Wash. Rev. Code » Title 24 · Chapter 24.12
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 24.12.010 (2026)

Corporations sole—Church and religious societies

✓ current as of May 2026
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Any person, being the bishop, overseer, or presiding elder of any church or religious denomination in this state, may, in conformity with the constitution, canons, rules, regulations, or discipline of such church or denomination, become a corporation sole, in the manner prescribed in this chapter, as nearly as may be; and, thereupon, said bishop, overseer, or presiding elder, as the case may be, together with his or her successors in office or position, by his or her official designation, shall be held and deemed to be a body corporate, with all the rights and powers prescribed in the case of corporations aggregate; and with all the privileges provided by law for religious corporations.
[ 2011 c 336 s 671; 1915 c 79 s 1; RRS s 3884.]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1990–2026 · leading case: Munns v. Martin, 131 Wash. 2d 192 (Wash. 1997).
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Munns v. Martin, 131 Wash. 2d 192 (Wash. 1997). “RCW 24.12.010 provides, in pertinent part: "Any person, being the bishop .”
Munns v. Martin, 930 P.2d 318 (Wash. 1997). “RCW 24.12.010 provides, in pertinent part: "Any person, being the bishop .”
Barnett v. Hicks, 792 P.2d 150 (Wash. 1990). · cites it 2× “A church may incorporate as a "corporation sole", RCW 24.12.010, a nonprofit corporation managed by *888 a 1-person board or a nonprofit corporation managed by a board of two or more persons.”
Chambers v. Comm'r, 2011 T.C. Memo. 114 (Tax Ct. 2011). “Rev. Code. Ann. sec. 24.12.010 to .060 (West 2005), and Wyoming, Wyo.”
Olga Nada Tepes v. Island Cnty. Treasurer (Wash. Ct. App. 2017). “Under RCW 24.12.010, corporations sole possess the "rights and powers prescribed in the case of corporations aggregate.”
United States v. Buckardt (W.D. Wash. 2020). “See 14 RCW 24.12.010 (“Any person, being the bishop, overseer, or presiding elder of any 15 church or religious denomination in this state, may, in conformity with the constitution, 16 canons, rules, regulations, or discipline of such church or denomination, become a 17…”
In Re The Complex Litig. Div. Of Wa Ag (Wash. Ct. App. 2026). “’ ” The AGO said it “initiat[ed] this investigation to determine how the Catholic Church in Washington has handled 1 See RCW 24.12.010 (“Any person, being the bishop .”
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