Legal Definitions - provisional director

A provisional director is a person appointed by a court to serve on a close corporation's deadlocked board of directors. A close corporation is a type of corporation that has a limited number of shareholders and is not publicly traded. When the board of directors of a close corporation is unable to make decisions due to a deadlock, a provisional director can be appointed to break the tie and make decisions on behalf of the corporation.

For example, if a close corporation has three directors and they are unable to agree on a decision, a court may appoint a provisional director to break the tie and make the decision for the corporation. The provisional director is not a permanent member of the board of directors and is only appointed for a specific period of time until the deadlock is resolved.