IHTM11137 - Procedure: The Charity Commission and other databases

In England & Wales, the Charity Commission is responsible for the regulation of charities that are required to be registered under the Charities Act 1993. When an organisation is registered its name is placed on the Register, which is a public document.

The Register is available on the Internet. It will be accessed primarily by the risk team in cases where they have been unable to trace a body on the HMRC Charities database (IHTM11136). In order to search the Register you will need to

1. log on at www.charity-commission.gov.uk
2. click on the tab marked ‘Registered Charities’
3. click on ‘Search the Register’
4. you will be asked ‘How would you like to search’ and given four choices: the most useful is ‘Search for charities by charity object or name keywords’

The Register will provide details such as the Charity Registration Number, date of registration, contact address and purposes of the charity.

As indicated at IHTM11112 registration is conclusive proof of charitable status.

It is important to remember that the database is not a complete list of charities. It does not include charities in Scotland, Northern Ireland or the EU. Neither does it include charities which are exempt from registration (such as places of worship, certain education establishments and the bodies listed at IHTM11224 nor smaller charities, which can register but are not compelled to.

A copy of the Scottish Charity Index containing a list of organisations recognised as charities by HMRC in Scotland is available on the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator's website.

There is also a comprehensive database that contains information on UK charities on the free public website. The database has been set up by GuideStar UK (itself an independent charity) and includes information on

• All registered charities in England and Wales
• All unregistered charities in England and Wales recognised by HMRC
• There are plans to extend the database to cover all charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland recognised by HMRC