Colorado Articles of Incorporation (Article 56) Cooperative Public Benefit Corporation
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The Colorado Articles of Incorporation (Article 56) Cooperative Public Benefit Corporation is an online submission required by the Colorado Secretary of State when forming a Cooperative as a Public Benefit Corporation. This may require some specific documentation depending upon the nature of the corporation and/or the determined benefit the business has decided to provide the public. This is not a standalone form but rather an online form that allows Incorporators to submit the articles of incorporation in real time. This results in immediate confirmation the application, including attachments, have been accepted with payment of the $50.00 filing fee received(via major credit card). The Transaction Confirmation page will deliver an image of the submitted articles with an “E-File” stamp at the top of the document. Additionally, you should be able to locate the filing date and the Document I.D. Number on the right. You may check the status of your filing and obtain your business I.D. number by visiting the Business Database Search page, located  here: http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do. It is highly recommended that a designated contact for the forming corporation sign up to receive notifications via email regarding the business. This may be done by entering the desired contact email address in the text box at the bottom of the home page (http://www.sos.state.co.us). This will result in instructions on the topic of notifications wished to receive.

How To File

Step 1 – Go to the “File a Form” web page on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website. Here, select the link “Cooperative (Article 56)” under the heading “Public Benefit Corporations.” This will direct the browser to the first page of the online Colorado Articles of Incorporation Cooperative Public Benefit Corporation form. You may do this here: http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/businessHome.html

Step 2 – The first requirement will be to document the name of the public benefit corporation being formed by these articles. This may be done in the text box to the right of the statement “Enter the exact name you want to use in Colorado.” Then, select the button labeled “Next.”

Step 3 – This will direct you to the remaining sections for this online form. The first section shall identify the chosen name of the corporation and attach it to this form. The next section below it, “Principal office address,” will require the Street Address, City, State, and Zip/Postal Code entered in the section labeled “Street Address.”  There will be an option to enter a Province and choose a Country. This is the physical location of the corporation being formed so the default state is “Colorado.”

Step 4 – It the corporation being formed receives mail at a different location then the street address, you must report it under “Mailing Address.” In the spaces provided, report the Address, City, State, Zip Code/Postal Code, Province(if applicable), and Country where the forming corporation may receive mail.

Step 5 – The section below this will require information about the Registered Agent that has been appointed and authorized by this corporation to receive official notices and court documents. Report the identity of this party in the “Name” section. This may be either an adult (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, and Suffix) or a business entity other than the one being formed. Below this you must report the full Street Address. There will be two Address lines (at least one must be filled out), City, and Zip Code. If the Registered Agent receives mail at a location other than the Street Address then report this under the heading “Mailing Address” (Address, City, Zip Code). Finally, place a check mark in the box below the addresses to verify the Registered Agent has accepted this responsibility.

Step 6 –  Below the Registered Agent section, define the reason why this corporation is being formed in the text box next to the statement “The purposes of the corporation are”

Step 7 – In the next section, you must report the identity of the individual who is responsible for the filing of these articles. This is an entity that will be held responsible for submitting this information. Enter the Full Name (Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, and Suffix) of this individual n on the first line of the item labeled “Name.” If this is a business entity, skip the first line and report the name of the business in the text box next to the words “(if an entity).” Then report where mail may be received by this entity under “Mailing Address” (you must enter the Address, City, State, and Zip/Postal Code (the Province field is optional while Country is auto-populated with the United States).

Step 8 – Next select the bubble that defines the stock status of this corporation . It this corporation is being formed with authorized stocks to distribute then select the first bubble  and be prepared to attach a document which shall define the type of stock, voting status, number or shares in each class, the preferences, limitations, relative rights, and privileges granted. If this corporation is formed without common voting stock then mark the second bubble then attach a document that shall define the property rights, interests, equality of the property rights orinterests of each member. Also include whether the property right/interests are fixed, if there are provisions for new members, any governing rules, if the cooperative may issue one or more classes of preferred stock or equity interests, and (if applicable) the number of shares of each class of stock (or other equity), prefences, limitations, relative rights, and privileges granted to each.

Step 9 – Indicate that you will attach files with required information in the “Attach Additional Information” section by selecting the bubble next to the word “Yes.” If not, select the bubble next to the word “No.”

Step 10 – In the “Delayed Effective Date” section, select the bubble labeled “Yes” if these articles are to become effective immediately. If the activation of this corporation should occur at a later date, then select the bubble labeled “No” then enter the desired effective date (provided it is within ninety days of the filing date) in the text box provided.

Step 11 – The individual submitting these articles must provide his/her identity and address in the last section of this form. Report the Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, Suffix (if applicable), Address, City, State, Zip/Postal Code, Province (if applicable), and Country of the individual(s) responsible for this filing in the spaces provided. If more than one individual is responsible then select the word “Yes” and prepare a document with the same information for each party responsible for this submittal to attach. If not then select “No.” Once this has been reported select the “Submit” button.

Step 12 – The screens following the online form will give you an opportunity to attach the files that must accompany these articles, preview your transaction, pay the $50.00 state filing fee with a major credit card, then return confirmation the articles have been submitted successfully and payment has been received. This confirmation page will also have an image of the filed documents with the words “E-Filed” along the top with the date and assigned Document I.D. number. These images should be saved and/or printed for your records. You may check the Business Database Search page as often as you like and obtain your business I.D. number (http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do).