> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.topograph.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# West Virginia (US)

> Country-specific identifiers, data sources, and integration details

<Warning>
  This guide is outdated and will be removed on 1 November 2026. The up-to-date West Virginia (US) reference is on the [West Virginia (US) country page](https://www.topograph.co/countries/us-wv).
</Warning>

## Start here

This guide contains public integration notes for West Virginia. Use it for identifier formats, search behavior, and country-specific caveats. The live source of truth for coverage, pricing, data sources, documents, legal forms, and status values is the pricing page.

<Card title="West Virginia coverage, pricing, and sources" icon="arrow-up-right-from-square" href="https://topograph.co/pricing/us-wv">
  Open the current catalog for supported datapoints, documents, sources, identifiers, and availability.
</Card>

<Warning>
  This jurisdiction may be in preview or limited availability. Check the live pricing page or contact support before relying on it in production.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Country details below are preserved as integration notes. If a table or example conflicts with the live pricing page, use the pricing page as the source of truth and contact support.
</Note>

## Table of Contents

* [Data Sources](#data-sources)
* [Company Identifiers](#company-identifiers)
* [Search Capabilities](#search-capabilities)
* [Quirks & Gotchas](#quirks--gotchas)
* [Mappings](#mappings)
  * [Entity Types](#entity-types)
  * [Status Codes](#status-codes)
* [Data Availability](#data-availability)

## Data Sources

West Virginia uses a single integration against the **West Virginia Secretary of State, Business Organization Register**. The register covers domestic and foreign corporations (for-profit, non-profit, and benefit), limited liability companies, professional LLCs, limited partnerships, general partnerships, voluntary associations, cooperatives, business trusts, and a set of administrative form types (trade names, name reservations, fictitious names, insurance companies, public corporations).

* **West Virginia Secretary of State, Business Organization Register** (verification, primary). The official public register served by the Online Data Services portal. Each query reads live against the register and returns legal name, organization number, organization type, charter type (domestic / foreign), profit / non-profit / benefit class, effective and filing dates, status with termination reason, business purpose (a NAICS-based industry code with a full description), authorized shares, capital stock and par value, the registered office and registered-agent addresses, officers and directors with their addresses, registered trade names (DBAs), mergers, amendments, and annual-report filing history.

<Note>
  Sole proprietors and most general partnerships are out of scope at the state level. Trade names (DBAs) and mergers appear on the parent entity's record rather than as standalone records.
</Note>

## Company Identifiers

### Query Identifiers

| Identifier Type | Format | Example | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| **WV Organization Number** | Digits only, no leading zeros or separators; 4 to 6 digits in the records we have seen (`2011`, `20122`, `633785`) | `20122` | Assigned by the Secretary of State at filing. Also shown as "Org Id" on the portal. |

<Tip>
  Use the organization number as it appears on the portal, digits only. Input with a prefix such as `WV-` is not accepted.
</Tip>

### Identifiers in API Response

| Identifier | Format | Example | Found In |
| - | - | - | - |
| `orgNumber` | Digits only, 4 to 6 digits in the records we have seen | `20122` | All entities |

### Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

GLEIF is the supplementary data source for this identifier.

`company.identifiers.lei` is returned when a company identifier has a unique match against this jurisdiction's registration or validation references in GLEIF.

An [LEI (Legal Entity Identifier)](https://www.gleif.org/en/about-lei/introducing-the-legal-entity-identifier-lei) has 20 uppercase letters and digits, ending in two check digits.

Coverage varies by entity. The field is omitted when no unambiguous match is available. Lapsed or retired LEIs may be returned; annulled records are excluded.

## Search Capabilities

| Search Type | Pattern | Example | Match Type | Expected Results |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| By Name | 2-200 characters | `"Mountaineer Gas"` | Substring (case-insensitive) | Up to 50 |
| By WV Organization Number | Up to 10 digits | `20122` | Exact | Exact match returned first (matchType: id); other results may follow |

<Note>
  Name search returns up to 50 rows per query. Narrow with fuller query strings when the top of the result list looks too broad. The wildcard character `%` is also accepted (for example, `%Gas Company%`).
</Note>

### Active companies only

Search can return companies that are no longer active. Each result carries the register's status, so [`activeOnly=true`](/essentials/search#active-companies-only) removes the inactive ones.

