Charities & Social Enterprise

Which membership organisation rules apply to your organisation

Membership organisations — trade and professional bodies, trade unions, religious congregations, political parties, clubs and societies — are mostly governed by the universal duties, with data protection looming large because membership records are extensive. On top of those, what you must register depends on what kind of organisation you are: trade unions list with the Certification Officer, political parties register with the Electoral Commission, and charitable bodies register with the charity regulator for their nation.

UK-wide
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UK-wide

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Membership organisations exist for their members — and most of their compliance comes from the universal duties every organisation shares, with one emphasis: membership records make data protection your biggest ongoing obligation. Beyond that, registration depends on what kind of organisation you are. Start with the shared duties, then follow the registration route for your kind of organisation.

  1. 1

    Put the shared duties in place

    Whatever kind of organisation you run, start with the universal duties. Follow "Run a compliant membership organisation" for data protection and the ICO fee, employers' liability insurance, health and safety, fire safety and equality.

  2. 2

    Register what you are

    Trade unions list with the Certification Officer, political parties register with the Electoral Commission, and charitable bodies — including most religious congregations — register with the charity regulator for their nation. Follow "Registration rules for trade unions, political parties and charities".

  3. 3

    If you are a charity, use the detailed charity guides

    Charity registration, trustee duties, accounts and reporting have their own detailed guides for England and Wales and for Scotland — the registration guide routes you to them.

  4. 4

    Confirm you have covered everything

    Finish with the membership organisations compliance checklist to confirm every obligation that applies to you is in place.

Official sources

Authoritative starting points for membership organisations.