This page about registering a charity with the Charity Commission is part of Community Action’s Resource Hub so if you have questions about how to run a community organisation, you’ve come to the right place!
If your community organisation is in Bradford District, advice is available from the Development Officer team.
Are we missing resources you need? Email info@cabad.org.uk and we will look into it!
Charity registration
Considering registering a charity in Bradford district? This page is designed to help you find the information you need and decide on next steps.
The first decision to make when registering a charity is incorporated or unincorporated? So what is the difference?
Unincorporated registered charities have no legal status so cannot sign contracts in the charity’s name. Instead, the individual trustees have unlimited liability and can be taken to court, for example if there is an employee or creditor dispute. The individual trustees sign any contracts in their own name because in law, even if there is a written constitution and registered charity status, unincorporated charities have no legal standing.
Incorporated registered charities have a legal status so they can sign contracts in the name of the charity. Trustees that are in charge of an incorporated charity have limited liability and in most cases it is the charity that would be taken to court, for example in an employee or creditor dispute.
Your charity is incorporated if it is officially registered as:
- A charitable company – registered at Companies House and the Charity Commission
- A charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) – registered at the Charity Commission
- A cooperative society or community benefit society – registered by the Financial Conduct Authority
Limited liability does not start until the charity is officially registered by the Charity Commission and they have sent you an official registration number.
You may be thinking – What about other legal structures?
Write the governing document
Now you’ve chosen to register a charity, the next step is to use a template governing document from the Charity Commission to write the governing document.
Charity Commission quick links
Get started on your charity registration application with these useful links:
- Step by step – set up a charity
- Create an account to be able to start a charity registration form
- Login to the account
Always use the Charity Commission guidance published on .gov.uk to answer questions about registering or running a charity because it is the regulator so it’s their advice that counts. Always read the guidance as actually shown on the Charity Commission website rather than any generative AI summary because AI summaries are not reliable enough for topics where there are potential legal consequences. If you don’t understand the Charity Commission guidance as written on .gov.uk you should contact the Charity Commission.
How Community Action can help
Need to talk through your options? If the community organisation is in Bradford district UK (including Shipley, Ilkley, Bingley and Keighley), Community Action can help.
Make an appointment to talk to one of our development officers or book a place on the next Set up a New Group course. For organisations with an annual income under £100,000 advice and getting started training courses are free of charge.
Want to start a for-profit business or be a sole trader? Sorry, Community Action doesn’t provide advice to those groups.
