Domestication of non-United States entities [For application of section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 377, § 24].
Del. Code tit. 8, § 388
in effect(a) As used in this section, the term:
(1) “Foreign jurisdiction” means any foreign country or other foreign jurisdiction (other than the United States, any state, the District of Columbia, or any possession or territory of the United States); and
(2) “Non-United States entity” means a corporation, a limited liability company, a statutory trust, a business trust or association, a real estate investment trust, a common-law trust, or any other unincorporated business or entity, including a partnership (whether general (including a limited liability partnership) or limited (including a limited liability limited partnership)), formed, incorporated, created or that otherwise came into being under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction.
(b) Any non-United States entity may become domesticated as a corporation in this State by complying with subsection (h) of this section and filing with the Secretary of State:
(1) A certificate of corporate domestication which shall be executed in accordance with subsection (g) of this section and filed in accordance with § 103 of this title; and
(2) A certificate of incorporation, which shall be executed, acknowledged and filed in accordance with § 103 of this title.
Each of the certificates required by this subsection (b) shall be filed simultaneously with the Secretary of State and, if such certificates are not to become effective upon their filing as permitted by § 103(d) of this title, then each such certificate shall provide for the same effective date or time in accordance with § 103(d) of this title.
(c) The certificate of corporate domestication shall certify:
(1) The date on which and jurisdiction where the non-United States entity was first formed, incorporated, created or otherwise came into being;
(2) The name of the non-United States entity immediately prior to the filing of the certificate of corporate domestication;
(3) The name of the corporation as set forth in its certificate of incorporation filed in accordance with subsection (b) of this section;
(4) The jurisdiction that constituted the seat, siege social, or principal place of business or central administration of the non-United States entity or any other equivalent thereto under applicable law, immediately prior to the filing of the certificate of corporate domestication;
(5) That the domestication shall be approved prior to the effectiveness of such certificate in the manner provided for by the document, instrument, agreement or other writing, as the case may be, governing the internal affairs of the non-United States entity and the conduct of its business or by applicable non-United States law, as appropriate; and
(6) If a plan of domestication is adopted in accordance with subsection ( l ) of this section, that all provisions of the plan of domestication shall be approved prior to the effectiveness of such certificate in accordance with all applicable non-United States law, including any approval required under non-United States law for the authorization of the type of corporate action specified in the plan of domestication.
(d) Upon the certificate of corporate domestication and the certificate of incorporation becoming effective in accordance with § 103 of this title, the non-United States entity shall be domesticated as a corporation in this State and the corporation shall thereafter be subject to all of the provisions of this title, except that notwithstanding § 106 of this title, the existence of the corporation shall be deemed to have commenced on the date the non-United States entity commenced its existence in the jurisdiction in which the non-United States entity was first formed, incorporated, created or otherwise came into being.
(e) The domestication of any non-United States entity as a corporation in this State shall not be deemed to affect any obligations or liabilities of the non-United States entity incurred prior to its domestication as a corporation in this State, or the personal liability of any person therefor.
(f) The filing of a certificate of corporate domestication shall not affect the choice of law applicable to the non-United States entity, except that, from the effective time of the domestication, the law of the State of Delaware, including this title, shall apply to the non-United States entity to the same extent as if the non-United States entity had been incorporated as a corporation of this State on that date.
(g) The certificate of corporate domestication shall be signed by any person who is authorized to sign the certificate of corporate domestication on behalf of the non-United States entity.
(h) Prior to the time a certificate of corporate domestication becomes effective in accordance with § 103 of this title, the domestication shall be approved in the manner provided for by the document, instrument, agreement or other writing, as the case may be, governing the internal affairs of the non-United States entity and the conduct of its business or by applicable non-United States law, as appropriate, and the certificate of incorporation shall be approved by the same authorization required to approve the domestication.
