Members & process
Ratification
A formal action that confirms or approves a prior decision — used to validate budgets, executive-session actions, and emergency expenditures.
Also called: ratify · board ratification · ratification vote
What it means
Ratification is the formal step of a board (or membership) confirming a prior action. It comes up in three common HOA contexts: ratifying executive-session decisions in open session for the record; ratifying emergency expenditures the president or treasurer made under delegated authority; and ratifying a budget the board adopted, where the Declaration requires the membership to disapprove rather than approve the budget (a common pattern in California and a handful of other states). Ratification is the cleanup step — without it, decisions made under delegated or emergency authority can later be challenged as ultra vires.
Why it matters
Decisions made outside the formal channel are vulnerable to challenge until they're ratified. Boards that get into the habit of ratifying — making it a standing agenda item — close that gap routinely.
Example
Between meetings, the president authorizes an emergency $5,000 plumbing repair to stop a leak. At the next meeting, the board adds a 'ratification' item to the agenda and formally ratifies the expenditure. The action is now on the record and protected from future challenge.
This definition is general orientation, not legal advice. Specific questions about your association should be routed to your attorney or a state-statute resource.
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