Colorado residents have formed a record number of new businesses this decade, especially after the state reduced the filing fee for new limited liability companies or LLCs to $1 in the summer of 2022. The fee holiday, however, also triggered a surge in fraud, as evidenced by a lawsuit against one individual who registered more than 15,000 new businesses to a single Northglenn address. More than a year on from the fee relief, business registration delinquencies are rising sharply, indicating some filers’ level of commitment didn’t extend beyond submitting paperwork. That has raised concerns about the reliability of business registration numbers and whether the job gains and economic activity expected to follow on the heels of so many business starts will materialize.