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Applying for Charitable Status
Background to the Charity Test
- must have one or more of the charitable purposes set out in the Act (and no non-charitable purposes)
- needs to provide or intend to provide public benefit in Scotland or elsewhere.
Making an application to OSCR
To apply for charitable status, you must complete and send us paper versions of the following documents
Please complete all sections fully including question 13.
Application Form to be used by charities already registered in England and Wales which are also required to register in Scotland.
- Charity Trustee Declaration form* (see Guidance for Charity Trustees for definition of trustee)
These assure us that the prospective charity trustees are aware of their responsibilities and are not disqualified from acting as charity trustees.
- Constitution or Founding document *
You might also find that in your organisation this is called a trust deed, the memorandum and articles of association or a charter.
- A Recent Statement of Accounts
These are the latest accounts to have been signed by the prospective charity trustees and the auditor or independent examiner as appropriate. If your organisation is only in the process of being set up you will not have a statement of accounts yet and this requirement will not apply.
- Document detailing your organisation’s activities or intended activities
This could be any document which sets out the activities your organisation intends to carry out such as a Business Plan, promotional material, grant application etc.
*these documents are mandatory. Please answer all the questions in the form and make sure they are signed and dated. Any incomplete forms will be returned.
Guidance
- Becoming a Charity in Scotland - leaflet
- Guidance notes for Application Form
- General guidance booklet on the charity test
- Guidance for Charity Trustees
- Guidance for English and Welsh charities
For further information please read our joint statement with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on the requirements for ‘definition clauses’ (defining the meaning of the words ‘charitable’, ‘charitable purpose’ or ‘charity’) in the constitutions of bodies seeking charitable status in Scotland and also wishing to apply for charity tax relief.
More detailed guidance on the issues involved and suggested wordings are available from our briefing note .
You should send your application to:
OSCR
2nd Floor
Quadrant House
9 Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
If the application is incomplete, undated or unsigned we will contact you within 10 working days. Once we have received all of the information we need from you we will provide you with a reference number and a contact name. In straightforward cases we would aim to provide you with a decision on charitable status within three months of your initial application. If your case is complex, or if we need to come back to you for clarification on a number of occasions, the process may take longer.
