Register your charity

You must apply to register your charity if both:

  • its income is at least £5,000 per year or it’s a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
  • it’s based in England or Wales

The rules are different:

Supporting documents

When you apply you’ll be asked:

You’ll also need to give your charity’s:

  • name
  • bank or building society details
  • most recent accounts
  • contact details, including a postal address
  • trustees’ names, dates of birth and contact details
  • a copy of your charity’s governing document (in PDF format)

Proof of income

Proof of income, if needed, can be any one of:

  • your charity’s latest ‘published’ annual accounts (in PDF format) - they must have been approved as proof of income by an independent examiner or auditor
  • a recent bank statement (as a scanned image)
  • a formal offer of funding from a recognised funding body (as a scanned image)