Home / Resources / Start a nonprofit in Virginia
Step-by-step guide · checked against state sources
How to start a nonprofit in Virginia
Updated September 2026
Virginia incorporation runs through the State Corporation Commission, splits its formation cost into two fees, and puts fundraising registration under the agriculture department. Here is the whole path, checked against state sources.
File Form SCC819 with the State Corporation Commission for $75 total (a $25 filing fee plus a $50 charter fee). Register with VDACS before fundraising ($100, or a $10 exemption if you raise $5,000 or less). Each year: an annual report plus a $25 registration fee to the SCC, and a VDACS renewal.
How to start a nonprofit in Virginia, step by step
Name your Virginia nonprofit
Check availability with the SCC. A name reservation costs $10. Virginia does not require a corporate ending like Inc. for nonstock corporations; the name just has to be distinguishable and not imply a purpose you are not authorized for.
Choose your first board of directors
Plan on at least three people who are not related to each other. Some states allow fewer on paper, but three unrelated directors is what the IRS application works best with, and what funders expect. Pick people who will actually show up.
File your Articles of Incorporation (Form SCC819)
File Form SCC819, Articles of Incorporation of a Virginia Nonstock Corporation, with the State Corporation Commission. The cost is $75 total: a $25 filing fee plus a $50 charter fee, a split that surprises people reading the statute. The SCC's Clerk's Information System handles filings online; confirm the nonstock path when you file.
Name your registered agent
Virginia calls it a registered agent, and every nonstock corporation must maintain one at a Virginia address. A director or officer can serve, or you can pay a service.
Adopt bylaws and hold your first board meeting
Bylaws are your internal rulebook: how directors are chosen, how votes work, what officers you have. At the first meeting the board adopts them, elects officers, and approves opening a bank account. Keep minutes; they are your first governance record.
Get your free EIN
It is free from the IRS; any site charging for an EIN is reselling a free thing. Apply online if your responsible party has an SSN or ITIN and your principal place of business is in the US. It takes minutes. Three limits to know: one EIN per responsible party per day, the tool is not open around the clock, and it times out after 15 minutes with nothing saved. Without an SSN or ITIN you file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead, which takes weeks. You need the EIN for the bank account and every filing after this.
Apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
Two forms, two fees. The short Form 1023-EZ has a $275 user fee, but you may use it only if you clear the whole Eligibility Worksheet. That means three things. Gross receipts did not exceed $50,000 in any of the past three years. They are not projected to exceed $50,000 in any of the next three years. And total assets are $250,000 or less. Churches, schools, hospitals and a few other types cannot use it at all. Everyone else files the full Form 1023, $600. This is the step that makes donations tax-deductible. The IRS currently issues 80 percent of 1023-EZ decisions within about 22 days and 80 percent of full 1023 decisions within about 191 days. It publishes current figures on its status page. Fees read 1 September 2026.
Handle Virginia taxes
Income tax is the easy part: Virginia exempts federally tax-exempt nonprofits by statute, with no application (unrelated business income stays taxable). Sales tax is not automatic: apply through Virginia Tax's Nonprofit Online or Form NP-1. Approval requires your federal exemption, and your administrative costs must stay at or below 40 percent of gross revenue, a cap most founders have never heard of.
Register to fundraise
Register with the VDACS Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs before any soliciting: Form 102, $100 initial fee. Renewals are annual on a sliding scale from $30 to $325 by contribution level, due by the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends. All-volunteer orgs raising $5,000 or less a year are exempt, and can file Form 100 ($10) for a formal exemption letter; once you pass $5,000, you have 30 days to register.
Stay in good standing
Two things annually to the SCC, both due by the end of your anniversary month: the annual report and a separate $25 annual registration fee. Miss them and good standing lapses.
Virginia-specific things to know
The two-fee formation and the two-part annual
Virginia splits formation into a filing fee plus a charter fee, and splits compliance into an annual report plus a registration fee. Budget for four line items where most states have two.
The 40 percent rule on sales tax exemption
Virginia Tax will not grant the sales tax exemption if administrative costs exceed 40 percent of gross revenue. Keep program spending clearly dominant in your books from day one.
General information for people starting a nonprofit in Virginia, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and fees are updated; confirm specifics with the Virginia offices named on this page, the IRS, or a qualified professional before you file.
The Ember tool for thisEmber Spark
Spark walks you from idea to real nonprofit: bylaws, board resolution, and IRS paperwork drafted for you, free, one step at a time.
Sources: Virginia Code sections 13.1-815.1, 13.1-816, 13.1-829, 13.1-936 and 57-60 at law.lis.virginia.gov; VDACS charitable solicitation; Virginia Tax, nonprofit organizations. Read August 2026, re-checked against the same primary sources 1 September 2026.