Virginia Law

Article 1. General Provisions.

This chapter shall be known as the Virginia Stock Corporation Act.

Code 1950, § 13.1-1; 1956, c. 428; 1985, c. 522.

The General Assembly shall have power to amend or repeal all or part of this Act at any time and all domestic and foreign corporations subject to this Act shall be governed by the amendment or repeal.

Code 1950, § 13.1-129; 1956, c. 428; 1985, c. 522.

As used in this chapter:

"Articles of incorporation" means all documents constituting, at any particular time, the charter of a corporation. It includes the original charter issued by the General Assembly, a court or the Commission and all amendments including certificates of consolidation, serial designation, reduction, correction, and merger. It excludes articles of share exchange filed by an acquiring corporation. When the articles of incorporation have been restated pursuant to any articles of restatement, amendment, domestication, or merger, it includes only the restated articles of incorporation, including any articles of serial designation, without the accompanying articles of restatement, amendment, domestication, or merger. When used with respect to a foreign corporation, the "articles of incorporation" of such entity means the document that is equivalent to the articles of incorporation of a domestic corporation.

"Authorized shares" means the shares of all classes a domestic or foreign corporation is authorized to issue.

"Beneficial shareholder" means a person that owns the beneficial interest in shares, which may be a record shareholder or a person on whose behalf shares are registered in the name of an intermediary as nominee.

"Certificate," when relating to articles filed with the Commission, means the order of the Commission that makes the articles effective, together with the articles.

"Commission" means the State Corporation Commission of Virginia.

"Conspicuous" means so written, displayed, or presented that a reasonable person against whom the writing is to operate should have noticed it. For example, text that is italicized, is in boldface, contrasting colors, or capitals, or is underlined, is conspicuous.

"Corporation" or "domestic corporation" means a corporation authorized by law to issue shares, irrespective of the nature of the business to be transacted, organized under this chapter or existing pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth on January 1, 1986, or which, by virtue of articles of incorporation, amendment, or merger, has become a domestic corporation of the Commonwealth, even though also being a corporation organized under laws other than the laws of the Commonwealth, or that has become a domestic corporation of the Commonwealth pursuant to Article 12.1 (§ 13.1-722.1:1 et seq.) or Article 12.2 (§ 13.1-722.8 et seq.) of this chapter or Article 15 (§ 13.1-1081 et seq.) of Chapter 12.

"Deliver" or "delivery" means any method of delivery used in conventional commercial practice, including delivery by hand, mail, commercial delivery, and, if authorized in accordance with § 13.1-610, electronic transmission.

"Derivative proceeding" means a civil suit in the right of a domestic corporation or, to the extent provided in Article 8.1 (§ 13.1-672.1 et seq.), a foreign corporation.

"Disinterested director" means, except with respect to Article 14 (§ 13.1-725 et seq.), a director who, at the time action is to be taken under subdivision B 5 of § 13.1-619, § 13.1-672.4, 13.1-691, 13.1-699, or 13.1-701, does not have (i) a financial interest in a matter that is the subject of such action or (ii) a familial, financial, professional, employment, or other relationship with a person who has a financial interest in the matter, either of which would reasonably be expected to impair the objectivity of the director's judgment when participating in the action, and if the action is to be taken under § 13.1-699 or 13.1-701, is also not a party to the proceeding. The presence of one or more of the following circumstances shall not by itself prevent a person from being a disinterested director: (i) nomination or election of the director to the board by any director who is not a disinterested director with respect to the matter or by any person that has a material relationship with that director, acting alone or participating with others; (ii) service as a director of another corporation of which a director who is not a disinterested director with respect to the matter, or any person that has a material relationship with that director, is or was also a director; or (iii) at the time action is to be taken under § 13.1-672.4, status as a named defendant, as a director against whom action is demanded, or as a director who approved the act being challenged.

"Distribution" means a direct or indirect transfer of cash or other property, except the corporation's own shares, or incurrence of indebtedness by a corporation to or for the benefit of its shareholders in respect of any of its shares. A distribution may be in the form of a payment of a dividend; a purchase, redemption, or other acquisition of shares; a distribution of indebtedness of the corporation; a distribution in liquidation; or otherwise. Distribution does not include an acquisition by a corporation of its shares from the estate or personal representative of a deceased shareholder, or any other shareholder, but only to the extent the acquisition is effected using the proceeds of insurance on the life of such deceased shareholder and the board of directors approved the policy and the terms of the redemption prior to the shareholder's death.

