The Register of Mergers

(Last updated 26 February 2010)

The official Register of Mergers is held and maintained by the Charity Commission. This web version is updated monthly.

The purpose of the Register of Mergers

The Charity Commission keeps a public register of charity mergers to ensure that legacies and other gifts left to any charities which ‘disappear’ following a merger will be automatically transferred to the new merged charity. Charities can register their merger with us in order for this to happen.

Do all mergers have to be registered?

Registering a merger is compulsory where a vesting declaration is used. In other cases, it’s voluntary.

If your charity does not rely on legacy income and the trustees feel it is never likely to receive legacies, then registering the merger is not necessary (unless a vesting declaration has been used).

Where a charity receives or expects significant legacy income, it should consider registering the merger so that legacies and gifts can be transferred to it. Charities should take legal advice before deciding to register as some legacies can be worded in a way that specifies another recipient for the legacy if the original charity ceases to exist. In these cases, the gift would not automatically transfer to the new charity but go to the person or organisation specified in the will.   

Only charities that have transferred their funds and thus ceased to exist can enter their merger in the Register of Mergers.

How to register a merger

The charity receiving property from another charity or charities (the transferee) is responsible for notifying us of a merger. The notification will need to let us know:

• the names of the charities involved in the merger;
• the date of transfer of the property;
• a confirmation that arrangements have been made for the discharge of any liabilities of the transferor charity or charities;
• details of any vesting declaration made.

You will need to use the notification form CSD-1162 . This can also be accessed at Apply for it.

For further technical information on the register of mergers, you may wish to look at our operational guidance OG60 The Register of Mergers.

How to use this register

If you wish to search for a particular charity, you can use the 'Edit' > 'Find (on this page)' facility on your Microsoft browser toolbar.

The Charity Commission also maintains the Central Register of Charities. In all cases of merger, charities should inform us about the merger in order that we can keep the Register of Charities up to date. Registering a charity is not the same as registering a charity merger. Details on how to register as a charity can be found at Register a charity.