Scottish Football Association members unanimously approved a resolution addressing the change of control at football clubs at Wednesday's annual general meeting at Hampden.
The new Article of Association formalises the obligations on member clubs regarding change of ownership.
Any outgoing board of directors will now be required to submit documentation confirming that due diligence has been undertaken regarding the prospective purchaser.
The move is effectively an attempt to prevent a repeat of the ill-fated Craig Whyte tenure at Rangers, after the Ibrox owner was ruled not to be a fit and proper person to run a Scottish football club in March.
In February, the Glasgow giants were forced to call in administrators over unpaid taxes accrued since Whyte took over Sir David Murray's majority shareholding last May.
Clubs' current regimes will now be required to lodge a change of control certificate to the SFA before any sale is finalised.
SFA chief executive Stewart Regan said: "It is important that club owners take more responsibility to ensure that they sell their club to an individual or individuals who act responsibly and within the rules of football.
"The Scottish FA governs the whole of football and rather than spend millions of pounds on investigations into any number of prospective purchases across the game at all levels - which would be better kept within the game - it is important that the onus is on those involved in the sale of the club."
The SFA also announced a £4.5million increase in turnover for the year to £32.2million, with one third of turnover issued directly to member clubs - an increase on the previous year, when one quarter of the turnover was allocated to members.
Source: PA
