72 of 74 fee datums on this page are verified against the agency's own published schedule or statute (2026-09-04); the rest are marked pending review in the Status column - portal-surcharge components no official page states, values the official source contradicts (held for a correction package), or sources that could not be reached.
Values were first corroborated across independent internal records; verified cells now also carry the agency's own published schedule or statute as their authority, which is what promotion to verified requires.
Cost position
Ranked 21 of 54 on first-year state
filing cost, at $150.00 against a national median
of $185.00.
Recurring annual cost $50.
See the full ranking.
Where Virginia sits among its neighbours in the first-year cost ranking (USD)Show all 54 jurisdictionsThe full ranking with Virginia highlighted (USD)
Registered-agent statutes, quoted verbatim
The one section on this page that clears the publication gate in full. 11 citations, verified, quoted from the official code with every elision marked.
Va. Code § 13.1-634
◎Verified
Virginia Stock Corporation Act · applies to
corporations
Registered office and registered agent.A. Each corporation shall continuously maintain in the Commonwealth: 1. A registered office that may be the same as any of its places of business; and 2. A registered agent, who shall be: a. An individual who is a resident of the Commonwealth and (i) either an officer or director of the corporation or (ii) a member of the Virginia State Bar and whose business office is identical with the registered office; or b. A domestic or foreign stock or nonstock corporation, limited liability company, or registered limited liability partnership authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth, the business office of which is identical with the registered office; provided such a registered agent (i) shall not be its own registered agent and (ii) shall designate by instrument in writing, acknowledged before a notary public, one or more natural persons at the office of the registered agent upon whom any process, notice or demand may be served and shall continuously maintain at least one such person at that office. [...]
Virginia Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Registered office and registered agent.A. Each domestic limited liability company and each foreign limited liability company registered pursuant to Article 10 (§ 13.1-1051 et seq.) of this chapter shall continuously maintain in the Commonwealth: 1. A registered office that may be the same as any of its places of business; and 2. A registered agent who shall be either: a. An individual who is a resident of the Commonwealth and is (i) a member or manager of the limited liability company, [...] or (vi) a member of the Virginia State Bar, and whose business office is identical with the registered office; b. A domestic or foreign stock or nonstock corporation, limited liability company, or registered limited liability partnership authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth, the business office of which is identical with the registered office [...]
Virginia Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Registered office and registered agent.c. A Virginia resident who is an officer of the limited liability company, provided that such a registered agent or a natural person designated by the registered agent shall be available during regular business hours at the registered office to accept service of any process, notice, or demand. [...]
Articles of incorporation.A. The articles of incorporation shall set forth: 1. A corporate name for the corporation that satisfies the requirements of § 13.1-630; 2. The number of shares the corporation is authorized to issue; 3. If more than one class or series of shares is authorized, the number of authorized shares of each class or series and a distinguishing designation for each class or series; and 4. The address of the corporation's initial registered office (including both (i) the post-office address with street and number, if any, and (ii) the name of the city or county in which it is located), and the name of its initial registered agent at that office [...]
Virginia Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Articles of organization.A. The articles of organization shall set forth: 1. A name for the limited liability company that satisfies the requirements of § 13.1-1012; 2. The post office address, including the street and number, if any, of the limited liability company's initial registered office, the name of the city or county in which it is located, the name of its initial registered agent at that office [...] D. If the Commission finds that the articles of organization comply with the requirements of law and that all required fees have been paid, it shall issue a certificate of organization.
Annual report of domestic and foreign corporations.A. Each domestic corporation, and each foreign corporation authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth, shall file, within the time prescribed by this section, an annual report setting forth: 1. The name of the corporation, the address of its principal office, and the jurisdiction of its formation; 2. The address of the registered office of the corporation in the Commonwealth [...] 3. The names and post office addresses of the directors and the principal officers of the corporation; and 4. A statement of the aggregate number of shares that the corporation has authority to issue.
