• The Charity Commission for England and Wales
• About us
  • About the Charity Commission
    • Our vision, mission and values
    • Our status
    • Our Board Members and Directors' Group
    • Public meetings of the Commission
    • Our commitment to transparency and openness
    • Our work with other regulators and organisations
    • Reports, consultations and newsletter
    • Welsh Language Scheme
  • About charities
    • Trusteeship
    • Sector facts and figures
    • Our research
  • How we regulate charities
    • Registering charities
    • Providing information, advice and legal consents
    • Taking action if things go wrong
  • Making a complaint
    • Making a complaint about a charity
    • Complaining about a decision we have made
    • Complaint about a service we have provided
  • Contacting us
    • Contacting us
    • Press office
    • Public Affairs
  • Careers
  • Operational Guidance
• Our regulatory activity
  • Our approach
  • How and when to report an issue to us
    • Guidance for trustees, employees and volunteers
    • Guidance for auditors and independent examiners
    • Guidance for the general public
  • Where we provide legal consents
  • How we ensure charities comply with their legal requirements
    • Where we investigate charities
    • Where we take enforcement action
    • Our counter-terrorism work
    • Where we monitor charities
    • Where we appoint interim managers
    • Where we can help resolve internal conflicts
  • Results of our legal compliance work
    • Alerts and warnings
    • Inquiry Reports
    • Regulatory Case Reports
    • Decisions
    • Themes and lessons learnt from our compliance work
• Manage your charity
  • Submit Annual Return/Accounts
  • Update your charity's details
  • Change your charity's name or Governing Document
  • Close or merge a charity
  • Buy, sell or vest land
  • Forgotten your password?
• Starting up a charity
  • Is setting up a charity the right thing to do?
    • Things to think about before setting up a charity
  • Do I need to register?
    • Types of charity that do not have to register
    • Resources for very small charities
    • Charitable Incorporated Organisations
    • Excepted and Exempt charities
  • Guidance on registering a new charity
    • Help in setting up a charity
    • The registration process
    • Finding trustees
    • Demonstrating public benefit
    • Choosing your charity's name, purposes and governing document
  • Register a new charity
• Charity requirements & guidance
  • What information must trustees send us this year?
    • Annual income up to £10,000
    • Income over £10,000 but less than £25,000
    • Income over £25,000 but less than £500,000
    • Income over £500,000 but less than £1,000,000
    • Annual income over £1 million
  • Charity essentials
    • The essential trustee
    • Hallmarks of an effective charity
    • Charitable purposes and Public Benefit
  • Charity accounting and reporting
    • Notifying us of changes to your charity
    • Preparing your Annual Return
    • Preparing your Trustees' Annual Report
    • Preparing your Charity Accounts
    • Auditing and examining your accounts
  • Charity governance
    • Good governance
    • Managing charity resources
    • Managing risk
    • Environmental responsibility
  • Charity activities
    • Working with other charities
    • Fundraising
    • Campaigning and political activity
    • Charities delivering public services
    • Charities working outside England and Wales
  • Specialist guidance
    • Small charities
    • Arts charities
    • Corporate Foundations
    • Faith-based charities
    • Schools and Higher Education Institutions
    • Charities providing housing
    • Charities and local authorities
    • NHS charities
    • Recreation ground charities
  • View all guidance

In this section

• Is setting up a charity the right thing to do?
• Do I need to register?
• Guidance on registering a new charity
• Register a new charity

What's New

• Recent Updates
• News

Last year we registered 5,140 new charities and removed 7,433 inactive charities from the register.

Start up a charity

• Useful websites
• Press office
• Public Affairs
• Events & seminars
• Careers
• Contact us