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.

Our purpose

The Commission’s purpose is a statement of what we stand for:

To ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.

This purpose will inform everything we do and how we approach our work. Our 5 strategic objectives are:

1. holding charities to account
2. dealing with wrongdoing and harm
3. informing public choice
4. giving charities the understanding and tools they need to succeed
5. keeping charity relevant for today’s world

Read more about our priorities in the Charity Commission Statement of Strategic Intent 2018 - 2023.

Find out more about our governance.

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 to the public
• providing guidance to help charities run as effectively as possible
• providing online services for charities

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

Corporate information

Access our information

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

Jobs and contracts

• Working for Charity Commission
• 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.