Last Chance for SPCE Investors: File for the $8.5 Million Virgin Galactic Settlement by August 13, 2026

The short answer: investors who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded Virgin Galactic Holdings common stock (NYSE: $SPCE) and/or Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. common stock (formerly NYSE: $IPOA) from July 10, 2019 through August 4, 2022, inclusive, may be members of the settlement class. To seek a payment, an eligible investor must submit a valid Proof of Claim and Release Form. The official online claim form says electronic claims are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on August 13, 2026. Mailed forms must be postmarked no later than August 13, 2026.

Today, August 13, 2026, is the last scheduled day to file a claim in the $8.5 million Virgin Galactic securities class action settlement. Buying during the broad class period does not automatically guarantee eligibility, a recognized loss, or a payment. The settlement notice, exclusions, transaction history, supporting records, and Plan of Allocation all matter.

Read the OpenClassActions Virgin Galactic settlement article for its focused consumer overview. When you are ready to submit personal information and brokerage documents, use only the official Virgin Galactic securities settlement claim form.

This guide explains the deadline, who may qualify, what records the claim administrator requests, how potential payments are calculated, and the mistakes SPCE investors should avoid.

Virgin Galactic settlement at a glance#

• Settlement fund: $8,500,000 in cash, plus any interest, before court-approved deductions.
• Case: Lavin v. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-03070-ARR-TAM.
• Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
• Covered securities: Publicly traded Virgin Galactic common stock (SPCE) and Social Capital Hedosophia common stock (IPOA), subject to the notice and Plan of Allocation.
• Broad class period: July 10, 2019 through August 4, 2022, inclusive.
• Online claim deadline: 11:59 p.m. EST on August 13, 2026, according to the official claim form.
• Mail deadline: Postmarked no later than August 13, 2026.
• Claims administrator: Strategic Claims Services.
• Proof required: Brokerage confirmations, monthly statements, or an authorized broker statement documenting the relevant transactions and holdings.
• Important limitation: Filing a form does not guarantee a payment. The administrator must allow the claim under the settlement terms, and the calculation must produce an eligible recovery.

What SPCE investors should do before the deadline#

If you believe you may qualify, the most important step is to review the official notice and submit a complete, documented claim before the applicable deadline. A rushed but unsupported entry can create processing problems. A careful filing should reconcile every relevant share.

• Confirm the account owner. Identify the person, joint owners, trust, company, retirement account, or other legal entity that beneficially owned the shares.
• Download the relevant statements now. Obtain brokerage records covering opening holdings, purchases, acquisitions, sales, and ending holdings for the requested dates.
• Use trade dates. The Plan of Allocation treats a transaction as occurring on the contract or trade date, not the later settlement or payment date.
• Separate distinct legal entities. An individual taxable account should not be combined with an IRA or with an account owned by a different legal entity.
• Reconcile the share count. Beginning holdings plus purchases or acquisitions, minus sales and ending holdings, should equal zero on the official online form.
• Upload legible proof. Trade confirmations and complete monthly brokerage statements are generally the strongest records.
• Review every entry before advancing. The online portal warns that claimants may not have another chance to review certain information before submission.
• Save the confirmation. Keep the confirmation email, Form ID, uploaded records, and a copy or screenshot of the completed filing.

Do not send brokerage passwords, seed phrases, or unrelated banking credentials. The official form asks for claimant information, limited tax-identification information, transaction details, and proof, not access to a brokerage account.

Who may qualify for the SPCE securities settlement?#

The settlement class generally consists of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded shares of Virgin Galactic and/or Social Capital common stock during the July 10, 2019 through August 4, 2022 class period.

That wording covers two ticker histories. Before the October 2019 business combination, Social Capital common stock traded under IPOA. After the transaction closed, the public company traded as Virgin Galactic under SPCE. Investors should review records under both symbols if their activity spans the merger.

The notice does not say that merely watching SPCE, owning an option, buying a warrant, or holding stock purchased outside the class period creates a valid claim. It also excludes people and entities with no compensable loss. A claimant's actual eligibility and recognized loss depend on the complete transaction history and the court-approved allocation rules.

