Section 23B.01.400 - DefinitionsThe definitions in this section apply throughout this title unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Articles of incorporation" include amended and restated articles of incorporation and articles of merger.(2) "Authorized shares" means the shares of all classes a domestic or foreign corporation is authorized to issue.(3) "Conspicuous" means so prepared that a reasonable person against whom the writing is to operate should have noticed it. For example, text in italics, boldface, contrasting color, capitals, or underlined is conspicuous.(4) "Controlling interest" means ownership of an entity's outstanding shares or interests in such number as to entitle the holder at the time to elect a majority of the entity's directors or other governors without regard to voting power which may thereafter exist upon a default, failure, or other contingency.(5) "Corporate action" means any resolution, act, policy, contract, transaction, plan, adoption or amendment of articles of incorporation or bylaws, or other matter approved by or submitted for approval to a corporation's incorporators, board of directors or a committee thereof, or shareholders.(6) "Corporation" or "domestic corporation" means a corporation for profit, including a social purpose corporation, which is not a foreign corporation, incorporated under or subject to the provisions of this title.(7) "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 RCW 23B.01.410, by electronic transmission.(8) "Distribution" means a direct or indirect transfer of money or other property, except its own shares, or incurrence of indebtedness by a corporation to or for the benefit of its shareholders in respect to any of its shares. A distribution may be in the form of a declaration or payment of a dividend; a distribution in partial or complete liquidation, or upon voluntary or involuntary dissolution; a purchase, redemption, or other acquisition of shares; a distribution of indebtedness; or otherwise.(9) "Document" means: (a) Any tangible medium on which information is inscribed, and includes handwritten, typed, printed, or similar instruments or copies of such instruments; and(b) An electronic record.(10) "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.(11) "Electronic mail" means an electronic transmission directed to a unique electronic mail address, which electronic mail will be deemed to include any files attached thereto and any information hyperlinked to a website if the electronic mail includes the contact information of an officer or agent of the corporation who is available to assist with accessing such files and information.(12) "Electronic mail address" means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, consisting of a unique user name or mailbox, commonly referred to as the "local part" of the address, and a reference to an internet domain, commonly referred to as the "domain part" of the address, whether or not displayed, to which electronic mail can be sent or delivered.(13) "Electronic record" means information that is stored in an electronic or other nontangible medium and: (a) Is retrievable in paper form by the recipient through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice; or(b) if not retrievable in paper form by the recipient through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice, is otherwise authorized in accordance with RCW 23B.01.410(10).(14) "Electronic transmission" or "electronically transmitted" means internet transmission, telephonic transmission, electronic mail transmission, transmission of a telegram, cablegram, or datagram, the use of, or participation in, one or more electronic networks or databases including one or more distributed electronic networks or databases, or any other form or process of communication, not directly involving the physical transfer of paper or another tangible medium, which: (a) Is suitable for the retention, retrieval, and reproduction of information by the recipient; and(b) Is retrievable in paper form by the recipient through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice, or, if not retrievable in paper form by the recipient through an automated process used in conventional commercial practice, is otherwise authorized in accordance with RCW 23B.01.410(10).(15) "Employee" includes an officer but not a director. A director may accept duties that make the director also an employee.(16) "Entity" includes a corporation and foreign corporation, not-for-profit corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, two or more persons having a joint or common economic interest, the state, United States, and a foreign governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.(17) "Execute," "executes," or "executed" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a document: (a) To sign or adopt a tangible symbol to the document, and includes any manual, facsimile, or conformed signature;(b) To attach or logically associate with an electronic transmission an electronic sound, symbol, or process, and includes an electronic signature; or(c) With respect to a document to be filed with the secretary of state, in compliance with the standards for filing with the office of the secretary of state as prescribed by the secretary of state.