- Enforced by
- OSCR
- Status
- Amended (in force with amendments)
- Penalty ceiling
- Imprisonment 4 of 29 obligations carry a fine up to £1,000. 7 carry different penalties and 18 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Does it bind you?
Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.
Plus 14 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.
Other Acts binding the same actors
If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.
Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Trustee — also bound by 104 other Acts
Employee — also bound by 189 other Acts
What it requires
Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.
Charities
23 of 100 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must maintain the Scottish Charity Register accuratelyStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must decide charity registration applications using the charity testStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must review charity name disputes and order changesStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must keep the charity Register open for public inspectionStatutory regulator
- Give false info to OSCR or tamper with documentsAny Person
- Fail to comply with OSCR inquiry directionAny Person
- Fail to comply with OSCR information requestAny Person
- Contravene OSCR suspension or fail to comply with directionAny Person
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must prepare, send and publish inquiry reportsStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must notify charity at least 28 days before court reorganisation applicationStatutory regulator
- Fail to assist appointed person investigating charity accountsEmployee
Fine up to £1,000
- Auditors/examiners must report significant concerns to OSCRAny Person
- Prepare and submit annual return to OSCRAny Person
- Non-trustee SCIO members must follow charity trustee general dutiesTrustee
- Issue or sign non-compliant SCIO documentsAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must grant compliant SCIO applications and refuse only on statutory groundsStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must keep a record of all notified charity mergersStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must make charity merger record available for public inspectionStatutory regulator
- Act in the interests of the charity and manage its affairs with care and diligenceTrustee
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must keep a schedule of charity trusteesStatutory regulator
- Act while disqualified as charity trustee or senior managerAny Person
Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must maintain and update register of persons removed from charity managementStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must provide a name-based search facility for the record of removed personsStatutory regulator
77 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Fundraising for benevolent bodies
4 of 14 sections shown- Fail to comply with fundraising regulationsAny Person
Fine up to £5,000
- Hold public benevolent collection without local authority consentAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
- Contravene public benevolent collection regulationsAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
- Breach regulations on charitable goods collectionAny Person
Unlimited fine
10 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Investment powers of trustees
0 of 3 sections shown3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
General and supplementary
7 of 12 sections shown5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules
2 of 39 shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Scottish Ministers must appoint OSCR chair and deputyCrown / Minister / Government department
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- OSCR must appoint a chief executive and obtain approval for staff termsStatutory regulator
37 other schedules
Help complying
Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.
Responding to an OSCR charity investigation
What to do if your Scottish charity faces an OSCR inquiry or enforcement action. Covers understanding the type of investigation, cooperation obligations, …
Setting up a charity in Scotland
End-to-end learning path for setting up a charity in Scotland: understanding OSCR regulation, the charity test, registration, trustee duties, annual reporting and …
Scottish charity compliance quick check
Quick compliance check for Scottish charities registered with OSCR. Covers annual reporting, trustee duties, and the full OSCR compliance checklist.
OSCR annual reporting and charity accounts
How to complete your annual return and file charity accounts with OSCR. Covers the 9-month filing deadline, the online monitoring return, accounting …
OSCR charity compliance checklist
Annual compliance checklist for Scottish charities registered with OSCR. Covers registration obligations, annual reporting, accounting, trustee duties, and notifiable events.
OSCR enforcement and charity investigations
What triggers an OSCR inquiry, OSCR's enforcement powers including those strengthened by the 2023 Act, possible outcomes of an investigation, and charity …
Register a charity with OSCR
How to register a charity with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). Covers the charity test, choosing a legal form …
Trustee duties under Scottish charity law
Your legal duties as a charity trustee in Scotland, including the general duties under the 2005 Act, the expanded disqualification criteria introduced …
Understanding OSCR and Scottish charity regulation
How charity regulation works in Scotland and why it differs from the rest of the UK. Explains OSCR's role, the key legislation, …
Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.