Guidance

How charities can make a moral, or ‘ex gratia’ payment (CC7)

What trustees need to know and do when making a moral, or ‘ex gratia’ payment.

• From: The Charity Commission
• Published: 1 May 2014
• Last updated: 27 November 2025
  Show all updates

  1. 27 November 2025

     Guidance updated to reflect changes introduced by the Charities Act 2022.

  2. 1 May 2014

     First published.

Applies to England and Wales

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland

Documents

How charities can make a moral, or ‘ex gratia’, payment (CC7)

Ref: CC7

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This guidance is about charities making payments (or waiving a right to property) because the trustees feel a moral obligation. Read the guidance to understand what this means.

These payments are also called ‘ex gratia’ payments.

You may need Charity Commission authority to make these payments.