(18) "Foreign corporation" means a corporation for profit incorporated under a law other than the law of this state.(19) "Foreign limited partnership" means a partnership formed under laws other than of this state and having as partners one or more general partners and one or more limited partners.(20) "Forward stock split" means the pro rata division of all the outstanding shares of a class of stock into a greater number of shares of the same class, whether or not the authorized shares of such a class are increased in the same proportion, but does not include a share dividend under RCW 23B.06.230.(21) "General social purpose" means the general social purpose for which a social purpose corporation is organized as set forth in the articles of incorporation of the corporation in accordance with RCW 23B.25.040(1)(c).(22) "Governmental subdivision" includes authority, county, district, and municipality.(23) "Governor" has the meaning given that term in RCW 23.95.105.(24) "Includes" denotes a partial definition.(25) "Individual" includes the estate of an incompetent or deceased individual.(26) "Interest" means either or both of the following rights under the organic law governing an other entity: (a) A right to receive distributions from the other entity either in the ordinary course of business or upon liquidation; or(b) The right to receive notice of or vote on issues involving the other entity's internal affairs, other than as an agent, assignee, proxy, or person responsible for managing the other entity's business affairs.(27) "Interest holder" means a person who holds of record an interest.(28) "Jurisdiction of organization" means the state or country the law of which includes the organic law governing a domestic corporation or other entity.(29) "Limited partnership" or "domestic limited partnership" means a partnership formed by two or more persons under the laws of this state and having one or more general partners and one or more limited partners.(30) "Means" denotes an exhaustive definition.(31) "Notice" has the meaning provided in RCW 23B.01.410.(32) "Organic law" means the statute governing the internal affairs of an entity.(33) "Organic rules" means the public organic record and private organic rules of an entity.(34) "Other entity" means any entity that is not any of the following: A domestic corporation, a domestic or foreign not-for-profit corporation, a series of a limited liability company or similar entity, an estate, a trust, a state, the United States, or a foreign governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality. The term includes, but is not limited to, a foreign corporation, a limited partnership, a general partnership, a limited liability company, a joint venture, a joint stock company, and a business trust.(35) "Owner liability" means personal liability for a debt, obligation, or liability of an entity that is imposed on a person:(a) Solely by reason of the person's status as a shareholder or interest holder;(b) By the articles of incorporation or bylaws of a corporation authorizing the articles of incorporation or bylaws to make one or more specified shareholders liable in their capacity as shareholders for all or specified debts, obligations, or liabilities of the corporation; or(c) By one or more organic rules of an other entity authorizing the organic rules to make one or more specified interest holders liable in their capacity as interest holders for all or specified debts, obligations, or liabilities of the other entity.(36) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.(37) "Principal office" means the office, in or out of this state, so designated in the annual report where the principal executive offices of a domestic or foreign corporation are located.(38) "Private organic rules" means (a) the bylaws of a domestic corporation or (b) the rules, regardless of whether in writing, (i) that govern the internal affairs of an other entity, (ii) which are binding on all of the other entity's interest holders, and (iii) which are not part of the other entity's public organic record, if any. Where private organic rules have been amended or restated, the term means the private organic rules as last amended or restated.(39) "Proceeding" includes civil suit and criminal, administrative, and investigatory action.(40) "Public company" means a corporation that either has a class of shares registered with the federal securities and exchange commission pursuant to section 12 or which is subject to section 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934, or section 8 of the investment company act of 1940, or any successor statute.(41) "Public organic record" means (a) the articles of incorporation of a domestic corporation or(b) the document, if any, the filing of which is required to create an other entity. Where a public organic record has been amended or restated, the term means the public organic record as last amended or restated.