Cookbook
Customize bylaws clauses
Flip configurable clauses on the rendered bylaws Document at formation time and have the PDF re-emit accordingly, with a per-toggle audit trail.
Last updated
The Day-0 bylaws Document Matter renders is template-driven — most of it is fixed boilerplate, but a small set of clauses are configurable. The technical-founder marquee feature is to flip these toggles at formation time and have the rendered PDF re-emit accordingly, with an auditable record of which toggles were changed and why.
Without clause_toggles[], customising bylaws requires upload-and-replace — destroying template provenance and breaking structured_clauses[] extraction. With this surface, the template renderer reads the toggles, applies them to the canonical template, re-renders the PDF, and re-extracts structured_clauses[] from the result.
Supported toggles (launch set)
clause_id | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
action_by_written_consent_allowed | boolean | true | Whether stockholders may act without a meeting. Investors often demand this be turned off post-Series A as a protective provision. |
supermajority_quorum_basis_points | basis_points | 5001 (majority) | Quorum threshold for board action. Bumping to 6700 (two-thirds) tightens governance. |
dual_class_voting_enabled | boolean | false | Enable a dual-class voting structure (rare at Day-0; common after founders raise large pre-IPO rounds). |
forum_selection_clause_chancery | boolean | true | Forum-selection clause naming Delaware Court of Chancery as exclusive forum for intra-corporate disputes. |
advance_notice_bylaw_days | integer | 90 | Days of advance notice required for stockholder-proposed business at the annual meeting. |
Adding more toggles is enum extension only.
Worked example
# Flip action-by-written-consent off (post-Series A protective provision pattern)
curl -X POST 'https://api.mattermode.com/v1/documents/doc_…/clause_toggles/action_by_written_consent_allowed/set' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer sk_live_…' \
-H 'Matter-Version: 2026-05-01' \
-H 'Idempotency-Key: 39c2-…' \
-d '{
"new_value": false,
"override_basis": "counsel_advice",
"note": "Investor required removal of action-by-written-consent for Series A protective provisions."
}'Returns 202 Accepted with the updated Document. The PDF re-renders synchronously if the Document is still in execution_status=draft. Once executed, clause changes require the bylaws-amendment Resolution path (POST /v1/entities/{id}/resolutions with kind=amend_bylaws) — the toggle verb returns 409 document_already_executed.
Audit trail
Every toggle flip appends to Document.clause_toggle_changes[] (read-only audit array). Inspect via:
curl 'https://api.mattermode.com/v1/documents/doc_…?expand[]=clause_toggle_changes' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer sk_live_…'Each entry records the previous value, new value, who changed it, when, the basis, and an optional note. Drives the bylaws-customization audit trail used by counsel diligence requests.
Cascades
- Updates
Document.clause_toggles[].current_value. - Appends to
Document.clause_toggle_changes[]. - Re-renders the PDF; bumps
Document.version. - Re-runs
structured_clauses[]extraction so the compliance engine sees the new floor / ceiling values for governance validation.
Related
- Recommendations and overrides — the Day-0 recommendation framework that emits the canonical default for each toggle
- Day-0 Delaware C-Corp in one API call — the formation flow that produces the bylaws Document customisable here