Nevada launches first phase of modernized platform to simplify business filings

After years of system failures and user frustration, Nevada will replace its state business platform, Silver Flume, with a modernized system that promises simpler filings, greater transparency, and a more user-friendly experience for businesses statewide.

The Nevada Secretary of State’s Office announced this week the launch of the first phase of Project Orion, following more than 1,000 bug fixes to the system over the past couple of years.

“ We’ve known for a long time the office has been in a technology deficit,” Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said during a recent roundtable with business leaders and community partners. “ Everything we do is based off of technology—from business filings to UCC, to the elections, to securities regulations, to notary—everything we do is with technology, and we’re only as good as the technology we have.”

Current Silver Flume users will be able to log in using their existing username and password and will find previously started or completed filings preserved in the new system. The platform is accessible through the official Project Orion website.

Screenshot of Project Orion, Nevada’s new and modern business portal that aims to make starting and operating a business easier.

The first phase of Project Orion launched with Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings. The new platform features intuitive navigation with clearly labeled buttons and easy-to-find content, step-by-step road maps of the process, real-time cost visibility, and built-in help guides that allow even first-time users to complete filings with confidence, the secretary said.

For years, Nevada business owners struggled with Silver Flume, a system prone to frequent errors, with a daily failure rate averaging 12% to 14%. On top of the technological difficulties, the platform’s highly technical and often confusing language forced many entrepreneurs and small business owners to hire a lawyer just to complete basic filings.

Today, the failure rate has dropped to approximately 0.1%, or just three to four transactions on an average day.

“ Our goal is to never have any, and we do have days where there are no failures, which is great because that means businesses are doing what they need to do,” Aguilar said. 

Forms have also been revised to use plain language, and services have been expanded to include Spanish, with additional high-demand languages, such as Chinese and Tagalog, planned in the coming months. 

“The front doorstep to [creating a] small business is the Secretary of State’s office. You want people to know, ‘Hey, I can go there. I can get help and it can be done,” Aguilar said. “If we are intimidating, nothing would ever happen. We have to have a welcoming environment. And behind a welcoming environment, you have to have a process and a system that is efficient and easy to use.” 

The platform also uses artificial intelligence tools to extract information from forms, reduce internal processing time, and assist users.

“ UCC filings are mostly filed by commercial registered agents, and the feedback from that audience has been overwhelmingly positive. The filings go through quickly. It is intuitive,”  said Deanna Spikula, who leads the project alongside Paul Matson. “This is a precursor to what our future business licensing notary and trademarks platform will look like as well.”

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the modernization is already producing measurable results: average phone wait times have dropped from nearly an hour to just three or four minutes, and it has already done $434,000 worth of filings on the new platform successfully with zero failures.

The second phase of Project Orion, scheduled for this summer, will fully retire Silver Flume and introduce text messaging and AI chatbot assistance, its complete business entity filings, and greater coordination with local governments. The goal is to create a user-centered process free of unnecessary barriers.

“ We are aiming beyond just being normal and acceptable. We’re looking to be excellent and we are gonna be excellent,” Aguilar said. “ So the whole point of Project Orion is really to simplify the process for business owners to make sure that their lives are more efficient. If we can get the government to work for the people, people will trust government.”