Who is excluded from the settlement class?#

The official claim instructions list several exclusions. They include the defendants; specified officers and directors of Virgin Galactic, Social Capital, or their subsidiaries during the class period and their immediate families; certain Vieco 10 Ltd. holders and subsidiaries; certain trusts connected to individual defendants; defendants' liability insurers; Virgin Group Holdings Limited and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates; related legal representatives, heirs, successors, predecessors, and assigns; and controlled entities connected to the excluded groups.

Persons and entities that suffered no compensable loss are also excluded. Anyone whose valid request for exclusion was accepted by the court is not part of the settlement class and cannot claim a settlement payment.

These definitions are technical. An investor uncertain about class membership should consult the complete notice or contact Strategic Claims Services rather than guessing.

Common stock is covered, but not every SPCE security qualifies#

The settlement concerns publicly traded Virgin Galactic and Social Capital common stock. The official notice states that the companies' units and warrants themselves are not eligible for a recovery.

There are specialized allocation rules for common shares obtained through certain transactions. For example, common stock acquired through the exercise of a publicly traded Virgin Galactic or Social Capital warrant is assigned the warrant exercise date and an $11.50 purchase price for allocation purposes. Common shares received when eligible publicly traded units are separated are also treated under a specific formula. By contrast, common shares obtained through the exercise, conversion, or exchange of non-publicly traded securities are not eligible under the stated plan.

Options introduce another distinction. The option contract itself is not the covered common stock. If common stock was acquired or sold through the exercise of a publicly traded option, the notice uses the exercise date and exercise price for that stock transaction.

These special rules are a good reason to read the full Plan of Allocation when the account contains units, warrants, options, conversions, transfers, gifts, or inherited shares.

How to file the Virgin Galactic claim online#

The official online process is presented as a six-step claim form. Claimants begin with the general instructions, enter claimant and account information, supply the schedule of SPCE and/or IPOA transactions, upload supporting records, read the release and certifications, and sign electronically.

Before starting, place the relevant brokerage statements in a clearly named folder. The official portal accepts common image and document formats and asks that proof be uploaded with an online claim. Then work through the following sequence:

• Enter the current contact information for the beneficial owner.
• Identify any joint owner or representative and the type of claimant account.
• Report the number of covered securities held at the opening of trading on July 10, 2019.
• List every purchase or acquisition after the opening on July 10, 2019 through the close on August 4, 2022.
• List every sale or disposition during that same period.
• Report covered securities held at the close of trading on August 4, 2022.
• Make sure the balance check equals zero.
• Upload records that support the reported holdings, purchases, acquisitions, and sales.
• Read the release, certification, and Plan of Allocation before signing.
• Submit the form and retain the confirmation email and Form ID.

The portal says a confirmation should arrive within minutes. The long-form notice adds that a claim is not deemed filed until the claimant receives an acknowledgment postcard or confirmation email. Check the spam folder. If no acknowledgment arrives within the period stated in the notice, contact the claims administrator and preserve evidence showing when and how the claim was submitted.

What brokerage records should you submit?#

The administrator does not independently possess each investor's complete SPCE and IPOA trading history. Claimants are required to provide genuine and sufficient documentation.

Useful proof can include brokerage trade confirmation slips, monthly brokerage account statements, or an authorized statement from a broker containing the same transaction and holding details. Records should show the security, trade date, share quantity, price, account owner, and enough context to verify beginning and ending positions.

Do not send original documents. Keep copies of every file. Avoid cropped screenshots that remove the account owner, ticker, date, or transaction details. If older statements are missing from the brokerage portal, contact the broker immediately and request archived confirmations or equivalent contemporaneous records.

For multiple accounts owned by the same legal entity, the notice generally calls for one claim that includes all of that entity's transactions. Distinct legal entities generally need separate claim forms. Joint beneficial owners must sign as required. A representative such as an executor, trustee, guardian, administrator, or agent must identify the represented owner and supply evidence of authority.