"Document" means (i) any tangible medium on which information is inscribed, and includes handwritten, typed, printed, or similar instruments and copies of such instruments, or (ii) an electronic record.

"Domestic" with respect to an entity, means an entity governed as to its internal affairs by the organic law of the Commonwealth.

"Domestic business trust" has the same meaning as specified in § 13.1-1201.

"Domestic limited liability company" has the same meaning as specified in § 13.1-1002.

"Domestic limited partnership" has the same meaning as specified in § 50-73.1.

"Domestic nonstock corporation" has the same meaning as "domestic corporation" as specified in § 13.1-803.

"Domestic partnership" means an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners a business for profit formed under § 50-73.88, or predecessor law of the Commonwealth, and includes, for all purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, a registered limited liability partnership.

"Effective date," when referring to a document for which effectiveness is contingent upon issuance of a certificate by the Commission, means the time and date determined in accordance with § 13.1-606.

"Effective date of notice" is defined in subdivision A 9 of § 13.1-610.

"Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

"Electronic record" means information that is stored in an electronic or other nontangible medium and is retrievable in paper form through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice, unless otherwise authorized in accordance with subdivision A 10 of § 13.1-610.

"Electronic transmission" or "electronically transmitted" means any form or process of communication, not directly involving the physical transfer of paper or another tangible medium, that (i) is suitable for the retention, retrieval, and reproduction of information by the recipient, and (ii) is retrievable in paper form by the recipient through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice, unless otherwise authorized in accordance with subdivision A 10 of § 13.1-610.

"Eligible entity" means a domestic or foreign unincorporated entity or a domestic or foreign nonstock corporation.

"Eligible interests" means interests or memberships.

"Employee" includes, unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, an officer but not a director. A director may accept duties that make the director also an employee.

"Entity" includes any domestic or foreign corporation; any domestic or foreign nonstock corporation; any domestic or foreign unincorporated entity; any estate or trust; and any state, the United States and any foreign government.

"Expenses" means reasonable expenses of any kind that are incurred in connection with a matter.

"Filing entity" means an unincorporated entity other than a general partnership.

"Foreign," with respect to an entity, means an entity governed as to its internal affairs by the organic law of a jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth.

"Foreign business trust" has the same meaning as specified in § 13.1-1201.

"Foreign corporation" means a corporation authorized by law to issue shares, organized under laws other than the laws of the Commonwealth.

"Foreign limited liability company" has the same meaning as specified in § 13.1-1002.

"Foreign limited partnership" has the same meaning as specified in § 50-73.1.

"Foreign nonstock corporation" means a corporation that is incorporated under a law other than the law of the Commonwealth and would, based on its public organic record, be a nonstock corporation if incorporated under the law of the Commonwealth.

"Foreign partnership" means an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners of a business for profit formed under the laws of any state or jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth, and includes, for all purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth, a foreign registered limited liability partnership.

"Foreign registered limited liability partnership" has the same meaning as specified in § 50-73.79.

"Foreign unincorporated entity" means a foreign partnership, foreign limited liability company, foreign limited partnership, or foreign business trust.

"Government subdivision" includes authority, county, district, and municipality.

"Governor" means any person under whose authority the powers of an entity are exercised and under whose direction the activities and affairs of the entity are managed pursuant to the organic law governing the entity and its organic rules.

"Includes" and "including" denote a partial definition as a nonexclusive list.

"Individual" means a natural person.

"Interest" means either or both of the following rights under the organic law governing an unincorporated entity:

1. The right to receive distributions from the entity either in the ordinary course or upon liquidation; or

2. The right to receive notice or to vote on issues involving its internal affairs, other than as an agent, assignee, proxy or person responsible for managing its business and affairs.

"Interest holder" means a person who holds of record an interest.

"Interest holder liability" means:

1. Personal liability for a debt, obligation, or other liability of a domestic or foreign corporation or domestic or foreign eligible entity that is imposed on a person:

a. Solely by reason of the person's status as a shareholder, member, or interest holder; or

b. By the articles of incorporation of the domestic corporation or the organic rules of the eligible entity or foreign corporation that make one or more specified shareholders, members, or interest holders, or categories of shareholders, members, or interest holders, liable in their capacity as shareholders, members, or interest holders for all or specified liabilities of the corporation or eligible entity; or

2. An obligation of a shareholder, member, or interest holder under the articles of incorporation of a domestic corporation or the organic rules of an eligible entity or foreign corporation to contribute to the entity.

