State guide — Virginia

Incorporate a nonprofit in Virginia

State facts checked against Virginia official sources — October 2026

Virginia corporations belong to the State Corporation Commission, not the Secretary of State — and Virginia's stock form, SCC819, contains no place for 501(c)(3) purpose or dissolution language at all. The Commission's own answer is SCC819NP: guidelines for drafting your own articles. In Virginia, a generator isn't a convenience; it's the intended route.

The steps

1. Choose a name and confirm it is available in Virginia — and distinguishable from existing entities in the filing office's records.
2. Line up your agent: registered agent and registered office — the agent must be a Virginia resident in a qualifying category, a Virginia attorney, or an authorized business entity.
3. Draft the articles with the 501(c)(3) clauses in them — see the language section below. This is the step that decides whether the IRS accepts your application months from now.
4. File with State Corporation Commission (SCC) and pay the state fee. File through the Clerk's Information System or by mail to the Clerk's Office in Richmond. The $75 breaks down as a $50 charter fee and a $25 filing fee.
5. Get the EIN — free from the IRS once the corporation exists. The EIN guide covers the traps.
6. Run the eligibility checker and file Form 1023-EZ or Form 1023 on Pay.gov. Then handle Virginia charity registration (below) before you fundraise.

The 501(c)(3) language in Virginia

The stock SCC819 has no 501(c)(3) sections, so file custom articles drafted under the SCC819NP guidelines: specific exempt purpose, purpose limitation, and dissolution dedication included as articles text. The kit's generator produces Virginia nonstock articles in that shape.

The federal requirement underneath all of this is the organizational test: your organizing document must limit the organization to exempt purposes and permanently dedicate its assets to exempt purposes on dissolution. The IRS publishes sample wording — a purpose clause and a dissolution clause — and the kit's generator builds both into your articles automatically.

Virginia traps and notes

• Wrong-office trap: the SCC, not the Secretary of State, charters Virginia corporations.
• Filling the stock form 'as-is' is the DIY failure mode — it cannot express the clauses the IRS requires. Custom articles are the fix.

After incorporation: Virginia charitable solicitation registration

Status: Required. Regulator: Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services — Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs.

Virginia charitable organizations register with the Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs at VDACS before soliciting in the Commonwealth, and renew annually. Confirm exemption categories with the Office.

The national picture — which states require registration, which don't, and the exemptions that actually apply — is in our guide to charitable solicitation registration.