How to move my company out of Virginia

---

Start Your Redomestication Now

The Redomestication Process in a Nutshell

1. Enter your biz name HERE.

Then click "get exact price" and follow the steps.

Takes less than five minutes.

Submit payment securely online then sit back and relax.

24-48 hours

2. We prepare the legal docs.

Our dually-licensed attorney+CPA prepares the legal documents and sends them to you via DocuSign.

You sign. We take it from there.

Same Day

3. We submit the legal filings to the states.

We monitor the status closely, respond to inquiries from their offices, and send you weekly updates.

No extra charge. 100% success rate.

1-3 months

4. Approved! ✅

We send you a checklist of go-forward obligations and simple steps for your tax pro to follow.

120% money-back guarantee if we do not succeed.

Did you know? The average business that moves to a state without state-level income tax saves over $12,500 in taxes per year.

Still have questions? Schedule a free meeting with our attorney and CPA.

Redomestication, also known as redomiciling, refers to the lesser-known legal process of transferring or moving the "home state" of an existing Corporation, partnership, or LLC, from Virginia to a new state. It means keeping your existing company name, credit, and federal employer identification number (FEIN) without wasting time and money creating a new business entity, applying for foreign registration, or moving assets between companies.
— Prof. Chad D. Cummings, Esq., CPA

Start Your Redomestication Now

How to move a company out of Virginia without disrupting operations

When business owners ask how to move their company out of Virginia, they are rarely seeking theory; they are seeking a lawful mechanism that preserves continuity. The principal objective is to relocate the entity’s “home state” while maintaining the operational, contractual, and tax identity that has already been built. In my experience as an attorney and CPA, the correct approach is typically the one that changes domicile with the least friction, the fewest downstream filings, and the lowest risk of unintended tax consequences.

For most established entities, the most efficient answer to the question of how to move a company out of Virginia is redomestication (also referred to as statutory conversion). Properly executed, it allows the entity to remain the same legal “person” while changing its governing state law. To review the process and obtain a precise price for your entity type, see how to move your company out of Virginia via redomestication.

It is also important to understand what “moving” is not. Many owners mistakenly assume they must dissolve a Virginia entity and start over elsewhere, or they believe a foreign registration in the destination state accomplishes a true relocation. Those options often create avoidable compliance obligations and, in the worst cases, trigger contract or tax problems that could have been prevented with a properly structured redomestication.

Why owners decide to move their company out of Virginia: taxes, compliance, and business climate

In practice, the question of how to move a company out of Virginia often arises after a series of cost-and-time signals: higher compliance burdens, reduced flexibility, or a strategic decision to align the company’s “home state” with where its owners and operations actually reside. While every fact pattern is unique, the underlying motivation is usually to improve predictability and reduce administrative drag on growth.

From a tax planning standpoint, many businesses seek to exit Virginia’s tax environment in favor of a jurisdiction that better fits the company’s long-term objectives. That may involve seeking lower state-level taxes, reducing redundant filing requirements, or simply aligning the company’s domicile with a new operational footprint. A careful relocation plan should address not only the “new state” filing, but also the “Virginia exit” steps so the entity does not inadvertently maintain ongoing obligations.

From a legal risk perspective, moving the entity’s home state also changes the corporate or LLC statute governing internal affairs. That can affect member or shareholder rights, fiduciary standards, and procedural rules for disputes. If you are evaluating how to move your company out of Virginia, you should evaluate these governance considerations as carefully as you evaluate tax consequences, because governance drives long-term control and litigation exposure.

Redomestication is the strongest answer to “how to move my company out of Virginia”

When a client asks, in substance, how to move their company out of Virginia while keeping the business intact, redomestication is usually the superior tool because it is designed to preserve continuity. As described in the firm’s redomestication materials, the process transfers the company’s domicile without creating a new entity. That distinction is not semantic; it is operationally decisive.

Most owners want three things preserved: (1) the entity’s existing contracts, (2) the existing federal employer identification number (FEIN), and (3) the business identity used in the marketplace. Redomestication is uniquely positioned to satisfy those objectives because it changes the state of formation while keeping the entity itself continuous. For a step-by-step overview, refer to how to move a Virginia company to a new state through redomestication.

By contrast, “starting fresh” by forming a new entity may appear simple, but it often forces contract assignments, lender consent requests, licensing updates, bank account changes, vendor onboarding repeats, and payroll and tax account transitions. In other words, the most common shortcuts for how to move a company out of Virginia are frequently the most expensive when evaluated over a full year of operations.

Key continuity advantages: FEIN, contracts, and (in most cases) the company name

A central benefit of redomestication is the preservation of the company’s FEIN. As a practical matter, the FEIN is the identifier tied to federal tax filings, payroll systems, and many financial relationships. If you are researching how to move your company out of Virginia, you should treat FEIN continuity as a primary decision criterion, because losing continuity can turn a “move” into a rebuild.

Contracts are equally critical. Many agreements contain change-of-party provisions, anti-assignment clauses, or consent requirements that can be triggered by forming a new entity, merging into a new entity, or transferring assets. Redomestication generally avoids this commercial friction by maintaining the same entity and allowing operations to continue under existing arrangements. This is one of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of how to move a business out of Virginia: owners often focus on the state filing but ignore the contract chain reaction.