## Quirks & Gotchas

| Quirk | Details |
| - | - |
| **Organization number is numeric** | West Virginia does not use a letter prefix on its organization number (unlike states such as Montana or Wisconsin). The plain digit string returned in the response is the canonical identifier. |
| **No shareholder or UBO register** | West Virginia does not publish shareholders or beneficial owners for any entity type. Federal FinCEN beneficial-ownership records are restricted and are not part of this dataset. |
| **LLC member and manager rosters are filed** | For LLCs, the Secretary of State records each member, manager, and organizer on the formation filing. Managers (and managing members) are surfaced as `legalRepresentatives`; members and organizers are surfaced as `otherKeyPersons` rather than as shareholders, since no ownership percentages are collected. |
| **Business purpose uses a NAICS-based code** | The "Business Purpose" field on the record is a four-digit code with a three-level description, drawn from the North American Industry Classification System. It is returned as a NAICS code, and ISIC and NACE codes are derived from it through a deterministic concordance. The state itself does not supply ISIC or NACE codes. |
| **Charter type Domestic vs Foreign** | Every entity is flagged as either Domestic (formed in West Virginia) or Foreign (formed elsewhere and registered to transact business in West Virginia). Foreign entities carry the charter state on the record. |
| **Termination reason carries the detail** | The top-level status is binary (Active / Not Active), so the termination reason is the richer signal: Dissolution by Court Order, Merger, Voluntary Dissolution, LLC Termination, Revoked (Failure to File Annual Report), Pending, and others. |
| **Certificate of Existence eligibility** | The official Certificate of Existence can only be issued for entities that are Active and in good standing on the register. Inactive, revoked, or non-compliant entities are not eligible. Pricing and availability are on the live pricing page. |

## Mappings

### Entity Types

The Secretary of State uses a fixed organization-type taxonomy. Codes and labels are stable; the live mapping to standardized legal forms is on the pricing page.

| Code | Label | Standardized Form |
| - | - | - |
| `C` | Corporation | Corporation |
| `LLC` | Limited Liability Company | Limited Liability Company |
| `PLC` | Professional Limited Liability Company | Limited Liability Company |
| `LP` | Limited Partnership | Partnership |
| `GP` | General Partnership | Partnership |
| `LLP` | Limited Liability Partnership | Partnership |
| `VA` | Voluntary Association | Other |
| `BC` | Benefit Corporation | Corporation |
| `BT` | Business Trust | Trust |
| `CA` | Cooperative Association | Cooperative |
| `UNA` | Unincorporated Non-profit Organization | Nonprofit Organization |

The register also lists administrative and regulated filing types outside this taxonomy (for example exempt entities, insurance companies, public corporations, sole proprietors, trademark holders, and fictitious names). When their label names a corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, that sets the standardized form; otherwise only the local name is returned, with no standardized form.

### Status Codes

| Code | Local Name | Active |
| - | - | - |
| `Active` | Active | Yes |
| `Not Active` | Termination reason, or `Not Active` | No |

For an inactive entity, `status.localName` holds the termination reason recorded on the register (for example Dissolution by Court Order, Merger, Voluntary Dissolution (Domestic), LLC Termination (Domestic), Revoked (Failure to File Annual Report), Pending). When the register records a termination date but no reason, `status.localName` is `Not Active`. In both cases `status.active` is `false`.

### Officer Roles

The Secretary of State records officers, directors, and other role-holders on each entity. We surface them as either `legalRepresentatives` (declared officer and management context, with company-specific powers unverified) or `otherKeyPersons` (the registered agent, LLC members, organizers, and incorporators).

| Local Role | Mapped To |
| - | - |
| President | legalRepresentatives |
| Vice-President | legalRepresentatives |
| Secretary | legalRepresentatives |
| Treasurer | legalRepresentatives |
| Director | legalRepresentatives |
| Manager | legalRepresentatives |
| Managing Member | legalRepresentatives |
| Member | otherKeyPersons |
| Organizer | otherKeyPersons |
| Incorporator | otherKeyPersons |

The registered agent (recorded on the entity as the "Notice of Process" address) is also surfaced as an `otherKeyPersons` entry with the standardized role `Registered Agent`.

## Data Availability

| Datapoint | Available | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| Company profile | Yes | Legal name, organization number, type, charter type, profit / non-profit / benefit class, dates, status, business purpose, capital, addresses. |
| Registered agent | Yes | Returned as `otherKeyPersons` with the standardized role `Registered Agent`. Includes name and full address. |
| Legal representatives | Yes | Officers, directors, and LLC managers (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Director, Manager, Managing Member) are surfaced as `legalRepresentatives` with their addresses. |
| Other key persons | Yes | LLC members, organizers, incorporators, and the registered agent. |
| Shareholders | No | Not collected by West Virginia at the state level. |
| Ultimate beneficial owners | No | West Virginia does not maintain a public beneficial-ownership register. |
| Activity codes | Yes (NAICS; ISIC/NACE derived) | The NAICS-based "Business Purpose" code is returned with its description. ISIC and NACE codes are derived from it through a deterministic concordance; the state does not supply them. |
| Trade Register Extract | Yes | Printable PDF of the Secretary of State entity detail page, captured at request time. Bundled with the company-data block at no extra charge. |
| Certificate of Existence | Yes | Official PDF issued by the Secretary of State for entities that are Active and in good standing. Pricing and availability are on the live pricing page. |


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