121 through 7-137 (printout)
- IRS, Form 1023 and 1023-EZ: amount of user fee
- IRS, Changes to the exempt organization determinations process
Last verified November 8, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with the agency before you file. This page is general information and not legal or tax advice.