Finally, maintaining the company name in most cases protects goodwill and marketing momentum. Brand continuity is not merely aesthetic; it affects customer confidence, vendor payment terms, and online reputation. If the goal is to move out of Virginia without operational disruption, continuity is the governing theme—and redomestication is built to deliver it.

Common misconceptions about moving a company out of Virginia (and why they create legal and tax risk)

The first misconception is that foreign registration is “moving.” Registering as a foreign entity typically means the company continues to exist under Virginia law while obtaining authority to do business elsewhere. That can be appropriate for a company expanding into a new state, but it is usually inefficient for a company that has permanently relocated. When the owner’s true goal is how to move the company out of Virginia, foreign registration may preserve the very Virginia compliance obligations the owner intended to eliminate.

The second misconception is that dissolution is required. Dissolving the Virginia entity and forming a new entity elsewhere often creates avoidable complexity: new bank accounts, new vendor files, new payroll accounts, and potential contractual and licensing interruptions. Worse, dissolution can create timing issues if the new entity is not fully operational before the old entity is wound down, leading to gaps in authority, insurance, or licensing.

The third misconception is that a merger is the “professional” solution. Mergers can be appropriate in certain circumstances, but they frequently add legal cost and procedural steps without producing a better business result. If your question is essentially how to move your company out of Virginia efficiently, a properly structured redomestication is commonly the more direct and cost-effective mechanism.

Procedural considerations: what a defensible Virginia exit plan should address

A credible plan for how to move a company out of Virginia should address both ends of the transaction: (1) the destination state’s requirements for accepting the entity and (2) Virginia’s requirements for concluding the company’s domicile there. Owners often focus on the first and neglect the second, which can leave residual filing obligations, notices, or administrative loose ends.

Governance is another key step. Prior to conversion, the company should confirm that internal approvals are properly documented—whether that means board action, shareholder action, member consent, or partnership approval. In addition, governing documents may need targeted amendments to align with the new state’s statute and to reflect updated registered agent, principal office, and internal governance standards.

Finally, owners should anticipate administrative follow-through: updating banks, payment processors, business licenses, insurance carriers, and major counterparties as needed. Redomestication minimizes disruption, but it does not eliminate the need for disciplined execution. A well-managed process answers how to move your company out of Virginia in a manner that is both legally correct and commercially practical.

How to move your company out of Virginia with professional guidance and predictable outcomes

Because redomestication is a technical process with meaningful legal and tax-adjacent implications, professional guidance is not a luxury; it is risk management. A single filing mismatch, incorrect entity classification, or poorly documented approval can produce delays, rejection, or costly corrective work. If you are seeking how to move a company out of Virginia with minimal operational interruption, you should prioritize a process that is standardized, monitored, and executed with precision.

Equally important, professional execution helps prevent “false certainty.” Business owners frequently receive confident but incomplete advice that leads them toward foreign registration, dissolution, or a merger—only to discover later that they have preserved Virginia obligations, interrupted contracts, or created compliance debt across two states. Redomestication is often the cleanest path because it is designed to relocate domicile while preserving entity continuity.

To proceed using the approach described above, consult how to move your company out of Virginia by redomesticating it. For many established businesses, it is the most direct way to achieve a genuine move—without unnecessary reinvention.

Start Your Redomestication Now

Domestication vs. Foreign Registration vs. Merger vs. Dissolution: A Comparison

Domestication is, in many circumstances, far preferable to registering an LLC or corporation as a foreign entity, especially where the LLC or corporation has permanently moved its operations and will not be returning to the prior state in the near future.

Some attorneys, unfortunately, confuse their clients by recommending a foreign entity registration in the new state, or worse, a merger, where a redomestication™ would have accomplished the goals of moving their business to a new state efficiently and effectively.

The top seven benefits of moving your company (LLC, corporation, or partnership) to a new state via redomestication™ to transfer your business include:

1. Maintaining your existing federal employer identification number, eliminating the tax headaches of forming a new company or transferring assets between companies (and inadvertently triggering a hefty tax bill from the IRS) when you move your business to a new state;
2. Keeping your existing business credit history and track record, safeguarding your reputation with clients, vendors, and creditors when moving your LLC or corporation to a new state;
3. Continuing your existing business name (in almost every case), protecting your most important assets when moving your company to a new state: your brand, reputation, and time you have already invested in search engine optimization;
4. Maintaining your existing contracts with customers and vendors because moving your business to a new state via redomestication™ does not create a new company: it maintains your existing company, saving you dozens (or even hundreds) of hours re-writing (and re-negotiating) contracts and changing banks;
5. Eliminating the need to continue paying registration fees and taxes in your prior state (assuming you have discontinued your operations there and have permanently relocated to a new state), potentially saving you tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in state taxes every quarter when you move your business to a new state;
6. Avoiding unnecessary IRS scrutiny because moving your LLC or corporation to a new state via redomestication™ is a tax-free transaction under the Internal Revenue Code; and
7. Reducing the amount of time you spend on administrative filings, saving you untold hours annually, by moving your company to a new state.

Before taking the "penny wise and pound foolish" approach of foreign entity registration or spending countless hours and exorbitant legal fees (and possibly taxes) on a merger or merger-gone-wrong to move your company to a new state, ensure you understand your options.

In most circumstances, redomestication™ (and not a foreign entity registration or costly and complicated merger) is the best route to achieve a change in company domicile to a new state.

Start Your Redomestication Now