SB 852 — Increasing fees for execution of service of process by certified mail

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 852 B YSENATOM ORRIS [Reported[Passed FebruaryMarch 26,12, 2026,2026; from the Committee on Government Organization] CS for SB 852 A BILL to amend and reenact §59-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing service of process fees and fees in shipping and handling expenses for execution of service of process by certified mail upon any defendant;

in effect 90 days from passage (June 10, 2026)] Enr CS for SB 852 AN ACT to amend and reenact §59-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing service of process fees and fees in shipping and handling expenses for execution of service of process by certified mail upon any defendant;

Enr CS for SB 852 (J) Amendment and restatement of articles of incorporation, certificate of limited partnership, agreement of voluntary association or articles of organization of limited liability partnership, limited liability company or professional limited liability company or business trust, $25;

Enr CS for SB 852 (B) Certificate of authority of nonprofit corporation, $50;

Enr CS for SB 852 (Q) Certificate of withdrawal or cancellation of a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, voluntary association, or business, trust $25;

Enr CS for SB 852 (H) Any other certificate not specified in this subdivision, $10.

(D) For acceptance, indexing, and recordation of service of process for any corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, voluntary association, business trust, insurance company, person, or other entity as permitted by law, $15 $20;

(E) For shipping and handling expenses for execution of service of process by certified mail upon any defendant within the United States, which fee is to be deposited to the special revenue account established in this section for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State, $5 $15;

(F) For shipping and handling expenses for execution of service of process upon any defendant outside the United States by registered mail, which fee is to be deposited to the special revenue account established in this section for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State, $15 $20.

Enr CS for SB 852 (C) For any search of records maintained on site for the purpose of obtaining copies of documents or printouts of data, $5;

Enr CS for SB 852 (d) The records maintained by the Secretary of State are prepared and indexed at the expense of the state and those records shall not be obtained for commercial resale without the written agreement of the state to a contract including reimbursement to the state for each instance of resale.

Provided, That Enr CS for SB 852 after June 30, 2008, the annual report fees designated in §31B-1-108 of this code shall upon collection, be deposited in the General Administrative Fees Account described in §59-1-21(h) of this code;

(h)(1)(h) Effective July 1, 2008, there is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account to be known as the General Administrative Fees Account.

Expenditures from the account shall be used for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State and are not authorized from collections, but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in Enr CS for SB 852 Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of §12-3-1 et seq.

The assets of the Enr CS for SB 852 prepaid fees and services account do not constitute public funds of the state and are available solely for carrying out the purposes of this section.

(k) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, after July 1, 2017, the Secretary of State may offer a fee for expedited services which shall may not exceed $500.

10Enr CS for SB 852 The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.

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Clerk of the Senate ...............................................................

Clerk of the House of Delegates Originated in the Senate.

In effect 90 days from passage.

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President of the Senate ...............................................................

Speaker of the House of Delegates __________ The within is ................................................

this the...........................................

Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2026.

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Governor 11