Section 14-3-1531. Procedure for and effect of revocation

   (a) If the Secretary of State determines that one or more grounds exist under Code Section 14-3-1530 for revocation of a certificate of authority, he or she shall provide the foreign corporation with written notice of his or her determination by mailing a copy of the notice, by first-class mail, to the foreign corporation at the last known address of its principal office or to the registered agent.

(b) If the foreign corporation does not correct each ground for revocation or demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the Secretary of State that each ground determined by the Secretary of State does not exist within 60 days after notice is provided to the corporation, the Secretary of State may revoke the foreign corporation's certificate of authority by signing a certificate of revocation that recites the ground or grounds for revocation and its effective date.

(c) The authority of a foreign corporation to transact business in this state ceases on the date shown on the certificate revoking its certificate of authority.

(d) The Secretary of State's revocation of a foreign corporation's certificate of authority appoints the Secretary of State as the foreign corporation's agent for service of process in any proceeding based on a cause of action which arose during the time the foreign corporation was authorized to transact business in this state. Service of process on the Secretary of State under this subsection is service on the foreign corporation. Any party that serves process upon the Secretary of State shall also mail a copy of the process to the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, or the secretary of the foreign corporation, or a person holding a comparable position, at its principal office shown in its most recent annual registration or in any subsequent communication received by the Secretary of State from the corporation stating the current mailing address of its principal office, or, if none is on file, in its application for a certificate of authority.

(e) Revocation of a foreign corporation's certificate of authority does not terminate the authority of the registered agent of the corporation.

Code 1981, § 14-3-1531, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 465, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 508, §§ 66, 68.