A critical reverse-split warning for SPCE shareholders#

Virgin Galactic completed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split on June 17, 2024, after the settlement class period. The proposed Plan of Allocation states that its prices and share quantities are shown on a pre-split basis.

That distinction can cause a major reporting error. A post-split brokerage display may show fewer shares and a proportionally higher historical price, depending on how the broker presents adjusted history. Claimants should use the official form instructions and supporting statements carefully rather than multiplying or dividing figures from memory.

If archived statements and the broker's current transaction export appear inconsistent because of split adjustments, do not improvise. Preserve the original records and ask the claims administrator how the data should be entered.

Can you file by mail on August 13?#

The notice permits a paper Proof of Claim and Release Form to be mailed to Virgin Galactic Securities Litigation, care of Strategic Claims Services, in Media, Pennsylvania, as long as it is postmarked no later than August 13, 2026.

However, the notice says paper claims take significantly longer to process and provides that a mailed claim's Recognized Loss will be reduced by the greater of $5 or 1%. A paper claimant must manually enter the transactions and include adequate supporting documentation.

Because the deadline is today, anyone considering mail should verify the postmark and mailing requirements directly with the administrator and keep proof of timely mailing. The official online portal provides a faster confirmation path for ordinary individual claimants, subject to its instructions and availability.

How much could an eligible SPCE investor receive?#

There is no fixed payout for every person who traded SPCE. The $8.5 million headline is the gross Settlement Amount, not the amount that will be divided equally among everyone who files.

The Net Settlement Fund consists of the settlement amount plus interest, minus court-approved taxes, notice and administration costs, litigation expenses, attorneys' fees, and other approved deductions. Each Authorized Claimant's share is then determined pro rata using the Plan of Allocation and the claimant's Recognized Loss.

The notice provides estimated average recoveries of approximately $0.075 per damaged share for Active Claims and $0.0012 per damaged share for Dismissed Claims, before considering every claimant's individual circumstances. Those figures are estimates, not promises. Actual results may be higher or lower depending on trade timing, prices, sales, holdings, the number and value of valid claims, and the final court-approved allocation.

If an Authorized Claimant's prorated payment calculates to less than $10, the notice says no distribution will be made to that claimant. Submission alone does not establish a recognized loss or guarantee a check.

Active Claims and Dismissed Claims are treated differently#

The broad settlement class period is much longer than the period attached to the claims that remained actionable after the court's ruling on the motion to dismiss.

Under the proposed allocation, Active Claims generally concern purchases or acquisitions from July 12, 2021 through September 2, 2021, inclusive. The notice says the remaining actionable claims pertain to the July 2021 flight and insider-trading claims against Richard Branson. Dismissed Claims generally cover purchases or acquisitions from July 10, 2019 through July 11, 2021, and from September 3, 2021 through August 4, 2022.

The proposed allocation assigns 88.2% of the Net Settlement Fund to Active Claims and 11.8% to Dismissed Claims. This explains why estimated average recovery per damaged share differs sharply between the two groups.

An investor in a dismissed-claim period should not automatically decide that filing is pointless. The official formula, not a rough estimate or social-media post, determines whether a documented transaction produces a recognized loss and potential distribution.

Buying during the class period is not enough by itself#

The Plan of Allocation is designed to estimate alleged loss attributable to the challenged statements and alleged corrective disclosures, rather than every decline in SPCE's market price.

The notice lists a series of alleged corrective disclosure dates and says that, to have a Recognized Loss, covered securities purchased during the class period must have been held through at least one applicable corrective disclosure date. It also applies first-in, first-out matching when an investor made multiple purchases and sales.

The administrator calculates an overall market gain or market loss using purchases, eligible sales proceeds, and a holding value for eligible shares retained at the end of the period. If a claimant had an overall market gain under the formula, the total recovery is zero. If the market loss is positive but smaller than the sum of transaction-level Recognized Loss calculations, the recovery calculation is capped at that market loss.

