Charter

• Term

  Main definition

• Charter

  The principal governing documents of a corporation or other company, as authorized under the governing corporate law of the state of incorporation or organization.

  The charter is first prepared and filed when the company is first formed and thereafter the charter is typically amended many times. The main document in the charter is typically named the certificate of incorporation or articles of incorporation in the cases of corporations, or the certificate of formation or articles of organization in the case of a limited liability company.  The corporation's bylaws or limited liability company's operating agreement would be the other document included in the term "charter".