Virginia Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Assessment of annual registration fees; annual registration fees to be paid by domestic and foreign limited liability companies.A. Every domestic limited liability company, every protected series, every foreign limited liability company registered to transact business in the Commonwealth, and every foreign protected series registered to transact business in the Commonwealth shall pay into the state treasury on or before the last day of the twelfth month next succeeding the month in which it was organized, established, or registered to transact business in the Commonwealth, and by such date in each year thereafter, an annual registration fee of $50 [...]
Automatic termination of corporate existence.A. If any domestic corporation fails to file its annual report or pay its annual registration fee in a timely manner as required by this chapter, the Commission shall mail to each such corporation a notice of the impending termination of its corporate existence. Whether or not such notice is mailed, if any corporation fails to file its annual report or pay its annual registration fee on or before the last day of the fourth month immediately following its annual report or annual registration fee due date each year, the corporate existence of the corporation shall be automatically terminated as of that day.
Virginia Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Automatic cancellation of limited liability company existence.A. Whether or not the notice described in subsection B of § 13.1-1064 is mailed, if any limited liability company fails to pay its annual registration fee on or before the last day of the third month immediately following its annual registration fee due date each year, the existence of the limited liability company shall be automatically canceled as of that day.
Corporate name.A. A corporate name shall contain the word "corporation," "incorporated," "company," or "limited," or the abbreviation "corp.," "inc.," "co.," or "ltd." Such words and their corresponding abbreviations may be used interchangeably for all purposes. B. A corporate name shall not contain: 1. Any language stating or implying that the corporation will conduct any of the special kinds of businesses listed in § 13.1-620 unless it proposes in fact to engage in such special kind of business; [...] 3. Any word, abbreviation, or combination of characters that states or implies the corporation is a limited liability company, a limited partnership, a registered limited liability partnership, or a protected series of a series limited liability company; [...]
Virginia Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Name.A. A limited liability company name shall contain the words "limited company" or "limited liability company" or their abbreviations "L.C.," "LC," "L.L.C.," or "LLC." B. A limited liability company name shall not contain: 1. Any word, abbreviation, or combination of characters that states or implies the limited liability company is a corporation, a limited partnership, a registered limited liability partnership, or a protected series of a series limited liability company; or 2. Any word or phrase the use of which is prohibited by law for such company. C. Except as authorized by subsection D, a limited liability company name shall be distinguishable upon the records of the Commission from: [...]
Virginia is unusually restrictive. A corporation's registered agent must be either (a) an individual Virginia resident who is an officer or director of the corporation OR a member of the Virginia State Bar, with a business office identical to the registered office, or (b) a domestic or foreign stock or nonstock corporation, LLC, or registered LLP authorized to transact business in Virginia (which may not serve as its own registered agent). For LLCs the resident-individual category is broader: a member or manager (or member/manager/officer/GP/trustee of an entity that is a member or manager), a Virginia State Bar member, or a Virginia-resident 'officer of the limited liability company' available at the registered office during business hours (Va. Code § 13.1-1015(A)(2)).
Administrative Dissolution. The Commission may involuntarily terminate a corporation's existence (or an LLC's, § 13.1-1050.3(A)(2)) for failing to maintain a registered office or registered agent; properties pass to directors (or managers/members) as trustees in liquidation.
Reinstatement Fee. Reinstatement within five years requires a $100 reinstatement fee plus all annual registration fees and penalties that accrued to the date of reinstatement (same $100 fee for corporations, foreign corporations, and LLCs).
No Court Access. A foreign corporation transacting business in Virginia without a certificate of authority may not maintain a proceeding in any Virginia court until it obtains one.
Civil Penalty. Each officer, director, and employee who knowingly does business in Virginia for a foreign corporation lacking a certificate of authority is personally liable for a penalty of $500 to $5,000.
