UK charity registration

We assist clients wishing to register a charity with the Charity Commission in England and Wales or the OSCR in Scotland.We can advise you on the most appropriate type of legal entity which you need to set up a charity. There are 3 options:-

to set up a trust
to set up an unincorporated body
to set up a company limited by guarantee

If you think you need a charitable trust or unincorporated charity setting up you need to contact us to discuss requirements. Fees to set up either of these types of organisation are £190 plus vat. If you are not sure what you require we are happy to have a no obligation discussion.

If you wish to incorporate a company limited by guarantee with your own charitable objects and use our standard memorandum and articles then fees are £84.00 (inclusive of Companies House fees and vat)

(Alternatively fees to incorporate a charitable company limited by guarantee with your own bespoke articles of association and other amendments are £250 (inclusive of Companies House fees and vat ) We will draft bespoke articles in consultation with you.)

We can incorporate the company within a day or so.

The second stage is to complete and submit the application to the Charities Commission if the charity is to be based in England or Wales or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) if it is to be based in Scotland. Our fees for this are £250 plus vat of £37.50 making a total of £287.50 We offer a service whereby we ensure your organisations objects are charitable and that its constitution will be acceptable to the Charities Commission or OSCR. We obtain all required information from you to enable us to complete and process the application documents. We advise on any ancillary documents required eg child protection policies, criminal record checks and generally oversee the matter dealing with all correspondence from the Charities Commission or OSCR.

What are charitable objects or purposes?

To be a charity an organisation must have purposes which are exclusively charitable and for the benefit of the public. A charity's purposes are its objects or aims which are usually set out in its governing document. The meaning of charitable purposes is now set out in the Charities Act 2006

There are now 13 charitable categories listed as follows:-

The prevention or relief of poverty	The advancement of education
The advancement of religion	The advancement of health or the saving of lives
The advancement of citizenship or community development	The advancement of the arts,culture, heritage or science
The advancement of amateur sport	The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity
The advancement of environmental protestion or improvement	The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
The advancement of animal welfare	The promotion of the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown, or the efficiency of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services
Any other purposes accepted as charitable when the Charities Act 2006 came into force

In general, a purpose is not charitable if it is mainly for the benefit of a named person or specific individuals. It will also not be charitable if the people who will benefit from it are defined by a personal or contractual relationship with each other. For example, if the beneficiaries are related or connected to the person who is setting up the charity, or where they are defined by common employment or by membership of a non-charitable body, for example, members of a professional institute.

An exception to this general rule exists in the case of the relief of financial hardship, where the people to benefit can come from a restricted group, such as people having the same employer.

The main advantages of registering as a charity are that charities:-

do not normally have to pay income/corporation tax (in the case of some types of income), capital gains tax, stamp duty, and gifts to charities are free of inheritance tax
pay no more than 20% of normal business rates on the buildings which they use and occupy to further their charitable purposes
can get special VAT treatment in some circumstances
are often able to raise funds from the public, grant-making trusts and local government more easily than non-charitable bodies
can formally represent and help to meet the needs of the community
are able to give the public the assurance that they are being monitored and advised by the Charities Commission.

The above is a very brief outline of what can be a complicated area. Why not call us on 08454565273 to discuss whether your plans and objectives could qualify as charitable.

We prepare and electronically submit new company registrations (formations) as soon as we receive your instructions. Incorporations can be completed within 1 working day.Alternatively a trust or unincorporporated body can be set up within a few days.

If you would like to proceed with your charity registration, or any other services, or you have any queries, please fill in the application form by clicking on the link above or contact us for more details