Charitable sector bodies which have developed accreditation schemes for charities can apply to us for our endorsement of their standards and associated procedures.*

Endorsement means that:

• the standards, procedures and policies meet our terms of endorsement
• we support and recognise these accreditation schemes

Please note: We never accredit or endorse individual charities.

Endorsed accreditation schemes have these characteristics:

• they use standards which are consistent with the Commission's Hallmarks of an Effective Charity
• the assessment process is undertaken independently of the charity being assessed
• the assessment process is robust, transparent and fair

Amongst other things, the standard-setting body must be able to demonstrate that:

• its accreditation assessments are a proper test of good governance
• its assessors have appropriate training
• there is consistency in the assessment and accreditation process
• charities being assessed for accreditation will automatically fail if they are not meeting their legal requirements as charities
• there are policies in place to cover de-accreditation or suspension

Our endorsement lasts for three years, and comes with the use of a specific Commission logo.

*We are currently revising this area of the website to provide better and updated information about our endorsement programme. For further information in the meantime, please contact us.

More information about the endorsement logo

Accreditation schemes which we have endorsed