For purposes of the foregoing, except as otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation of a domestic corporation or the organic law or organic rules of an eligible entity or a foreign corporation, interest holder liability arises under subdivision 1 when the corporation or eligible entity incurs the liability.

"Jurisdiction of formation" means the state or country the law of which includes the organic law governing a domestic or foreign corporation or eligible entity.

"Means" denotes an exhaustive definition.

"Membership" means the rights of a member in a domestic or foreign nonstock corporation or limited liability company.

"Merger" means a transaction pursuant to § 13.1-716 or 13.1-766.1.

"Notice" is defined in § 13.1-610.

"Organic law" means the statute governing the internal affairs of a domestic or foreign corporation or eligible entity.

"Organic rules" means the public organic record and private organic rules of a domestic or foreign corporation or eligible entity.

"Person" includes an individual and an entity.

"Principal office" means the office, in or out of the Commonwealth, where the principal executive offices of a domestic or foreign corporation are located, or, if there are no such offices, the office, in or out of the Commonwealth, so designated by the board of directors. The designation of the principal office in the most recent annual report filed pursuant to § 13.1-775 shall be conclusive for purposes of this chapter.

"Private organic rules" means (i) the bylaws of a domestic or foreign corporation or nonstock corporation or (ii) the rules, regardless of whether in writing, that govern the internal affairs of an unincorporated entity, are binding on all its interest holders, and are not part of its public organic record. Where private organic rules have been amended or restated, the term means the private organic rules as last amended or restated.

"Proceeding" includes civil suit and criminal, administrative, and investigatory action.

"Protected series" has the same meaning as specified in § 13.1-1002.

"Public corporation" means a corporation that has shares listed on a national securities exchange or regularly traded in a market maintained by one or more members of a national or affiliated securities association.

"Public organic record" means (i) the articles of incorporation of a domestic or foreign corporation or nonstock corporation or (ii) the document, the filing of which is required to create an unincorporated entity. Where a public organic record has been amended or restated, the term means the public organic record as last amended or restated.

"Record date" means the date fixed for determining the identity of the corporation's shareholders and their shareholdings for purposes of this chapter. The determinations shall be made as of the close of business at the principal office of the corporation on the record date unless another time for doing so is specified when the record date is fixed.

"Record shareholder" means (i) the person in whose name shares are registered in the records of the corporation or (ii) the person identified as the beneficial owner of shares in a beneficial ownership certificate pursuant to § 13.1-664 on file with the corporation to the extent of the rights granted by such certificate.

"Registered limited liability partnership" has the same meaning as specified in § 50-73.79.

"Secretary" means the corporate officer or other individual to whom the board of directors has delegated responsibility under subsection C of § 13.1-693 for custody of the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors and of the shareholders and for authenticating records of the corporation.

"Series limited liability company" has the same meaning as specified in § 13.1-1002.

"Share exchange" means a transaction pursuant to § 13.1-717.

"Shareholder" means a record shareholder.

"Shares" means the units into which the proprietary interests in a corporation are divided.

"Sign" or "signature" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a document: (i) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol to a document, and includes any manual, facsimile, or conformed signature; or (ii) to attach to or logically associate with an electronic transmission an electronic sound, symbol, or process, and includes an electronic signature in an electronic transmission.

"State" when referring to a part of the United States, includes a state, commonwealth, and the District of Columbia, and their agencies and governmental subdivisions; and a territory or insular possession, and their agencies and governmental subdivisions, of the United States.

"Subscriber" means a person who subscribes for shares in a corporation, whether before or after incorporation.

"Subsidiary" means, as to any corporation, any other corporation of which it owns, directly or indirectly, voting shares entitled to cast a majority of the votes entitled to be cast generally in an election of directors of such other corporation.

"Unincorporated entity" or "domestic unincorporated entity" means a domestic partnership, limited liability company, limited partnership or business trust.

"United States" includes district, authority, bureau, commission, department, and any other agency of the United States.

"Unrestricted voting trust beneficial owner" means, with respect to any shareholder rights, a voting trust beneficial owner whose entitlement to exercise the shareholder right in question is not inconsistent with the voting trust agreement.

"Voting group" means all shares of one or more classes or series that under the articles of incorporation or this chapter are entitled to vote and be counted together collectively on a matter at a meeting of shareholders. All shares entitled by the articles of incorporation or this chapter to vote generally on the matter are for that purpose a single voting group.

"Voting power" means the current power to vote in the election of directors.

"Voting trust beneficial owner" means an owner of a beneficial interest in shares of the corporation held in a voting trust established pursuant to subsection A of § 13.1-670.