This is why a personal estimate based only on number of shares multiplied by $0.075 can be misleading. The transaction schedule needs to be complete.

What the lawsuit alleged#

The securities case alleges that Virgin Galactic and certain current or former officers and directors made false or misleading statements or omitted material information concerning the company's commercial spaceflight program. The allegations included issues related to the safety of the company's vehicles and statements about its flight program.

The litigation focused in part on the July 11, 2021 Unity 22 flight carrying Richard Branson. Plaintiffs alleged that investors were not adequately informed about problems connected to the flight. Reporting later described a deviation from the spacecraft's assigned airspace, and the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the vehicle while it investigated. The plaintiffs alleged that related disclosures removed artificial inflation from the stock price and damaged investors.

Those are allegations, not findings repeated here as established facts. Virgin Galactic and the other defendants deny wrongdoing, deny violating the securities laws, and dispute that class members suffered damages caused by their conduct. The defendants say they agreed to settle to avoid the burden, uncertainty, and expense of continued litigation. The settlement is a compromise and is not an admission of liability.

What the $8.5 million settlement does and does not mean#

The agreement creates a cash fund for eligible claimants if the necessary court conditions are satisfied. It avoids the cost and risk of additional litigation, trial, and appeals. It does not mean every SPCE shareholder receives money, that the court found the defendants liable, or that every loss in Virgin Galactic stock was caused by the alleged conduct.

The settlement also should not be confused with Virgin Galactic shareholder derivative litigation bearing different case numbers and different settlement terms. This article concerns the securities class action captioned Lavin v. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., No. 1:21-cv-03070-ARR-TAM.

Attorneys' fees, expenses, and settlement administration costs#

Lead Counsel sought attorneys' fees of up to one-third of the Settlement Fund. The notice also describes a request for reimbursement of litigation expenses of up to $1.55 million, including aggregate awards requested for the plaintiffs, plus notice and administration costs estimated at approximately $985,000.

Court-approved fees, expenses, taxes, notice costs, and administration costs are paid from the Settlement Fund. Individual class members are not personally billed for those amounts. The court may award less than the requested figures. What remains after approved deductions is the Net Settlement Fund available for distribution under the allocation plan.

Understand the release before signing#

A Proof of Claim is also a Release Form. By signing, a claimant certifies that the supplied information and documents are true and complete, acknowledges the settlement terms, submits to the court's jurisdiction for claim-related purposes, and accepts the applicable release of claims.

The release language is broader and more consequential than a routine website checkbox. Read the notice and Stipulation if you need to understand exactly which claims and parties are covered. TickerPosts and OpenClassActions are informational publishers; neither decides eligibility, calculates recognized loss, or provides individualized legal advice.

Avoid SPCE settlement scams#

Deadline-driven settlements attract lookalike domains, unsolicited messages, and fake processing-fee demands. Use the official administrator domain linked on this page when entering personal information.

• Do not pay an activation, release, or expedited-payment fee to submit a claim.
• Do not give anyone a brokerage password, one-time security code, crypto wallet phrase, or remote access to a device.
• Check the spelling of the administrator's domain before uploading documents.
• Do not assume a direct message on X, Reddit, Discord, Telegram, or another forum is from the claims administrator.
• Keep the official confirmation and Form ID so later communications can be compared with the original filing.
• Direct questions to Strategic Claims Services using the contact information published on the official settlement website.

What happens after a claim is filed?#

The claims administrator reviews submissions, documentation, and transaction calculations. It may request additional information or reject claims that are incomplete, unsupported, late, inconsistent, or ineligible under the settlement terms.

Payments are not immediate. The notice says distribution occurs only after the settlement and a plan of allocation receive the required court approval, any appeals are resolved, and claims processing is complete. That can take substantial time. A claimant should keep contact information current and respond promptly to legitimate deficiency notices from the administrator.

Frequently asked questions about the SPCE settlement#

The answers below summarize the official materials. The complete notice and claim form control.

