How to start a nonprofit in Colorado

Short answer: To start a nonprofit in Colorado, you incorporate by filing Articles of Incorporation for a Nonprofit Corporation online with the Colorado Secretary of State ($50 as of 2026), get a free EIN from the IRS, adopt bylaws, and seat a board. Then comes the part people miss: a nonprofit is not automatically tax-exempt, so you file IRS Form 1023 (or 1023-EZ) to become a 501(c)(3). On the Colorado side, you register with the Secretary of State’s Charitable Solicitations program before you fundraise ($10 as of 2026), and — unlike California — Colorado actually rewards the work: once you hold the federal letter, you can apply with the Department of Revenue using Form DR 0715 for a state sales tax exemption certificate, at no charge. One honest caveat most guides bury: that state certificate does not automatically cover purchases in Colorado’s home-rule cities, which run their own sales tax.

The federal core — EIN, bylaws, board, and the 501(c)(3) application — is the same in every state. For the full national walkthrough, read how to start a nonprofit; this page focuses on the Colorado layer stacked on top of it, where the state-specific forms, fees, and agencies actually live.

The formation steps that are the same anywhere

Forming a nonprofit in Colorado follows the standard checklist, and most of it is federal rather than state-specific:

1. Incorporate as a nonprofit corporation (the Colorado-specific part — covered in detail below).
2. Get an EIN — a free federal tax ID from the IRS, applied for directly at irs.gov. Never pay a third party for one; the EIN is always free.
3. Adopt bylaws — the organization’s internal rulebook for decisions, leadership, and money. Start from a proven document rather than a blank page; see nonprofit bylaws for what to include.
4. Seat a board of directors who govern the organization, set policy, and hold it accountable.
5. Apply for 501(c)(3) with Form 1023 — this is the step that turns a nonprofit corporation into a tax-exempt charity. Unlike a church, an ordinary nonprofit is not automatically exempt; you must file IRS Form 1023 (or the streamlined Form 1023-EZ if you qualify) and receive a determination letter (IRS, applying for 501(c)(3) status). The full path is in how to start a 501(c)(3).
6. Open a bank account in the nonprofit’s legal name using the EIN and formation documents.
7. Set up the books on fund accounting from day one, before the first grant or donation arrives.

Each of these is walked step by step in the national formation guide linked above. The rest of this page is the Colorado layer on top.

Incorporating a nonprofit in Colorado

Colorado creates the nonprofit as a legal entity when you file Articles of Incorporation for a Nonprofit Corporation with the Colorado Secretary of State. Two things set this apart from many other states. First, the filing fee is $50 as of 2026; confirm the current amount with the Colorado Secretary of State, since fees change. Second, there is no mail-in option to weigh — Colorado requires this filing to be submitted online through the Secretary of State’s business portal, so plan on filing electronically rather than printing a form.

The Articles ask for the nonprofit’s name, its registered agent and registered office in Colorado, the name and address of the person forming it, and how the organization’s assets will be handled if it dissolves. That last point matters more than it looks: to satisfy the IRS later, the document needs the two clauses a 501(c)(3) application will be checked against, and you should keep them in rather than leaving them out:

• A 501(c)(3) purpose clause stating the organization is formed exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, or other exempt purposes.
• A dissolution clause stating that if the nonprofit closes, its assets pass to another 501(c)(3) organization, not to any individual.

Getting that language right at formation saves an amendment later. The full breakdown of what these documents need is in articles of incorporation. Colorado law sets a low floor on board size — a nonprofit corporation’s board may have as few as one director under C.R.S. 7-128-103 — but three unrelated directors is the practical standard, and the IRS treats a one-person board as a red flag on the 1023.

Registering to fundraise in Colorado

Here is the step that trips up nonprofits coming from a church background, where it usually does not apply: Colorado requires charitable organizations to register through the Secretary of State’s Charitable Solicitations program before they solicit contributions. A church taking offerings can often skip this; a general nonprofit asking the public for money cannot. This registration lives at the same agency as your Articles, but it is a separate filing with its own portal and its own fee.

You file an initial registration statement online, and you must do it before you begin soliciting — not after the first donation lands. The initial registration fee is $10 as of 2026, and the same $10 applies to amendments (Colorado Secretary of State, Charities and Fundraisers). After you submit, the Secretary of State reviews the filing and notifies you whether it is approved or needs corrections, and you solicit only once it is approved. Confirm the current fee and any exemptions with the Secretary of State before filing, since smaller organizations under certain revenue and donor thresholds may not be required to register.

Registration is not one-and-done. You renew it annually, generally by the fifteenth day of the fifth month after your fiscal year ends, and the renewal fee is also $10 as of 2026. Letting the renewal lapse pushes the registration into delinquent or noncompliant status, which is a problem you do not want surfacing while you are mid-campaign or applying for a grant that checks your standing.