Dollar amounts named in the registered-agent statutes
What
Amount
Status
Reinstatement fee - domestic corporation whose existence was terminated
$100
○Pending review
Reinstatement fee - foreign corporation whose certificate of authority was withdrawn or revoked
$100
○Pending review
Reinstatement fee - LLC whose existence was canceled
$100
○Pending review
Personal penalty per officer, director, or employee knowingly transacting business for an unauthorized foreign corporation
not less than $500 and not more than $5,000
○Pending review
13 statutory citations and their supporting verbatim quotations sit behind this section in the record and are withheld from public display until the review pass lands, because a citation presented as authority is a verification claimed. Statutory references appearing inside the summaries above are part of the recorded text rather than an authority claim, and they are not rendered as citations, linked, or emitted in this page's structured data. How the gate works.
Governance rules
7 governance rules are recorded for Virginia - the organizational and annual meetings, action by written consent, and whether bylaws or an operating agreement are mandatory. Each verified rule links to the statutory text it was verified against, quoted verbatim below.
Organizational meeting required · applies to
corporations ·
yes
the initial directors shall hold an organizational meeting, at the call of a majority of the directors, to complete the organization of the corporation by appointing officers, adopting bylaws
Operating agreement required · applies to
LLCs ·
no
An operating agreement must initially be agreed to by all of the members. Unless the articles of organization or a written operating agreement specifically requires otherwise, an operating agreement need not be in writing.
the members of a limited liability company may take action permitted or required to be taken by the members without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote
Action by written consent allowed · applies to
LLCs ·
yes
if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by members having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting
Virginia prohibits any person from conducting business in the Commonwealth under an assumed or fictitious name unless a certificate of assumed or fictitious name is filed in the office of the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Certificates were filed with circuit court clerks before January 1, 2020; the SCC is now the filing office.
Where it is filed
The clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Section 59.1-74(B) confirms the pre-2020 circuit-court-clerk filing path is historical: local revenue licenses now require evidence of an SCC filing (or a pre-January 1, 2020 court filing).
Term and renewal
The chapter prescribes no fixed duration or renewal cycle. A certificate remains on file until the person stops using the name and files a certificate of release of the assumed or fictitious name ($10 fee).
Name restrictions
The chapter's stated restriction is anti-deception as to geography: an assumed or fictitious name may not be used to intentionally misrepresent the geographic origin or location of the person.
Assumed names for registered entities
A foreign corporation whose real name does not satisfy Virginia's corporate-name requirements may obtain or keep its certificate of authority by using a "designated name" - either its name plus an entity indicator (corp., inc., co., ltd., etc.) or, if its real name is unavailable, an available compliant name - after informing the Commission. Parallel designated-name provisions exist for foreign LLCs (§ 13.1-1054) and other entity types.
Penalties
Violating the chapter is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both. Noncompliance does not void recoveries by or against the person, but no action may be maintained in Virginia courts by the person (or assignees/successors) until the certificate is filed. Knowingly signing a materially false certificate intended for filing with the Commission is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A commissioner of the revenue may not issue a business license until the assumed-name certificate has been filed and evidence of the filing provided.
Filing a certificate of assumed or fictitious name
$10
Va. Code § 59.1-70(C)
◎Verified
Filing a certificate of release of an assumed or fictitious name
$10
Va. Code § 59.1-70.1(C)
◎Verified
Known gaps in the record
exclusiveRights - the chapter is silent on whether filing grants exclusive rights to the name; there is no exclusive-rights grant and no express no-exclusive-right disclaimer to quote. Do not state either proposition with a chapter cite.
§ 59.1-72 does not appear in the official chapter view at all (the view shows §§ 59.1-71 and 59.1-73 as repealed placeholders but skips 59.1-72); manifest notes it as dropped/repealed.
Common questions
Where do I file a fictitious name certificate in Virginia?
With the clerk of the State Corporation Commission. Va. Code § 59.1-69(B) requires the certificate before conducting business under an assumed or fictitious name, and § 59.1-74(B) shows that circuit-court-clerk filing applies only to certificates filed before January 1, 2020.
How much does a Virginia assumed name filing cost?