(42) "Qualified director" means (a) with respect to a director's conflicting interest transaction as defined in RCW 23B.08.700, any director who does not have either (i) a conflicting interest respecting the transaction, or (ii) a familial, financial, professional, or employment relationship with a second director who does have a conflicting interest respecting the transaction, which relationship would, in the circumstances, reasonably be expected to exert an influence on the first director's judgment when voting on the transaction; (b) with respect to RCW 23B.08.735, a qualified director under (a) of this subsection if the business opportunity were a director's conflicting interest transaction; and(c) with respect to RCW 23B.02.020(2)(g), a director who is not a director (i) to whom the limitation or elimination of the duty of an officer to offer potential business opportunities to the corporation would apply, or (ii) who has a familial, financial, professional, or employment relationship with another officer to whom the limitation or elimination would apply, which relationship would, in the circumstances, reasonably be expected to exert an influence on the director's judgment when voting on the limitation or elimination.(43) "Record date" means the date fixed for determining the identity of a corporation's shareholders and their shareholdings for purposes of this title. The determinations shall be made as of the close of business on the record date unless another time for doing so is specified when the record date is fixed.(44) "Registered office" means the address of the corporation's registered agent.(45) "Reverse stock split" means the pro rata combination of all the outstanding shares of a class of stock into a smaller number of shares of the same class, whether or not the authorized shares of such a class are reduced in the same proportion.(46) "Secretary" means the corporate officer to whom the board of directors has delegated responsibility under RCW 23B.08.400(3) for custody of the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors and of the shareholders and for authenticating records of the corporation.(47) "Shareholder" means the person in whose name shares are registered in the records of a corporation or the beneficial owner of shares to the extent of the rights granted by a nominee certificate on file with a corporation.(48) "Shares" means the units into which the proprietary interests in a corporation are divided.(49) "Social purpose" includes any general social purpose and any specific social purpose.(50) "Social purpose corporation" means a corporation that has elected to be governed as a social purpose corporation under chapter 23B.25 RCW.(51) "Specific social purpose" means the specific social purpose or purposes for which a social purpose corporation is organized as set forth in the articles of incorporation of the corporation in accordance with RCW 23B.25.040(2)(a).(52) "State," when referring to a part of the United States, includes a state and commonwealth, and their agencies and governmental subdivisions, and a territory and insular possession, and their agencies and governmental subdivisions, of the United States.(53) "Stock split" means a forward stock split or a reverse stock split.(54) "Subscriber" means a person who subscribes for shares in a corporation, whether before or after incorporation.(55) "Subsidiary" means an entity in which the corporation has, directly or indirectly, a controlling interest.(56) "United States" includes a district, authority, bureau, commission, department, and any other agency of the United States.(57) "Voting group" means all shares of one or more classes or series that under the articles of incorporation or this title 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 title to vote generally on the matter are for that purpose a single voting group.(58) "Voting power" means the total number of votes entitled to be cast by all of the outstanding voting shares of a corporation on the date in question.(59) "Voting shares" means the shares of all classes of a corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors on the date in question.(60) "Writing" or "written" means any information in the form of a document.Amended by 2024 c 22,§ 14, eff. 6/6/2024.Amended by 2023 c 432,§ 1, eff. 7/23/2023.Amended by 2022 c 42,§ 101, eff. 6/9/2022.Amended by 2021 c 84,§ 1, eff. 7/25/2021.Amended by 2020 c 57,§ 39, eff. 6/11/2020.Amended by 2019 c 141,§ 5, eff. 7/28/2019.Amended by 2017 c 28,§ 12, eff. 7/23/2017.Amended by 2015 c 176,§ 2148, eff. 1/1/2016.Amended by 2015 c 20,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2015.Amended by 2012 c 215,§ 17, eff. 6/7/2012. 2009 c 189 § 1. Prior: 2002 c 297 § 9; 2002 c 296 § 1; 2000 c 168 § 1; 1996 c 155 § 4; 1995 c 47 § 1; prior: 1991 c 269 § 35; 1991 c 72 § 28; 1989 c 165 § 14.Reviser's note: The definitions in this section have been alphabetized pursuant to RCW 1.08.015(2)(k).
Effective date-Contingent effective date- 2015 c 176 : See note following RCW 23.95.100.