The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
(Version February 2008)
The guidance on this part of the Commission's website is primarily for trustees and others involved with 'small charities' – that is, generally charities in England and Wales with incomes of under £20,000 a year although the statutory requirements vary according to what action is proposed.
From this page you can view and print off information sheets on key topics together with the relevant declaration forms. There are also links to Operational Guidance which sets out for our staff our approach to small charities and links to related publications.
In summary, we can take a more proportionate (or 'light touch') approach to small charities than is the case with larger charities. This enables the trustees of smaller charities to make relatively straightforward – but important – decisions with minimum checking from us. As a result, trustees should be able to clear routine issues with us quickly and efficiently.
The guidance and forms on our website set out the position on a number of key issues. We hope that these will help trustees to decide how to proceed in these cases and what information to send us if they need to apply for our authority to certain transactions.
These model forms have been designed to enable trustees to comply with the statutory provisions of the Charities Act 1993 as amended by the Charities Act 2006. The following table directs you to the relevant information that we recommend you read before deciding which form you need to use.
| Proposed action |
Information sheet |
Relevant form(s) |
| Modification of administrative Provisions | ||
| Changing purposes | ||
| Transfer of property | ||
| Spending permanent endowment |
Having read the guidance you will need to print off the appropriate form and fill it in by hand before sending it to us. If you have difficulty printing off the forms, please phone, e-mail or write to us and we can send you a copy.
The operational guidance here is specifically for our caseworkers and sets out the principles we apply generally (see OG200) as well as in specific issues.
OG200 Small Charities: Principles of Commission policy
OG202 Small Charities: Dissolutions and removal from the Register
OG204 Small Charities: Disposal of charity land
OG45 Unincorporated Charities: Amendments to governing documents and transfers of property for small charities
Our range of guidance for charities generally can also be useful for small charities.
RS5 Small Charities and Reserves
RS6 Milestones: Managing key events in the life of a charity