The statute sets the fee at $10 for filing a certificate of assumed or fictitious name (Va. Code § 59.1-70(C)) and $10 for filing a certificate of release when you stop using the name (§ 59.1-70.1(C)).
What are the consequences of skipping the filing in Virginia?
Virginia is one of the stricter states: violating the chapter is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, or both (Va. Code § 59.1-75), no action can be maintained in Virginia courts until the certificate is filed (§ 59.1-76), and a commissioner of the revenue may not issue a license until the certificate is filed (§ 59.1-74(B)).
Does a Virginia fictitious name certificate expire?
The chapter sets no expiration or renewal cycle. The certificate remains on file until the person is no longer conducting business under the name and files a certificate of release under Va. Code § 59.1-70.1.
Recurring entity-level tax
No franchise or privilege tax in this jurisdiction
Stored as a delta against the federal baseline:
4 days this state closes that the
federal government does not, and 0 federal
holidays its filing office works through.
Virginia 2026 closure delta
Date
Day
Filing office
2026-11-03
Election Day
Filing office closed
2026-11-25
Thanksgiving Eve (4 hours)
Filing office closed
2026-11-27
Day After Thanksgiving
Filing office closed
2026-12-24
Christmas Eve (8 hours)
Filing office closed
Provenance - Virginia 2026 closures◎Verified
Citation withheld: this record did not clear the publication gate.
4 restricted entity-name word entries
are recorded for Virginia - 1 prohibited outright,
the rest requiring an agency's consent or licensure before the word may appear in a name.
Governing law: Va. Code sec. 13.1-630 (stock corporations), sec. 13.1-1012 (LLC); word-specific restrictions in Va. Code secs. 6.2-939 and 6.2-1306.
Virginia restricted entity-name words
Treatment
Word or phrase
Authority
Citation
Status
License required
credit union
State Corporation Commission (credit union charter) or federal authorization
Va. Code sec. 6.2-1306 - only credit unions organized under Virginia law, federally authorized credit unions, or associations whose members are exclusively such credit unions may use 'credit union' in a name or title; violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor and enjoinable
◎Verified
Prohibited
Redevelopment
Va. Code sec. 13.1-630(B)(2) - name shall not contain 'the word "redevelopment" unless the corporation is organized as an urban redevelopment corporation pursuant to Chapter 190 of the Acts of Assembly of 1946'
◎Verified
Restricted
(language implying banking, insurance, savings institution, public service company, or other special kind of business listed in sec. 13.1-620)
Va. Code sec. 13.1-630(B)(1) - name shall not contain 'any language stating or implying that the corporation will conduct any of the special kinds of businesses listed in sec. 13.1-620 unless it proposes in fact to engage in such special kind of business'
Va. Code sec. 6.2-939 - unauthorized persons 'shall not ... use the word "bank," "banking," "banker," or "trust"' in connection with any business unless the remaining context unmistakably indicates a non-banking business; bank holding companies excepted; violation is a Class 6 felony
● accepted · ○ not accepted · ? unknown or conditional (hover for the recorded condition). Channel data covers 54 jurisdictions (2026-08-15 wave). Source links render on verified rows only.
Contact the filing office
Verified against the agency's own contact page
2026-08-13 - office hours: SCC regular business hours 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Source links render on verified rows only.
State Corporation Commission, Clerk's Office, P.O. Box 1197, Richmond, VA 23218-1197
Courier / walk-in
1300 E. Main St, 1st floor, Richmond, VA 23219
The Clerk of the Commission is the business filing office - use its Contact Center line and P.O. Box 1197, not the SCC general information line or the Document Control Center box (P.O. Box 2118), which is for records.
Purposed contact channels, Virginia
Kind
Value
What it is for
Purpose
Source
phone
804-371-9733
Clerk of the Commission - Main Office / Contact Center
Where to search Virginia's UCC (Article 9) financing statements, on what terms, and what the office charges to file one. Verified against the filing office's own pages 2026-09-11. UCC division contacts are listed with the other filing-office contacts above.