(i) When a non-United States entity has become domesticated as a corporation pursuant to this section, for all purposes of the laws of the State of Delaware, the corporation shall be deemed to be the same entity as the domesticating non-United States entity and the domestication shall constitute a continuation of the existence of the domesticating non-United States entity in the form of a corporation of this State. When any domestication shall have become effective under this section, for all purposes of the laws of the State of Delaware, all of the rights, privileges and powers of the non-United States entity that has been domesticated, and all property, real, personal and mixed, and all debts due to such non-United States entity, as well as all other things and causes of action belonging to such non-United States entity, shall remain vested in the corporation to which such non-United States entity has been domesticated (and also in the non-United States entity, if and for so long as the non-United States entity continues its existence in the foreign jurisdiction in which it was existing immediately prior to the domestication) and shall be the property of such corporation (and also of the non-United States entity, if and for so long as the non-United States entity continues its existence in the foreign jurisdiction in which it was existing immediately prior to the domestication), and the title to any real property vested by deed or otherwise in such non-United States entity shall not revert or be in any way impaired by reason of this title; but all rights of creditors and all liens upon any property of such non-United States entity shall be preserved unimpaired, and all debts, liabilities and duties of the non-United States entity that has been domesticated shall remain attached to the corporation to which such non-United States entity has been domesticated (and also to the non-United States entity, if and for so long as the non-United States entity continues its existence in the foreign jurisdiction in which it was existing immediately prior to the domestication), and may be enforced against it to the same extent as if said debts, liabilities and duties had originally been incurred or contracted by it in its capacity as such corporation. The rights, privileges, powers and interests in property of the non-United States entity, as well as the debts, liabilities and duties of the non-United States entity, shall not be deemed, as a consequence of the domestication, to have been transferred to the corporation to which such non-United States entity has domesticated for any purpose of the laws of the State of Delaware.
(j) Unless otherwise agreed or otherwise required under applicable non-United States law, the domesticating non-United States entity shall not be required to wind up its affairs or pay its liabilities and distribute its assets, and the domestication shall not be deemed to constitute a dissolution of such non-United States entity. If, following domestication, a non-United States entity that has become domesticated as a corporation of this State continues its existence in the foreign jurisdiction in which it was existing immediately prior to domestication, the corporation and such non-United States entity shall, for all purposes of the laws of the State of Delaware, constitute a single entity formed, incorporated, created or otherwise having come into being, as applicable, and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and the laws of such foreign jurisdiction.
(k) In connection with a domestication under this section, shares of stock, rights or securities of, or interests in, the non-United States entity that is to be domesticated as a corporation of this State may be exchanged for or converted into cash, property, or shares of stock, rights or securities of such corporation or, in addition to or in lieu thereof, may be exchanged for or converted into cash, property, or shares of stock, rights or securities of, or interests in, another corporation or other entity or may be cancelled.
( l ) In connection with a domestication under this section, a non-United States entity may adopt a plan of domestication that may state: (i) the terms and conditions of the domestication, (ii) the mode of carrying the same into effect, (iii) that the certificate of incorporation of the domesticated corporation shall be as set forth in an attachment to the plan of domestication, (iv) the manner, if any, of exchanging or converting shares of stock, rights or securities of, or interests in, the non-United States entity that is to be domesticated as a corporation of this State, in accordance with subsection (k) of this section, (v) any corporate action to be taken by the domesticated corporation of this State in connection with the domestication of the non-United States entity, each of which shall require approval in accordance with all applicable non-United States law, including any approval required under non-United States law for the authorization of the type of corporate action specified in the plan of domestication; (vi) any details or provisions as are deemed desirable, and (vii) such other provisions or facts as shall be required to be set forth in a plan of domestication by the laws of the jurisdiction under which the non-United States entity is organized. Any of the terms of the plan of domestication may be made dependent upon facts ascertainable outside of such plan, provided that the manner in which such facts shall operate upon the terms of the plan of domestication is clearly and expressly set forth in the plan of domestication. The term “facts,” as used in the preceding sentence, includes, but is not limited to, the occurrence of any event, including a determination or action by any person or body, including the non-United States entity or the domesticated corporation.
(m) Any corporate action to be taken by the domesticated corporation of this State in connection with the domestication of the non-United States entity that is set forth in a plan of domestication approved in the manner provided for by subsection ( l ) of this section and that is within the power of a corporation under subchapter II of this chapter shall be deemed authorized, adopted and approved, as applicable, by the domesticated corporation of this State and the board of directors, stockholders or members of the corporation, as applicable, and shall not require any further action of the board of directors, stockholders or members of the corporation under this title. In the event that any such action requires the filing of a certificate under any other section of this title, the certificate shall state that in accordance with this section, no action by the board of directors, stockholders, members or as otherwise required by such other section of this title is required.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title8/c001/sc17/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026