00FOR VOLUNTEER-RUN GROUPS

From kitchen table
to charity.

A bright community hall with folding tables set out with laptops, cables and chairs, ready for a volunteer session — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Lots of community tech groups start as a few volunteers, a hall booking and some borrowed laptops.

If yours grows, you may wonder whether it should become a charity. This independent guide sums up what GOV.UK and the Charity Commission say for England and Wales. It is not a group, club or church, and it is general information, not legal advice.

£5,000the usual registration lineUpdated 19 October 2026

Compare structures

01Principles

Purposes for public benefit
At least 3 trustees
A governing document
The building blocks of a charity

02THE SHORT ANSWER

Six steps,
one threshold.

Not every group has to be a charity.
Three things worth knowing first.

THE STEPS

Six official steps

GOV.UK lists six: find trustees, check your purposes are charitable and for the public benefit, choose a name and a structure, write a governing document, and register if needed.

The steps in order

STRUCTURE

Four main types

The Charity Commission names four structures: a CIO, a charitable company, an unincorporated association and a trust. The choice affects who is liable.

Compare them

REGISTERING

The £5,000 rule

In England and Wales a charity usually must register if its income is over £5,000 a year. A CIO must register whatever its income.

See the numbers

03COMPARE STRUCTURES

Are the trustees
personally liable?

Pick a structure to see how the Charity Commission describes it. The bar shows how much protection a corporate structure gives trustees from personal liability.

Based on Charity Commission guidance CC22a for England and Wales. General information, not legal advice.

Charity structure check

Choose a structureUnincorporated associationTrustCharitable companyCIO

Unincorporated associationTrustees liable

For a charity with a wider membership that does not need a corporate structure, for example one small in assets. It uses a constitution, and trustees are personally liable for what it does.

TrustTrustees liable

For a charity without a corporate structure or wider membership, such as one that only makes grants. Its trust deed must name a starting sum of money or other assets.

Charitable companyCorporate body

A corporate body, with or without wider membership, using articles of association. Generally its trustees are not personally liable for what it does.

CIOCorporate body

A charitable incorporated organisation is a corporate body that only exists once registered with the Commission, and must send accounts and an annual return every year, whatever its income.

Source: Charity Commission, Charity types: how to choose a structure (CC22a), GOV.UK.

04TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

The rules,
in two figures.

One threshold for registering,
one for the people in charge.

£5,000

Annual income that usually triggers registration

Charities in England or Wales with income over £5,000 a year usually must register with the Charity Commission. CIOs must register at any income.

REGISTRATION · CHARITY COMMISSION

Usual minimum number of trustees

GOV.UK says you usually need at least 3 trustees. They must be at least 16 for a company or CIO, or at least 18 for other charities.

TRUSTEES · GOV.UK

There are different rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most trustees are unpaid but can claim reasonable expenses, the Charity Commission says.

05THE OFFICIAL STEPS

Set it up,
then register.

GOV.UK sets out the steps in order, and the Charity Commission says only to apply to register once the charity is set up.

Check a charity is right for you
GOV.UK suggests checking the alternatives and whether your organisation can be a charity at all.
Find trustees and agree purposes
You usually need at least 3 trustees, and the charity must have charitable purposes for the public benefit.
Choose a name, a structure and a governing document
The governing document is the legal document that creates the charity and says how it is run.
Register if you need to
Register with the Charity Commission if income is over £5,000 a year or the charity is a CIO. HMRC recognition is separate, for tax relief.

A neat stack of plain folders, blank paper and a pen on a table by a window — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

06WHAT TRUSTEES DO

Six duties
for every trustee.

Seen from above, hands around a wooden table with notebooks, a laptop and mugs during a planning meeting — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

The Charity Commission lists six main duties: carry out the charity's purposes for the public benefit; comply with the governing document and the law; act in the charity's best interests; and manage its resources responsibly.

The last two are to act with reasonable care and skill and to make sure the charity is accountable. People who are disqualified must not act as trustees unless the Commission grants a waiver.

07Questions

Questions people ask

Does every community group have to be a charity?

No. GOV.UK suggests checking the alternatives first. Registration with the Charity Commission is usually only required once a charity's income is over £5,000 a year, or if it is a CIO.

What is a CIO?

A charitable incorporated organisation: a corporate charity structure that legally comes into existence only when the Charity Commission registers it. It files accounts and an annual return every year.

What is a governing document?

The legal document that creates a charity and says how it should be run. Depending on the structure it might be a constitution, articles of association or a trust deed.

How old do trustees have to be?

At least 16 for a charity that is a company or CIO, and at least 18 for any other kind of charity, according to the Charity Commission.

Do the rules differ across the UK?

Yes. This guide covers England and Wales. GOV.UK says there are different rules in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.

08Sources

From kitchen table
to charity.