UCC records - Virginia◎Verified
Filing office
Virginia State Corporation Commission - Office of the Clerk (Clerk's Information System, CIS)
Filing-office statute
Va. Code § 8.9A-501 (filing office = 'the office of the State Corporation Commission or any office duly authorized by it, in all other cases'; transmitting utilities also SCC) - read at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.9A/chapter5/section8.9A-501/
Online CIS search and viewing/downloading of 'unofficial' document images: no charge, no login. UCC-11 Information Request fees as printed: 'Search Response, noncertified $7.00'; 'Search and All Copies, noncertified $7.00 search plus: 25 or fewer pages: no charge; 26 or more pages: $10.00'; 'Specified Copies Only, noncertified 25 or fewer pages: no charge; 26 or more pages: $10.00'; 'Certification
Filing images online
Yes, free: 'To view and download "unofficial" document images of UCC and federal tax lien filings, visit the Clerk's Information System (CIS)'; the UCC landing page says document images are available in PDF format from October 1, 2003 onward.
$20 per financing statement, filed online through the Clerk's Information System (CIS); paper submissions are returned unprocessed
Filing channels
online only - paper is not accepted; Portal: Clerk's Information System (CIS), https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/. Paper submissions are returned unprocessed.
Whether Virginia requires a general state-level business license, and on what terms. A "None" is a verified finding cited to the agency's own pages, not a gap. Which of the state's filings ask for an industry code is in the next section.
State business license - Virginia◎Verified
General state license
None - the state issues no general business license; licensing is occupation-specific and local
Where a new business registers
Virginia Department of Taxation (Virginia Tax) - registration only; business licenses are issued by the local Commissioner of the Revenue agency page↗ (opens the official source)
county and city licenses - The governing body of any county, city or town may charge a fee for issuing a license in an amount not to exceed $100 for any locality with a population greater than 50,000
Which of Virginia's business filings ask the filer for an industry classification, and in what form. "No industry information" is a positive finding cited to the form. Where the state uses its own category list and the list was captured, it is expandable below. The NAICS and SIC reference lists are on their own page.
Industry code on Virginia filings, 7 of 9 rows verified
Filing
Entity scope
Asks for
Required
Where on the form
Source
Formation
stock corporation (paper Form SCC619)
no industry information
not asked
SCC619 Articles I (name), II (shares), III (registered agent), IV (registered office), V (principal office, optional), VI (initial directors)
LLC1011 Section I (LLC Information), II (Principal Office Address), III (Registered Agent), IV (Qualification), V (Registered Office Address), VI (Signatures)
C corporations and other Form 500 filers - Form 500 Virginia Corporation Income Tax Return (Virginia has no franchise or
NAICS code
mandatory
Form 500 header: 'NAICS Code' (6-digit) and 'Description of Business Activity'
pending review
Formation - Business Type drop-down (Industry Code) - CIS Articles of Organization data entry, 1 options (visible only inside the filing portal; public instructions captured)
Virginia has 133 county-equivalents: 95 countyies, 38 independent cityies. Names and codes are the U.S. Census Bureau's (2020 national county codes); county seats and official sites are not yet published here.
