The clerk of the Commission shall, when requested, certify any one or more of the following facts:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 12.1-20

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245

1. That a named domestic corporation is organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Commonwealth and whether it is in good standing.

2. That a named foreign corporation of a named state or other jurisdiction is authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth and whether it is in good standing in the Commonwealth.

3. That a particular security has or has not been registered for sale in the Commonwealth pursuant to the provisions of the Securities Act (§ 13.1-501 et seq.).

4. That a statement or other document required or permitted by law to be filed in the office of the clerk of the Commission has not been filed in that office.

5. The existence or nonexistence of any other fact appearing from the official records of the Commission, unless the disclosure of such fact is forbidden by law, regulation, or legal privilege.

The certificate shall be signed by the clerk or by a member of the clerk’s staff and shall be sealed with the seal of the Commission, or a facsimile thereof. Any signature may be a facsimile. When so sealed, the certificate shall be admitted in evidence in all cases, civil and criminal, as prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it.

For each certificate, the clerk shall charge and collect fees pursuant to § 12.1-21.1 or subsection C of § 12.1-21.2.

Code 1950, § 12-41.1; 1962, c. 219; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 157; 1982, c. 564; 1985, c. 522; 1991, c. 123; 2001, c. 545; 2002, c. 1; 2010, c. 669; 2015, c. 446.