"Writing" or "written" means any information in the form of a document.

Code 1950, § 13.1-2; 1956, c. 428; 1962, c. 44; 1975, c. 500; 1985, c. 522; 1992, cc. 575, 802; 1993, c. 200; 1994, c. 122; 1997, cc. 190, 801; 2001, c. 545; 2002, cc. 1, 285; 2003, cc. 340, 728; 2005, c. 765; 2006, c. 663; 2007, c. 165; 2010, c. 782; 2012, c. 706; 2015, c. 611; 2016, c. 288; 2019, c. 734; 2020, c. 1226.

A. A document shall satisfy the requirements of this section, and of any other section that adds to or varies these requirements, to be entitled to be filed with the Commission.

B. To be entitled to be filed with the Commission, this chapter shall require or permit the document to be filed with the Commission.

C. The document shall contain the information required by this chapter and may contain other information as well.

D. The document shall be typewritten or printed or, if electronically transmitted, shall be in a format that can be retrieved or reproduced in typewritten or printed form. The typewritten or printed portion shall be in black. Photocopies, or other reproduced copies, of typewritten or printed documents may be filed. In every case, information in the document shall be legible and the document shall be capable of being reformatted and reproduced in copies of archival quality.

E. The document shall be in the English language. A corporate name need not be in English if written in English letters or Arabic or Roman numerals. The articles of incorporation, duly authenticated by the official having custody of corporate records in the jurisdiction of formation of the foreign corporation, that are required of foreign corporations need not be in English if accompanied by a reasonably authenticated English translation.

F. The document shall be signed in the name of the domestic or foreign corporation:

1. By the chairman or any vice-chairman of the board of directors, the president, or any other of its officers;

2. If directors have not been selected or the corporation has not been formed, by an incorporator; or

3. If the corporation is in the hands of a receiver, trustee, or other court-appointed fiduciary, by that fiduciary.

G. Any annual report required to be filed by § 13.1-775 shall be signed in the name of the corporation by an officer, director, or other person authorized by the corporation to sign the annual report, or, if the corporation is in the hands of a receiver, trustee, or other court-appointed fiduciary, by that fiduciary.

H. The person executing the document shall sign it and state beneath or opposite his signature his name and the capacity in which the document is signed. The document may but need not contain a corporate seal, attestation, acknowledgment, or verification.

I. If, pursuant to any provision of this chapter, the Commission has prescribed a mandatory form for the document, the document shall be in or on the prescribed form.

J. The document shall be delivered to the Commission for filing and shall be accompanied by the correct filing fee, and any franchise tax, charter or entrance fee, registration fee, or penalty required by this chapter to be paid at the time of delivery for filing.

K. The Commission may accept the electronic transmission of any document or other information required or permitted to be filed by this chapter and may prescribe the methods of execution, recording, reproduction and certification of electronically transmitted information pursuant to § 59.1-496.

L. Whenever a provision of this chapter permits any of the terms of a plan or a filed document to be dependent on facts objectively ascertainable outside the plan or filed document, the following provisions apply:

1. The plan or filed document shall specify the nationally recognized news or information medium in which the facts can be found or otherwise state the manner in which the facts can be objectively ascertained. The manner in which the facts will operate upon the terms of the plan or filed document shall be set forth in the plan or filed document.

2. The facts may include:

a. Any of the following that is available in a nationally recognized news or information medium either in print or electronically: statistical or market indices, market prices of any security or group of securities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, or similar economic or financial data;

b. A determination or action by any person or body, including the corporation or any other party to a plan or filed document; or

c. The terms of, or actions taken under, an agreement to which the corporation is a party, or any other agreement or document.

3. As used in this subsection:

a. "Filed document" means a document filed with the Commission under § 13.1-619 or Article 11 (§ 13.1-705 et seq.), 12 (§ 13.1-715.1 et seq.), 12.1 (§ 13.1-722.1:1 et seq.), 12.2 (§ 13.1-722.8 et seq.), 16 (§ 13.1-742 et seq.), or 22 (§ 13.1-782 et seq.); and

b. "Plan" means a plan of domestication, conversion, merger, or share exchange.

4. The following terms of a plan or filed document may not be made dependent on facts outside the plan or filed document:

a. The name and address of any person required in a filed document;

b. A purpose that is required to be set forth in a filed document;

c. The registered office address of any entity required in a filed document;

d. The name or qualification of the registered agent of any entity required in a filed document;

e. The number of authorized shares and the designation of each class or series of shares;

f. The effective date of a filed document; and

g. Any required statement in a filed document of the date on which the underlying transaction was approved or the manner in which that approval was given.

