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Register a company for a charity
A company limited by guarantee with charitable objects, incorporated first at Companies House and then registered with the charity regulator.
Who it is for. Groups that want charitable status with the protection of a corporate structure, so trustees are not personally exposed to the organisation's contracts.
What Companies House needs
- Charitable objects drafted to meet the public benefit requirement
- A company limited by guarantee, with articles the regulator will accept
- Trustees, who are also the company's directors
- A registered office in the jurisdiction of registration
- A separate application to the Charity Commission, or OSCR in Scotland, after incorporation
What this form gets wrong most often
- Incorporating is step one of two
- Companies House does not decide whether something is a charity. The regulator does, against the public benefit test, and it can say no.
- A charitable incorporated organisation may suit better
- A CIO is registered only with the charity regulator — one registration, one set of accounts, no Companies House filings. If the only reason for a company is limited liability, compare the two before incorporating.
- Objects are hard to change afterwards
- They define what the charity may lawfully do with its money. Drafting them too narrowly is a problem you will meet in year three.
What has to be filed afterwards
- Confirmation statement and accounts at Companies House
- The charity regulator's own annual return and accounts, on a different timetable
- Identity verification for directors, who are the trustees
Questions
Do I have to incorporate before applying for charity registration?
For a charitable company, yes — the regulator needs the company to exist. A CIO is registered directly with the regulator instead.
Are trustees personally liable?
In a company limited by guarantee, trustees are protected from ordinary contractual liability in the same way company directors are, provided they act properly.
Charitable company
£89.99 + VAT
plus £100 Companies House fee- Name ends in
- Limited, or exemption where it qualifies
- Jurisdictions
- England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Full price list on the pricing page. Companies House sets and collects its own fee.
Other structures
Enquire
Charitable company enquiry
Tell us who is involved and what the organisation is meant to do. If a different structure fits better, we will say so before you pay for this one.
Charitable company
Tell us what you are trying to do and we will reply with what is involved. No obligation, and we will say so plainly if what you need is not something we do.