Charities & Social Enterprise UK-wide

Register a charity in Northern Ireland with CCNI

How to register a charity with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI). Covers the Northern Ireland charity test, the no-threshold registration duty, the Expression of Intent and call-forward process, and the position for charities already registered in Great Britain that operate in Northern Ireland.

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If you want to call your organisation a charity in Northern Ireland, you must register with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI). Northern Ireland has no income or asset threshold. Every institution that meets the charity test must register, no matter how small its income.

This guide takes you through the Northern Ireland charity test, the Expression of Intent and call-forward process CCNI uses, and what happens once you are registered. It also covers the position for charities already registered in Great Britain that want to operate in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland charity test

Before you apply, confirm your organisation meets the charity test in sections 2 and 3 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. Your purposes must fall within one of the 12 descriptions of charitable purpose in section 2(2), and you must satisfy the public benefit requirement in section 3. You must also be governed by Northern Ireland law and be an independent institution with your own control over your governance and resources.

Northern Ireland's list has 12 descriptions rather than the 13 used in England and Wales. The wording is near-identical; Northern Ireland folds any additional or analogous purpose into a single catch-all description instead of listing it separately.

No registration threshold currently applies

Unlike England and Wales, Northern Ireland has no income or asset threshold for registration. Every qualifying institution must register with CCNI regardless of size.

REGISTRATION EXEMPTION £20,000 income and £100,000 assets (proposed, not in force)

A future exemption threshold is enabled but not commenced

Section 16A of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, inserted by the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, gives the Department for Communities a power to make regulations exempting small charities from the duty to register. As at July 2026 no such regulations have been made.

Below threshold:

You must register regardless of your income or assets until regulations are made under section 16A. Do not treat the proposed £20,000 income and £100,000 assets figures as current - they have no commencement date.

Prepare before you apply

Before you submit an Expression of Intent, prepare a governing document - a constitution, trust deed, or articles of association - setting out your charitable purposes, how trustees are appointed and removed, and what happens if the charity winds up. CCNI recommends at least 3 trustees, so that a dispute can always be resolved by a deciding vote.

Gather your trustees' names and contact details, a description of your charitable purposes and how you provide public benefit, and your proposed charity name.

Register through the Expression of Intent process

Northern Ireland uses a phased registration process, not a single continuously open portal. You submit an Expression of Intent (EOI) and then wait to be called forward before you can complete a full application.

  1. 1

    1. Confirm you meet the charity test

    Check your purposes against the 12 descriptions in section 2(2) of the 2008 Act and confirm you can demonstrate public benefit under section 3.

  2. 2

    2. Prepare your governing document

    Draft a constitution, trust deed, or articles of association covering your purposes, trustee arrangements, and dissolution clause.

  3. 3

    3. Submit an Expression of Intent

    Complete the EOI form on the CCNI website. You need to do this even if your organisation already holds an HMRC charitable tax reference - HMRC recognition and CCNI registration are separate processes.

  4. 4

    4. Wait to be called forward

    CCNI processes Expressions of Intent in batches. You are usually called forward within 8 weeks and sent a password to start the online application. If a funder or other body needs proof of registration by a specific date, you can ask CCNI for an earlier call-forward and provide supporting evidence.

  5. 5

    5. Complete the online application

    Provide trustee details, your charity name, contact and bank details, a description of your purposes and public benefit, and upload your governing document.

  6. 6

    6. Respond to any CCNI queries

    CCNI may ask for more information before deciding. Respond promptly to avoid delay.

  7. 7

    7. Receive your NIC registration number

    Once approved, your charity appears on the Northern Ireland register of charities with an NIC-prefixed number. Use this number on official correspondence, fundraising materials, and your website.

Charities already registered elsewhere that operate in Northern Ireland

If your charity is registered in England, Wales, Scotland, or Ireland and you want to operate in Northern Ireland, you do not currently need a separate Northern Ireland registration for that cross-border activity. The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 provides for a register of institutions established outside Northern Ireland that operate for charitable purposes in or from Northern Ireland, at section 167, but this section has never been brought into force. Following a Department for Communities consultation that closed in October 2025, the Department's published intention is to repeal section 167 rather than commence it.

In the meantime, CCNI keeps a voluntary informational list of charities registered elsewhere that operate in Northern Ireland. Adding your charity to this list is not a legal registration requirement, but check CCNI's current guidance before assuming your position, because the Department's repeal decision has not yet been implemented in legislation.

If you are setting up a new charity that is established under Northern Ireland law and governed from Northern Ireland, this cross-border position does not apply to you - you register directly with CCNI as set out above.

What next

Once registered, you take on ongoing duties: submitting an Annual Monitoring Return and accounts each year, keeping your register details up to date, and meeting your duties as a charity trustee. See the related guides below for the full detail on reporting and trustee duties.

Related Guvnor guides

Official guidance and forms