The Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is a new legal form for a charity. From this page you can access all the information we have about CIOs. The two sets of regulations, which set out much of the legal framework for CIOs, have not yet been agreed by Parliament, so there may be changes to the regulations and to this guidance.

Below is a list of areas that we intend to cover in guidance. We do not have guidance in all of these areas at the moment, but we will be adding information to these pages over the next few months.

However, as the CIO is a new structure there may be additional areas on which we need to produce guidance. If you have any other questions/issues which you think will not be covered please let us know.

If you prefer to print one document which contains all the guidance, you can download a PDF version.

CIOs – General information What is a CIO? What are the rules that govern CIOs? Is a CIO the right structure for our charity? What are the benefits of being a CIO? What types of charity will benefit most from being a CIO? What will CIOs have to do that is different from/additional to an unincorporated charity?

Setting up and registering a CIO When can I register as a CIO? How does a new organisation set up a CIO? Can an existing unincorporated association or charitable trust convert to a CIO? What issues do unincorporated charities need to consider? How does an existing charitable company convert to a CIO? Can an existing charity with permanent endowment set up a CIO and transfer the assets to the CIO? Can a Community Interest Company (CIC) convert to a CIO? Can a charitable Industrial and Provident Society convert to a CIO? Model constitutions for CIOs Why should I use one of the Commissions’ model CIO constitutions? Must I use one of the Commission’s model constitutions?

Running a CIO What kind of accounts do CIOs have to prepare? Do all CIOs have to send accounts and an annual report to the Commission? Register of trustees of a CIO Register of members of a CIO Amending your constitution Information you must send to us Transferring the assets of a CIO to another CIO Amalgamating one or more CIOs Closing a CIO Insolvent CIOs