5. If a term of a filed document is made dependent on a fact objectively ascertainable outside of the filed document, and that fact is not objectively ascertainable by reference to a source described in subdivision 2 a or a document that is a matter of public record, nor has notice of the fact been given by the corporation to the affected shareholders, then the corporation shall file with the Commission articles of amendment setting forth the fact promptly after the time when the fact referred to is first ascertainable or thereafter changes. Articles of amendment under this subdivision are deemed to be authorized by the authorization of the original filed document or plan to which they relate and may be filed by the corporation without further action by the board of directors or the shareholders.

6. The provisions of subdivisions 1, 2, and 5 shall not be considered by the Commission in deciding whether the terms of a plan or filed document comply with the requirements of law.

1985, c. 522; 1986, c. 231; 1995, c. 70; 2000, c. 995; 2005, c. 765; 2010, c. 782; 2015, c. 623; 2019, c. 734; 2020, c. 1226; 2023, cc. 529, 530; 2024, c. 137.

A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in § 13.1-604, 13.1-619, 13.1-707, 13.1-718, 13.1-722.4, 13.1-722.11, or 13.1-742, whenever, pursuant to any applicable statute of the United States relating to reorganizations of corporations, a plan of reorganization of a corporation has been confirmed by the decree or order of a court of competent jurisdiction, the corporation may put into effect and carry out the plan and decrees of the court relative thereto, (i) through one or more amendments to the corporation's articles of incorporation containing terms and conditions permitted by this chapter; (ii) through a plan of merger, share exchange, domestication, or conversion; or (iii) through dissolution or termination, without action by the board of directors or shareholders to carry out the plan of reorganization ordered or decreed by such court of competent jurisdiction under federal statute.

B. The individual or individuals designated by the court shall file with the Commission articles of amendment, merger, share exchange, domestication, conversion, dissolution, or termination, which, in addition to the matters otherwise required or permitted by law to be set forth therein, shall set forth:

1. The name of the corporation;

2. Any provision relating to the amendment or amendments; plan of merger, share exchange, domestication, or conversion; or dissolution or termination approved by the court;

3. The name of the court and the date of the court's order or decree approving the amendment, plan of merger, share exchange, domestication, conversion, dissolution, or termination;

4. The title and case number, if any, of the reorganization proceeding in which the order or decree was entered; and

5. A statement that the court had jurisdiction of the proceeding under federal statute.

C. If the Commission finds that the articles of amendment, merger, share exchange, domestication, conversion, dissolution, or termination comply with the requirements of law and that all required fees have been paid, it shall issue a certificate of amendment, merger, share exchange, domestication, conversion, dissolution, or termination.

D. This section does not apply after entry of a final decree in the reorganization proceeding even though the court retains jurisdiction of the proceeding for limited purposes unrelated to consummation of the reorganization plan.

1988, c. 194; 2005, c. 765; 2012, c. 130; 2019, c. 734.

A. Whenever this chapter conditions the effectiveness of a document upon the issuance of a certificate by the Commission to evidence the effectiveness of the document, the Commission shall by order issue the certificate if it finds that the document complies with the requirements of law and that all required fees have been paid. The Commission shall admit any such certificate to record in its office.

B. Whenever the Commission is directed to admit any document to record in its office, it shall cause it to be spread upon its record books or to be recorded or reproduced in any other manner the Commission may deem suitable. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Commission may furnish information from and provide access to any of its records by any means the Commission may deem suitable.

Code 1950, § 13.1-126; 1956, c. 428; 1982, c. 375; 1984, c. 295; 1985, c. 522; 1986, c. 231; 1987, c. 183; 1988, c. 405; 1989, c. 152.

A. Except as otherwise provided in § 13.1-607 and Article 1.1 (§ 13.1-614.1 et seq.), a certificate issued by the Commission is effective at the time such certificate is issued, unless the certificate relates to articles filed with the Commission and the articles state that the certificate shall become effective at a later time or date specified in the articles. In that event, the certificate shall become effective at the earlier of the time and date so specified or 11:59 p.m. on the fifteenth day after the date on which the certificate is issued by the Commission. If a delayed effective date is specified, but no time is specified, the effective time shall be 12:01 a.m. on the date specified. Any other document filed with the Commission shall be effective when accepted for filing unless otherwise provided for in this chapter.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A, any certificate that has a delayed effective time or date shall not become effective if, prior to the effective time and date, a statement of cancellation signed by each party to the articles to which the certificate relates is delivered to the Commission for filing. If the Commission finds that the statement of cancellation complies with the requirements of law, it shall, by order, cancel the certificate.

