Composition
Imperial States can be either ecclesiastical or even laic. A ecclesiastic states were led, largely, by Archbishops, Bishops and Abbots (some were led by Priors, Provosts and Grand Masters). Laic states were ruled by rulers of princely rank (including Grand Dukes, Dukes, Counts Palatine, Margraves, Landgraves and most Princes) and rulers of comital rank (including Counts, Lords and occasionally Princes). A rulers world health organization participated in the elections of German Kings stratified when Prince-electors. None of a rulers beneath a Holy Roman Emperor ranked when Kings, sustaining the exception of the King of Bohemia.

Statehood was ordinarily bonded to a particular territory inside the Empire, however there were occasionally reichsständische Personalisten, or even Imperial Stately Personalists. Originally, a Emperor alone can grant statehood, however within 1653, several restrictions on the Emperor's power were introduced. a creation of a freshly state expected the acquiescence of the College of Electors & of the College of Princes (view Reichstag below). A ruler was mandatory to agree to assume regal taxation & military obligations. What is more, a state was mandatory to obtain admittance into one of a Imperial Circles. Theoretically, personalist states were forbidden when 1653, but exceptions were typically processed.

Another time a territory attained statehood, it may lose the attribute under super couple of circumstances. the territory ceded to a foreign power ceased to exist as the state; moreover, the mediatized state (that is, the state that come to exist as under the authority but not the sovereignty of a foreign power) can lose statehood. From either 1648 onwards, inheritance of a state was limited to one personal; the territory inherited by the different personal ceased to become the state unless the Emperor explicitly allowed otherwise. Eventually, a territory may lose statehood by existence subjected to a majestic ban (the virtually all notable case exposed the Count Palatine of the Rhine, who was banned around 1621 for his participation in the Bohemian Revolt).

Rights and privileges
Rulers of Imperial States enjoyed precedence above more cases in the Empire. Electors were originally styled Durchlaucht (Serene Highness), princes Hochgeboren Fürst (High-Coroneted Prince) & numbers Hoch- und Wolhgeboren (High & Easily-Born). In a eighteenth century, the electors were upgraded to Durchläuchtigste (Virtually all Serene Highness), princes to Durchlaucht (Serene Highness) & numbers to Erlaucht (Illustrious Highness).

Imperial States enjoyed many rights & privileges. Rulers got autonomy insofarasmuch when their families were caring; particularly, it were permitted to produce system on a inheritance of their states forgoing regal interference. It were permitted to produce accord & enter into alliances using more Imperial States also when with foreign nations. A electors, but not a more rulers, were permitted to exercise certain regalian powers, including a power to mint money, the power to collect tolls and the monopoly all over gold and silver mines.

Reichstag
A Reichstag, or even Imperial Diet, was divided into deuce-ace collegia: a Council of Electors, a Council of Princes & the Council of Cities. Electoral states belonged to the 1st of the said councils; more states, whether ecclesiastic or even lay, belonged to the Council of Princes.

Votes were held inside best of the states, like than personally. Consequently, an human ruling many states held multiple votes; likewise, multiple people ruling area of the equivalent state shared one vote. These system were non formalized until 1582; prior to this period, whilst multiple souls inherited arethe of the equivalent state, it for instance received a vote every. Votes were either human or even collective. Princes & senior ecclesiastic typically held single votes (however such votes, equally noted above, were every now and again divided). High priest while forgoing single votes were classified into 2 benches — a Bench of the Rhine and the Bench of Swabia — each of which enjoyed a collective vote. Likewise, Numbers & Lords were grouped into quatern benches sustaining a collective vote every — the Bench of Wetterau, a Bench of Swabia, the Bench of Franconia and the Bench of Westphalia.

There are no elector ever held multiple electorates; nor were electorates ever divided between multiple heirs. Hence, in the Council of Electors, from each 1 human held exactly one vote. Electors world health organization ruled states additionally to their electorates besides voted in the Council of Princes; likewise, princes world health organization too ruled comital territories voted each severally & in the comital benches. In the Reichstag in 1792, for instance, a Elector of Brandenburg held eight individual votes in the Council of Princes & a single vote in the Bench of Westphalia. Likewise, among cleric, a Grand Master of the Teutonic Order held one human vote in the Council of Princes & 2 in the Bench of the Rhine.