- Status
- In Force
- Penalty ceiling
- Imprisonment 7 of 74 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 9 carry different penalties and 58 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Does it bind you?
Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.
Plus 23 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.
Trustee — also bound by 104 other Acts
Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Trader — also bound by 825 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 429 other Acts
Employer — also bound by 682 other Acts
Employee — also bound by 189 other Acts
Applicant — also bound by 307 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.
INTRODUCTORY
1 of 5 sections shown- Charity trustees must consider Charity Commission guidance on public benefitTrustee
4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
THE CHARITY COMMISSION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
2 of 6 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must encourage charitable giving and voluntary workStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Official custodian must act as trustee for charities and manage property accordinglyStatutory regulator
4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
THE CHARITY TRIBUNAL FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
0 of 4 sections shown4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
REGISTRATION OF CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE NAMES
5 of 9 sections shown- Charity trustees must register and keep registration details up to dateTrustee
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must handle objections to registration and maintain suspense during appealsStatutory regulator
- Fail to show registered charity status on documentsAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
- Comply with Charity Commission direction to change charity name and notify themTrustee
- Change charity name by resolution and notify Companies House when directedDirector or Officer
4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
INFORMATION POWERS
1 of 4 sections shown- Supply false information or destroy documents to Charity CommissionAny Person
3 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
APPLICATION OF PROPERTY CY-PRÈS AND ASSISTANCE AND SUPERVISION OF CHARITIES BY COURT AND COMMISSION
6 of 32 sections shown- Inform donors and return property if charitable purposes failTrustee
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Court or Commission must make a scheme for gifts of mixed charitable and non-charitable purposesStatutory regulator
- Contravene a Charity Commission protection orderAny Person
Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must send copy of order and reasons to charity or trusteesStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must publicise proposed charity schemes and consider representationsStatutory regulator
- Obstruct a charity premises entry warrantAny Person
26 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
CHARITY LAND
2 of 6 sections shown- State charity ownership and restriction status in land contractsTrustee
- Include prescribed statements and certifications in charity mortgagesTrustee
4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
CHARITY ACCOUNTS, REPORTS AND RETURNS
5 of 10 sections shown- Keep accounting records and preserve them for 6 yearsTrustee
- Auditors must immediately report serious matters to the Charity CommissionAny Person
- Prepare and send annual return to the Charity CommissionAny Person
- Fail to comply with charity reporting dutiesAny Person
Fine up to £2,500
- Prepare and audit group accounts for parent charities with subsidiariesAny Person
5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
CHARITY TRUSTEES
7 of 22 sections shown- Submit written application for charity incorporation signed by trusteesTrustee
- Appoint trustees before incorporation and fill vacancies afterwardsTrustee
- Trustees remain personally responsible despite charity incorporationTrustee
- Trustees must comply with conditions and directions in the charity's certificate of incorporationTrustee
- Act as charity trustee while disqualifiedAny Person
- Charity trustees must follow Charity Commission guidance on trustee remuneration agreementsTrustee
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission can relieve trustees, auditors and examiners from personal liability for breaches they acted honestly and reasonably onStatutory regulator
15 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
CHARITABLE COMPANIES
4 of 10 sections shown- Get Charity Commission consent for certain director transactionsTrader
- Disclose charitable status if your charity company name doesn't include 'charity' or 'charitable'Trader
Fine up to £1,000
- Auditors of charitable companies must report matters to the Charity CommissionTrader
- Cooperate with Commission-ordered audit of your charity's accountsTrustee
6 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATIONS
8 of 18 sections shown- Ensure your CIO constitution includes required contentAny Person
- Display CIO name and status on all documents and premisesAny Person
Fine up to £1,000
- Supply required documents when applying to register a CIOApplicant
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- CIO becomes a charity and a body corporate upon registrationStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must decide conversion applications after consultationStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must register new CIO and send conversion documents to registrarStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Commission must register new CIO after amalgamation and send copy of entryStatutory regulator
- Transfer your CIO's property, rights and liabilities to another CIOEmployer
10 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
POWERS OF UNINCORPORATED CHARITIES
2 of 8 sections shown- Ensure transferred permanent endowment property has substantially similar charitable purposesTrustee
- Follow procedure to free endowment fund capital for spendingTrustee
6 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
FUNDING OF CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
13 of 30 sections shown- Conduct a public collection without a certificate and permitAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Conduct unauthorised door-to-door collectionAny Person
Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must determine public collections certificate applicationsStatutory regulator
- Apply for a permit before conducting a public charitable collectionAny Person
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must decide public collection permit applications within prescribed periodStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Commission must comply with court directions on appealStatutory regulator
- Use unauthorised charity badge or provide false informationAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Professional fund-raisers and commercial participators must have a formal written agreementAny Person
- Fail to clearly state charity details and fees when fundraisingAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Fail to disclose beneficiary charities and collector pay when fundraisingEmployee
Unlimited fine
- Solicit money claiming a non-registered institution is a registered charityAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Fail to comply with fund-raising regulationsAny Person
Fine up to £500
- Fail to comply with charity fundraising regulationsAny Person
Fine up to £500
17 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
MISCELLANEOUS AND SUPPLEMENTARY
5 of 26 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must maintain register of charity mergersStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must maintain public register of charity mergersStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must assess religious charity designation applications against statutory conditionsStatutory regulator
- Trustees must prepare annual financial statements and activity reportsTrustee
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Commission must supply copies of public inspection documents on requestStatutory regulator
21 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules
13 of 85 shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must submit annual report to DepartmentStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must keep proper accounts and report annuallyStatutory regulator
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Tribunal panels must sit as directed by the PresidentTribunal / Court
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- President must arrange tribunal panel composition for each functionTribunal / Court
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Charity Commission must pause action on charity law view until Tribunal decidesStatutory regulator
- Include report on subsidiary undertakings in annual reportTrustee
- Ensure accounting records allow group accounts to comply with regulationsTrustee
- Prepare group accounts if you are a parent charityTrustee
- Charity trustees must keep group accounts for 6 yearsTrustee
- Use charity property only for its stated purposesAny Person
- Observe the CIO's constitution as if it were a binding contractAny Person
- Charity trustees must act within the CIO's constitutionTrustee
- Act in good faith to further the CIO's charitable purposesTrustee
72 other schedules
Help complying
Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.
3 more guides that reference this instrument
Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.