West Virginia charity registration renewal

The Secretary of State says charitable registration is valid for one year and can be renewed for additional one-year periods. Save the current public record, registration date, expiration date, legal name, solicitation names, last CHR-1, prior acceptance evidence, and any agency correspondence. Begin from that recorded charity date, not from the organization’s federal return or corporate annual report deadline.

West Virginia’s business annual report is a separate entity filing. Completing it does not renew the charity record, and filing CHR-1 does not repair a corporation record. Maintain two calendar entries and two completion proofs so the annual corporate filing does not conceal an expiring charitable registration.

Mark Form CHR-1 as a renewal and reconcile the legal name, addresses, West Virginia location, chapters and affiliates, solicitation names, organizational purpose, entity and federal status, fundraising methods, officers and directors, professional fundraiser relationships, other-state authorizations, legal restrictions, financial-record custodian, contribution controls, program spending, and fundraising amounts. The form requires an authorized officer and the chief fiscal officer to sign.

Attach the IRS determination letter, most recent Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N, the applicable financial statements, and current professional fundraising contracts unless they are already on file. A 990-N filer or an organization that is not federally tax-exempt uses the state Computation of Fundraising Percentage Form. Do not include Social Security, bank account, card, driver’s-license, or other unnecessary identifiers in this public filing.

West Virginia Code and CHR-1 instructions require an independent CPA review when relevant contributions are more than $200,000 but less than $500,000. An independent CPA audit is required when the organization raises more than $500,000. Government grants and private-foundation grants are excluded from this threshold calculation, so the result can differ from total Form 990 revenue.

The official language leaves an exact-$500,000 boundary that is not stated consistently as review or audit. Confirm the report level with the Charities Division before commissioning or filing financial statements for a boundary-year organization. Preserve the calculation showing the included contributions and the excluded government and private-foundation grants.

The Secretary of State lists a $15 annual fee for an independent organization collecting under $1 million and $50 for one collecting over $1 million; a parent filing for affiliates also uses $50. The published language does not expressly allocate an exact $1 million result, so a boundary filer should confirm the amount with the Charities Division instead of guessing.

For good cause, West Virginia Code allows the Secretary of State to extend the annual filing due date for no more than 90 days, during which the previously filed registration remains in effect. Request the extension in writing before expiration and retain approval. After the original or extended due date, the law adds $25 for each month or part of a month, with a $500 cap for the annual registration statement or report. The organization is not properly registered until the required registration and late fees are paid.

Save the final signed CHR-1, every attachment, fee calculation, extension request and approval, delivery evidence, payment proof, and all Charities Division correspondence. A carrier receipt or cashed check is useful evidence, but it does not independently establish that the packet was complete or that the one-year registration was renewed.

Recheck the official charity record for active status and the new expiration date, then save a dated result and begin the next annual calendar. Route any deficiency through one accountable owner and reconcile corrected pages to the preserved filing. CharityClarity can provide a quick public status signal; the Secretary of State record and written agency response remain the completion evidence.