About us

We register and regulate charities in England and Wales, to ensure that the public can support charities with confidence.

Who we are

We are the regulator of charities in England and Wales and maintain the charity register.

We are an independent, non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament.

As registrar, we are responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date register of charities. This includes deciding whether organisations are charitable and should be registered. We also remove charities that are not considered to be charitable, no longer exist or do not operate.

We work across 4 sites in Liverpool, London, Newport and Taunton. Our Newport office operates bilingually in Welsh and English. We employ approximately 350 people.

Responsibilities

Within England and Wales, our responsibilities are:

• registering eligible organisations in England and Wales which are established for only charitable purposes
• taking enforcement action when there is malpractice or misconduct
• ensuring charities meet their legal requirements, including providing information on their activities each year
• making appropriate information about each registered charity widely available
• providing online services and guidance to help charities run as effectively as possible

You can read more about the Charity Commission in our latest annual report and accounts.

Priorities

Our strategic priorities up to 2018 are:

• protecting charities from abuse or mismanagement
• enabling trustees to run their charities effectively
• encouraging greater transparency and accountability by charities
• operating as an efficient, expert regulator with sustainable funding

Read more about our priorities in the Charity Commission strategic plan 2015-18.

Corporate information

Access our information

• Equality and diversity
• Media enquiries
• Complaints procedure
• Our governance
• Corporate reports
• Transparency data

Jobs and contracts

• Jobs

Read about the types of information we routinely publish in our Publication scheme. Our Personal information charter explains how we treat your personal information. Find out About our services.