char·ter   (chär'tər)    n.   A document issued by a sovereign, legislature, or other authority, creating a public or private corporation, such as a city, college, or bank, and defining its privileges and purposes. A written grant from the sovereign power of a country conferring certain rights and privileges on a person, a corporation, or the people: A royal charter exempted the Massachusetts colony from direct interference by the Crown. A document outlining the principles, functions, and organization of a corporate body; a constitution: the city charter. An authorization from a central organization to establish a local branch or chapter. Special privilege or immunity. A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel or space on a vessel. The hiring or leasing of an aircraft, vessel, or other vehicle, especially for the exclusive, temporary use of a group of travelers. A written instrument given as evidence of agreement, transfer, or contract; a deed. adj.  Of, relating to, or being an arrangement in which transportation is leased by a group of travelers for their exclusive, temporary use. tr.v.   char·tered, char·ter·ing, char·ters To grant a charter to; establish by charter. To hire or lease by charter: charter an oil tanker. To hire (a bus or airplane, for example) for the exclusive, temporary use of a group of travelers. [Middle English chartre, from Old French, from Latin chartula, diminutive of charta, paper made from papyrus; see card1.] char'ter·er n.

Charter

Char"ter\, n. [OF. chartre, F. chartre, charte, fr. L. chartula a little paper, dim. of charta. See Chart, Card.]

1. A written evidence in due form of things done or granted, contracts made, etc., between man and man; a deed, or conveyance. [Archaic]

2. An instrument in writing, from the sovereign power of a state or country, executed in due form, bestowing rights, franchises, or privileges.

The king [John, a.d. 1215], with a facility somewhat suspicious, signed and sealed the charter which was required of him. This famous deed, commonly called the "Great Charter," either granted or secured very important liberties and privileges to every order of men in the kingdom. --Hume.

3. An act of a legislative body creating a municipal or other corporation and defining its powers and privileges. Also, an instrument in writing from the constituted authorities of an order or society (as the Freemasons), creating a lodge and defining its powers.

4. A special privilege, immunity, or exemption.

My mother, Who has a charter to extol her blood, When she does praise me, grieves me. --Shak.

5. (Com.) The letting or hiring a vessel by special contract, or the contract or instrument whereby a vessel is hired or let; as, a ship is offered for sale or charter. See Charter party, below.

Charter land (O. Eng. Law), land held by charter, or in socage; bookland.

Charter member, one of the original members of a society or corporation, esp. one named in a charter, or taking part in the first proceedings under it.

Charter party [F. chartre partie, or charte partie, a divided charter; from the practice of cutting the instrument of contract in two, and giving one part to each of the contractors] (Com.), a mercantile lease of a vessel; a specific contract by which the owners of a vessel let the entire vessel, or some principal part of the vessel, to another person, to be used by the latter in transportation for his own account, either under their charge or his.

People's Charter (Eng. Hist.), the document which embodied the demands made by the Chartists, so called, upon the English government in 1838.

charter 

Charter

A legal document that provides for the creation of a corporate entity. A corporation's charter is issued by either a federal or a regional government and effectively creates a legal entity out of the business, which existed only as a partnership, sole proprietorship or similar business before incorporating.

Also referred to as "articles of incorporation".

Investopedia Commentary

A corporation's charter, once issued by the government of jurisdiction, will vary in structure depending on the country in which it's issued. However, most charters usually include the corporation's name, the location of its head office, the date of incorporation, the amount/type of stock to be issued and any restrictions on areas of business activity or further share issuances.

Related Links

The Basics Of Corporate Structure
Policing The Securities Market: An Overview Of The SEC

See also: Articles of Incorporation, Authorized Stock, Corporation, General Partner, Limited Partnership - LP, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship

Also spelled: charters, chartered, articles of incorporation

charter

See articles of incorporation.

Main Entry: char·ter
Function: noun
Etymology: Old French chartre letter, formal document, from Late Latin chartula, from Latin, diminutive of charta sheet of papyrus
1 a : a grant or guarantee of rights, powers, or privileges from an authority or agency of a state or country charter> —compare CONSTITUTION b : a written instrument that creates and defines the powers and privileges of a city, educational institution, or corporation —compare ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
2 : a written instrument from the authorities of a society creating a lodge, branch, or chapter
3 : a lease of a ship esp. for the delivery of cargo called also charter party