C. A statement of cancellation shall contain:

1. The name of the corporation;

2. The name of the articles and the date on which the articles were filed with the Commission;

3. The time and date on which the Commission's certificate becomes effective; and

4. A statement that the articles are being canceled in accordance with this section.

D. Notwithstanding subsection A, for purposes of §§ 13.1-630 and 13.1-762, any certificate that has a delayed effective date shall be deemed to be effective when the certificate is issued.

E. For articles with a delayed effective date and time, the effective date and time shall be Eastern time.

1985, c. 522; 2019, c. 734.

A. Articles filed with the Commission may be corrected if (i) the articles contain an inaccuracy; (ii) the articles were not properly authorized or defectively signed, attested, sealed, verified, or acknowledged; or (iii) the electronic transmission of the articles to the Commission was defective.

B. Articles are corrected by filing with the Commission articles of correction that:

1. Set forth the name of the corporation prior to filing;

2. Describe the articles to be corrected, including their effective date;

3. Specify the inaccuracy or defect to be corrected;

4. Correct the inaccuracy or defect; and

5. State that the corporation authorized the correction and the date of such authorization.

C. If the Commission finds that the articles of correction comply with the requirements of law and that all required fees have been paid, it shall issue a certificate of correction. Upon the issuance of a certificate of correction by the Commission, the articles of correction shall become effective as of the effective date and time of the articles they correct except as to persons relying on the uncorrected articles and adversely affected by the correction. As to those persons, articles of correction are effective upon the issuance of the certificate of correction.

D. No articles of correction shall be accepted by the Commission when received more than 30 days after the effective date of the certificate relating to the articles to be corrected.

1985, c. 522; 2005, c. 765; 2007, c. 165; 2008, cc. 91, 509; 2019, c. 734.

A certificate delivered with a copy of any document admitted to the records of the Commission, bearing the signature of the clerk of the Commission or a member of the staff of the office of the clerk, which in either case may be in facsimile, and the seal of the Commission, which may be in facsimile, is conclusive evidence that the document has been admitted to the records of the Commission.

1985, c. 522; 2005, c. 765; 2019, c. 734.

A. Anyone may apply to the Commission to furnish a certificate of good standing for a domestic or foreign corporation.

B. The certificate of good standing shall state that the corporation is in good standing in the Commonwealth and shall set forth:

1. The domestic corporation's corporate name or the foreign corporation's corporate name and, if applicable, the designated name adopted for use in the Commonwealth;

2. That (i) the domestic corporation is duly incorporated under the law of the Commonwealth, the date of its incorporation, which is the original date of incorporation or formation of the domesticated or converted corporation if the corporation was domesticated or converted from a foreign jurisdiction or was converted from a domestic eligible entity, and the period of its duration if less than perpetual, or (ii) the foreign corporation is authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth; and

3. If requested, a list of all certificates relating to articles filed with the Commission that have been issued by the Commission with respect to such corporation and their respective effective dates.

C. A domestic corporation or a foreign corporation authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth shall be deemed to be in good standing if:

1. All fees, fines, penalties, and interest assessed, imposed, charged or to be collected by the Commission pursuant to this chapter have been paid except for any annual registration fee that is not due;

2. An annual report required by § 13.1-775 has been delivered to and accepted by the Commission; and

3. No certificate of dissolution, certificate of withdrawal, or order of reinstatement prohibiting the domestic corporation from engaging in business until it changes its corporate name has been issued or such certificate or prohibition has not become effective or no longer is in effect.

D. The certificate may state any other facts of record in the office of the clerk of the Commission that may be requested by the applicant.

E. Subject to any qualification stated in the certificate, a certificate of good standing issued by the Commission may be relied upon as conclusive evidence that the domestic or foreign corporation is in good standing in the Commonwealth.

1985, c. 522; 1988, c. 405; 1993, c. 60; 2005, c. 765; 2006, c. 663; 2019, c. 734; 2020, c. 1226; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 487.

A. For purposes of this chapter, except for notice to or from the Commission:

1. A notice shall be in writing except that oral notice of any meeting of the board of directors may be given if expressly authorized by the articles of incorporation or bylaws.