What is the Virgin Galactic securities settlement claim deadline? The official claim form states that online claims must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST on August 13, 2026. Paper claims must be postmarked no later than August 13, 2026.

Who may qualify for the $8.5 million SPCE settlement? The class generally includes persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded Virgin Galactic (SPCE) and/or Social Capital Hedosophia (IPOA) common stock from July 10, 2019 through August 4, 2022, inclusive, subject to the complete class definition, exclusions, and compensable-loss rules.

Do I qualify just because I held SPCE stock during the class period? Not necessarily. The class definition focuses on purchases or acquisitions during the period, and the allocation rules consider trade timing, sales, holdings through applicable disclosure dates, overall market gain or loss, and other factors. Filing also does not guarantee a payment.

How much will each SPCE investor receive? There is no fixed payment. The notice estimates averages of about $0.075 per damaged share for Active Claims and $0.0012 per damaged share for Dismissed Claims, but actual payments depend on the final Net Settlement Fund, recognized loss, and all valid claims.

What proof is needed for a Virgin Galactic settlement claim? Claimants generally need brokerage confirmations, monthly statements, or an authorized broker statement documenting relevant beginning holdings, purchases or acquisitions, sales, and ending holdings in SPCE and/or IPOA common stock.

Are SPCE warrants, units, or options covered? The warrants, units, and option contracts themselves are not covered common stock. The Plan of Allocation contains special rules for common shares obtained through certain publicly traded warrant exercises, option exercises, or eligible unit separations, so review the full notice.

Does the 2024 SPCE reverse split affect the claim form? Yes. The notice says the Plan of Allocation presents prices and share quantities on a pre-split basis even though Virgin Galactic completed a 1-for-20 reverse split on June 17, 2024. Follow the administrator's instructions and do not adjust records from memory.

Can I file a Virgin Galactic settlement claim by mail? Yes. A paper claim must be postmarked by August 13, 2026 and sent to the claims administrator at the address in the official notice. The notice says mailed claims take longer to process and reduces their Recognized Loss by the greater of $5 or 1%.

Is the SPCE settlement an admission of wrongdoing? No. The defendants deny wrongdoing, liability, and damages. The settlement resolves disputed claims and avoids the cost and risk of further litigation; it is not an admission of liability.

Where should I file or ask questions? Use VirginGalacticSecuritiesSettlement.com, the court-authorized website administered by Strategic Claims Services. The official site lists a toll-free number of 866-274-4004 and the email address [email protected] for claim questions.

Final SPCE settlement checklist#

• Confirm that purchases or acquisitions involved publicly traded SPCE and/or IPOA common stock during July 10, 2019 through August 4, 2022.
• Review the complete class definition and exclusions.
• Gather opening holdings, purchases, acquisitions, sales, and ending holdings.
• Use trade dates and reconcile every relevant transaction.
• Account for the post-period 1-for-20 reverse split and the notice's pre-split presentation.
• Upload readable brokerage statements or equivalent broker-authorized documentation.
• Read the Plan of Allocation, release, and certifications.
• Submit the official online form by the time stated on the portal, or satisfy the paper postmark rule.
• Save the confirmation email, Form ID, records, and proof of timely submission.
• Contact Strategic Claims Services, not Virgin Galactic or the court, with claim-form questions.

The bottom line for SPCE investors#

The August 13, 2026 Virgin Galactic settlement deadline is here. Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded SPCE or IPOA common stock during the class period should review their records immediately and determine whether to submit a documented claim.

The most important facts are straightforward: the gross settlement is $8.5 million; the broad class period runs from July 10, 2019 through August 4, 2022; electronic claims are due at 11:59 p.m. EST on August 13, 2026 according to the official form; and a claim must be supported by transaction records. Eligibility and payment are not automatic.

Use the OpenClassActions article for an accessible overview, then rely on the official notice and Strategic Claims Services portal for the controlling filing instructions. Do not wait for a broker reminder that may never arrive.

This article was published and reviewed on August 13, 2026 for informational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Settlement terms and court proceedings can change; the official settlement website and court documents control.