Claiming the Colorado sales tax exemption

A federal 501(c)(3) determination letter exempts your nonprofit from federal income tax, but it does not by itself hand you a break on Colorado sales tax. That is a separate application — and the good news is that Colorado grants it. Qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations can apply to the Colorado Department of Revenue for a sales tax exemption certificate that lets the organization buy goods and services for its exempt purpose without paying state sales tax.

The form is DR 0715, the Application for Sales Tax Exemption for Colorado Organizations (the Department now also labels the form the Application for Exempt Entity Certificate, but it is the same DR 0715). You apply after you already hold the IRS determination letter, because only organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3) are considered, and the application requires a copy of that federal letter along with your Colorado Articles of Incorporation and a recent financial statement (Colorado Department of Revenue, DR 0715). There is no fee to apply, and the certificate does not expire — once approved, the organization receives a Colorado exemption certificate and number it can present to vendors.

Now the caveat that catches Colorado nonprofits off guard: the state certificate covers state sales tax and the local taxes the state collects, but it does not automatically reach Colorado’s home-rule cities — Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and dozens of others that collect their own sales tax under their own rules. To buy tax-free in a home-rule city, you usually have to apply to that city separately. So treat the DR 0715 certificate as the foundation, not the whole picture, and check the rules of any home-rule jurisdiction where the nonprofit actually spends money before assuming the purchase is exempt.

Colorado filing at a glance

The table below maps each step to its agency, form, and cost. Treat the fees as accurate as of 2026 and confirm with the listed agency, since Colorado fees change.

What you’re doing	Agency	Form	Fee (as of 2026)
Incorporate the nonprofit	Colorado Secretary of State	Articles of Incorporation (online only)	$50 (confirm)
Get a federal tax ID	IRS	EIN application (online)	Free
Apply for 501(c)(3) status	IRS	Form 1023 or 1023-EZ	$600 / $275 user fee
Register to fundraise	Colorado Secretary of State	Charitable Solicitations registration	$10 initial / $10 renewal
Claim state sales tax exemption	Colorado Department of Revenue	Form DR 0715	No fee
Buy tax-free in a home-rule city	Home-rule city (e.g., Denver)	City-specific application	Varies by city

Setting up the books once the nonprofit exists in Colorado

Once the entity is formed and the exemptions are filed, the work shifts from one-time paperwork to the monthly routine — and that routine is where nonprofits either hold together or quietly fall apart. A nonprofit holds money in trust for the people and purposes it serves, much of it restricted by donors or grant terms, so it tracks money by fund rather than as a single bottom line. Set the books on fund accounting before the first grant lands, keep the giving records donors need, and document that the board reviews the finances; the discipline is covered in nonprofit accounting. The Colorado angle to keep on your calendar is the annual charitable registration renewal — that yearly filing to the Secretary of State is what keeps your fundraising registration current, and letting it lapse can put the registration into delinquent status right when a funder is checking it.

FAQ

How much does it cost to start a nonprofit in Colorado? The required state cost is low. Filing Articles of Incorporation costs $50 as of 2026, and the Secretary of State’s charitable solicitation registration is $10 initially with a $10 annual renewal — so the Colorado paperwork runs about $60 plus your time, and the DR 0715 sales tax exemption application has no fee at all. The bigger line item is federal: the IRS charges a $275 user fee for Form 1023-EZ or $600 for the full Form 1023, which is what actually makes you a 501(c)(3). Realistically, a small Colorado nonprofit can be stood up properly for a few hundred dollars once you include the federal exemption application.

Do you have to register a nonprofit with the state before fundraising in Colorado? Yes, in most cases. Colorado requires charitable organizations to register through the Secretary of State’s Charitable Solicitations program before soliciting contributions, with a $10 initial fee and a $10 annual renewal (Colorado Secretary of State, Charities and Fundraisers). This is separate from incorporating and separate from your IRS 501(c)(3) application — it is the fundraising registration, and skipping it can put your organization out of compliance before you have raised a dollar. Smaller organizations under certain revenue and donor thresholds may be exempt, so confirm your status before filing.

Does Colorado exempt nonprofits from sales tax? Yes, for qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations — but you have to apply for it, and it has limits. Once you hold the IRS determination letter, you file Form DR 0715 with the Department of Revenue at no charge, and an approved organization gets a Colorado exemption certificate it can use to buy goods for its exempt purpose without state sales tax. The catch is that the certificate does not automatically cover Colorado’s home-rule cities, which collect their own sales tax and often require a separate exemption application.

Can one person start a nonprofit in Colorado? Legally, Colorado allows a nonprofit corporation to form with as few as one director under C.R.S. 7-128-103. In practice, a one-person board is a poor idea: the IRS scrutinizes single-director nonprofits on the Form 1023, and a board of at least three mostly-unrelated directors signals real governance and smooths the 501(c)(3) application. So one person can begin the process, but you will want to recruit a board before applying for tax-exempt status.

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Vestrybooks sets up a new Colorado nonprofit’s books on fund accounting from day one — funds, reconciliation, and the board reports — so the financial side is right before the first grant arrives. See how it works.

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