2. Unless otherwise agreed between the sender and the recipient, words in a notice or other communication under this chapter shall be in the English language. A notice or other communication may be given by any method of delivery, except that electronic transmissions shall be in accordance with this section. If the methods of delivery are impracticable, a notice or other communication may be given by a broad non-exclusionary dissemination to the public, which may include a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the notice is intended to be given, or by radio, television, or other form of public communication in the area where the notice is intended to be given or other methods of distribution that the corporation has previously identified to its shareholders.

3. A notice or other communication to a domestic or foreign corporation authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth may be delivered to the corporation's registered agent at its registered office or to the secretary at the corporation's principal office shown in its most recent annual report or, in the case of a foreign corporation that has not yet delivered an annual report, in its application for a certificate of authority.

4. A notice or other communication may be delivered by electronic transmission if consented to by the recipient or if otherwise authorized by subsection B.

5. Any consent under subdivision 4 may be revoked by the person who consented by written or electronic notice to the person to whom the consent was delivered. Any such consent is deemed revoked if (i) the corporation is unable to deliver two consecutive electronic transmissions given by the corporation in accordance with such consent and (ii) such inability becomes known to the secretary or an assistant secretary of the corporation or to the transfer agent or other person responsible for the giving of notice or other communications; however, the inadvertent failure to treat such inability as a revocation shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.

6. Unless otherwise agreed between the sender and the recipient, an electronic transmission is received when:

a. It enters an information processing system that the recipient has designated or uses for the purpose of receiving electronic transmissions or information of the type sent, and from which the recipient is able to retrieve the electronic transmission; and

b. It is in a form capable of being processed by that system.

7. Receipt of an electronic acknowledgment from an information processing system described in subdivision 6 a establishes that an electronic transmission was received. However, such receipt of an electronic acknowledgment, by itself, does not establish that the content sent corresponds to the content received.

8. An electronic transmission is received under this section even if no individual is aware of its receipt.

9. A notice or other communication, if in a comprehensible form or manner, is effective at the earliest of the following:

a. If in physical form, the earliest of when it is actually received or when it is left at:

(1) A shareholder's address shown on the corporation's record of shareholders maintained by the corporation pursuant to subsection C of § 13.1-770;

(2) A director's residence or usual place of business;

(3) The corporation's principal office; or

(4) The corporation's registered office when left with the corporation's registered agent;

b. If mailed postage prepaid and correctly addressed to a shareholder, upon deposit in the United States mail;

c. If mailed by United States mail postage prepaid and correctly addressed to a recipient other than a shareholder, the earliest of when it is actually received or: (i) if sent by registered or certified mail return receipt requested, the date shown on the return receipt, signed by or on behalf of the addressee; or (ii) five days after it is deposited in the United States mail;

d. If an electronic transmission, when it is received as provided in subdivision 7; and

e. If oral, when communicated.

10. A notice or other communication may be in the form of an electronic transmission that cannot be directly reproduced in paper form by the recipient through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice only if (i) the electronic transmission is otherwise retrievable in perceivable form, and (ii) the sender and the recipient have consented in writing to the use of such form of electronic transmission.

B. If this chapter prescribes requirements for notices or other communications in particular circumstances, those requirements govern. If articles of incorporation or bylaws prescribe requirements for notices or other communications not inconsistent with this section or other provisions of this chapter, those requirements govern. The articles of incorporation or bylaws may authorize or require delivery of notices of meetings of directors by electronic transmission.

C. Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to shareholders, any notice to shareholders given by a public corporation, under any provision of this chapter, the articles of incorporation, or the bylaws, shall be effective if given in a manner permitted by the rules and regulations under the federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934, provided that the corporation has first received any affirmative written consent or implied consent required under those rules and regulations.

D. If any provisions of this chapter are deemed to modify, limit, or supersede the federal General Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq., the provisions of this chapter shall control to the maximum extent permitted by § 102(a)(2) of that federal act or any successor provision of that federal act.

E. Whenever notice would otherwise be required to be given under any provision of this chapter to a shareholder, the notice need not be given if:

1. Notices to shareholders of two consecutive annual meetings, and all notices of meetings during the period between two consecutive annual meetings, have been sent, other than by electronic transmission, to such shareholder at such shareholder's address as shown on the records of the corporation and have been returned undeliverable or could not be delivered; or

2. All, but not less than two, distributions to shareholders during a 12-month period, or two consecutive distributions to shareholders during a period of more than 12 months, have been sent to such shareholder at such shareholder's address as shown on the records of the corporation and have been returned undeliverable or could not be delivered.