All 133 county-equivalents
Virginia county-equivalents
Name
Type
FIPS
Note
Accomack County
county
51001
Albemarle County
county
51003
Alleghany County
county
51005
Amelia County
county
51007
Amherst County
county
51009
Appomattox County
county
51011
Arlington County
county
51013
Augusta County
county
51015
Bath County
county
51017
Bedford County
county
51019
Bland County
county
51021
Botetourt County
county
51023
Brunswick County
county
51025
Buchanan County
county
51027
Buckingham County
county
51029
Campbell County
county
51031
Caroline County
county
51033
Carroll County
county
51035
Charles City County
county
51036
Charlotte County
county
51037
Chesterfield County
county
51041
Clarke County
county
51043
Craig County
county
51045
Culpeper County
county
51047
Cumberland County
county
51049
Dickenson County
county
51051
Dinwiddie County
county
51053
Essex County
county
51057
Fairfax County
county
51059
Fauquier County
county
51061
Floyd County
county
51063
Fluvanna County
county
51065
Franklin County
county
51067
Frederick County
county
51069
Giles County
county
51071
Gloucester County
county
51073
Goochland County
county
51075
Grayson County
county
51077
Greene County
county
51079
Greensville County
county
51081
Halifax County
county
51083
Hanover County
county
51085
Henrico County
county
51087
Henry County
county
51089
Highland County
county
51091
Isle of Wight County
county
51093
James City County
county
51095
King and Queen County
county
51097
King George County
county
51099
King William County
county
51101
Lancaster County
county
51103
Lee County
county
51105
Loudoun County
county
51107
Louisa County
county
51109
Lunenburg County
county
51111
Madison County
county
51113
Mathews County
county
51115
Mecklenburg County
county
51117
Middlesex County
county
51119
Montgomery County
county
51121
Nelson County
county
51125
New Kent County
county
51127
Northampton County
county
51131
Northumberland County
county
51133
Nottoway County
county
51135
Orange County
county
51137
Page County
county
51139
Patrick County
county
51141
Pittsylvania County
county
51143
Powhatan County
county
51145
Prince Edward County
county
51147
Prince George County
county
51149
Prince William County
county
51153
Pulaski County
county
51155
Rappahannock County
county
51157
Richmond County
county
51159
Roanoke County
county
51161
Rockbridge County
county
51163
Rockingham County
county
51165
Russell County
county
51167
Scott County
county
51169
Shenandoah County
county
51171
Smyth County
county
51173
Southampton County
county
51175
Spotsylvania County
county
51177
Stafford County
county
51179
Surry County
county
51181
Sussex County
county
51183
Tazewell County
county
51185
Warren County
county
51187
Washington County
county
51191
Westmoreland County
county
51193
Wise County
county
51195
Wythe County
county
51197
York County
county
51199
Alexandria city
independent city
51510
Bristol city
independent city
51520
Buena Vista city
independent city
51530
Charlottesville city
independent city
51540
Chesapeake city
independent city
51550
Colonial Heights city
independent city
51570
Covington city
independent city
51580
Danville city
independent city
51590
Emporia city
independent city
51595
Fairfax city
independent city
51600
Falls Church city
independent city
51610
Franklin city
independent city
51620
Fredericksburg city
independent city
51630
Galax city
independent city
51640
Hampton city
independent city
51650
Harrisonburg city
independent city
51660
Hopewell city
independent city
51670
Lexington city
independent city
51678
Lynchburg city
independent city
51680
Manassas city
independent city
51683
Manassas Park city
independent city
51685
Martinsville city
independent city
51690
Newport News city
independent city
51700
Norfolk city
independent city
51710
Norton city
independent city
51720
Petersburg city
independent city
51730
Poquoson city
independent city
51735
Portsmouth city
independent city
51740
Radford city
independent city
51750
Richmond city
independent city
51760
Roanoke city
independent city
51770
Salem city
independent city
51775
Staunton city
independent city
51790
Suffolk city
independent city
51800
Virginia Beach city
independent city
51810
Waynesboro city
independent city
51820
Williamsburg city
independent city
51830
Winchester city
independent city
51840
Other records held
Other records held for Virginia
Record
Value
Status
Change of registered agent
$0
○Pending review
Who must be named in public filings
LLC: articles of organization (Va. Code 13.1-1011(A), verified verbatim in corpus) require only the LLC name, registered office/agent + agent qualification capacity, and principal office address - NO member or manager names or addresses go on the public record at formation, and VA LLCs file NO annual report (fee assess
○Pending review
These come from a research pass its own author graded CANDIDATES. They are shown because they are useful and withheld from every ranking on this site because they are not ratified.