If any shareholder, for which notice is not required, delivers to the corporation a written notice setting forth such shareholder's then-current address, the requirement that notice be given shall be reinstated.

1985, c. 522; 2002, c. 285; 2003, c. 728; 2005, c. 765; 2007, c. 165; 2010, c. 782; 2019, c. 734; 2020, c. 1226; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 487.

A. A corporation shall be deemed to have delivered written notice or any other report or statement under this chapter, the articles of incorporation or the bylaws to all shareholders who share a common address as shown on the corporation's current record of shareholders if:

1. The corporation delivers one copy of the notice, report or statement to the common address;

2. The corporation addresses the notice, report or statement to those shareholders either as a group or to each of those shareholders individually or to the shareholders in a form to which each of those shareholders has consented; and

3. Each of those shareholders consents, including any implied consent pursuant to subsection B, to delivery of a single copy of such notice, report or statement to the shareholders' common address.

B. Any shareholder who fails to object by written notice to the corporation, within 60 days of written notice by the corporation of its intention to deliver single copies of notices, reports, or statements to shareholders who share a common address as permitted by subsection A, shall be deemed to have consented to receiving such single copy at the common address, provided that the notice of intention states that consent may be revoked and the method for revoking such consent.

C. Any consent pursuant to this section shall be revocable by any shareholder who delivers written notice of revocation to the corporation. If such written notice of revocation is delivered, the corporation shall begin providing individual notices, reports, or other statements to the revoking shareholder no later than 30 days after delivery of the written notice of revocation.

2007, c. 165; 2019, c. 734.

A. For purposes of this chapter, the following identified as a shareholder in a corporation's current record of shareholders constitutes one shareholder:

1. Three or fewer co-owners;

2. A corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, business trust, trust, estate, or other entity; or

3. The trustees, guardians, custodians, or other fiduciaries of a single trust, estate, or account.

B. For purposes of this chapter, shareholdings registered in substantially similar names constitute one shareholder if it is reasonable to believe that the names represent the same person.

1985, c. 522; 2005, c. 765; 2019, c. 734.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to sign a document that the person knows is false in any material respect with intent that the document be delivered to the Commission for filing.

B. Anyone who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Code 1950, § 13.1-134; 1958, c. 564; 1975, c. 500; 1985, c. 522; 2019, c. 734.

It shall be unlawful for any person to transact business in this Commonwealth as a corporation or to offer or advertise to transact business in this Commonwealth as a corporation unless the alleged corporation is either a domestic corporation or a foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this Commonwealth. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Code 1950, § 13.1-135; 1958, c. 565; 1981, c. 320; 1985, c. 522.

A. The Commission shall have no power to grant a hearing with respect to any certificate issued by the Commission with respect to any articles filed with the Commission except on a petition by a shareholder filed with the Commission and delivered to the corporation within 30 days after the effective date of the certificate, in which the shareholder asserts that the certification of corporate action contained in the articles contains a misstatement of a material fact as to compliance with statutory requirements, specifying the particulars thereof. After hearing, on notice in writing to the corporation and the shareholder, the Commission shall determine the issues and revoke or refuse to revoke its order accordingly.

B. No court in or outside of the Commonwealth shall have jurisdiction to enjoin or delay the holding of any meeting of directors or shareholders for the purpose of authorizing or consummating any amendment, correction, merger, share exchange, domestication, conversion, dissolution, or termination of corporate existence or the execution or filing with the Commission of any articles or other documents for such purpose, except pursuant to subsection C of § 13.1-661 or for fraud. No court in or outside of the Commonwealth, except the Supreme Court by way of appeal as authorized by law, shall have jurisdiction to review, reverse, correct, or annul any action of the Commission, within the scope of its authority, with regard to any articles, certificate, order, objection, or petition, or to suspend or delay the execution or operation thereof, or to enjoin, restrain, or interfere with the Commission in the performance of its official duties.

C. Notwithstanding any provision of subsection A to the contrary, the Commission shall have the power to act upon articles of correction filed by the corporation pursuant to § 13.1-607 or upon a petition filed by a corporation at any time to correct Commission records so as to eliminate the effects of clerical errors and of filings made by a person or persons without authority to act for the corporation, or on the Commission's own motion to correct Commission records so as to eliminate the effects of clerical errors committed by its staff.

Code 1950, § 13.1-125; 1956, c. 428; 1975, c. 500; 1985, c. 522; 2005, c. 765; 2008, c. 91; 2010, c. 782; 2015, c. 623; 2019, c. 734; 2023, cc. 529, 530.