This guide is split into sections that explain the different steps of the process and is supported by factsheets produced by the stakeholders below who worked with OSCR to shape and inform the guide.
A Guide To Incorporation
This information will help you with your application to wind up or dissolve your charity. To dissolve a charity means causing the charity to cease to exist.
Wind up or Dissolve Your Charity
This information will help you with your application to change the purposes of your charity.
Changing Charitable Purposes
This information will assist with your application to change the name of your charity.
Changing Your Charity's Name
Download the pdf version of our Making Changes to your charity web pages
Making Changes to your charity
A summary of when charities need to get OSCR's consent to make changes and when to tell us about changes made.
Flowchart outlining when OSCR’s consent is required to make changes to your charity.
Information On Consent Flowchart
Read OSCR's guidance on charity reorganisation schemes under sections 39-43 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.The guidance is a practical guide to the charity reorganisation process.
Charity Reorganisation Guidance PDF
Read the guidance on how to reorganise a restricted fund – a fund only to be used for a specific purpose.
Reorganisation of Restricted Funds PDF
This guidance is for people who are advising village hall charities about incorporation as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) or a company; or making changes to their governing document.
Guidance for Village Halls Governed by a Deed of Trust PDF
From 1 January 2018 Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIOs) and Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) will appear in the Registrar’s Index of Company Names, which is maintained by Companies House. Charities that are companies already appear on the index. See our FAQs below for more information.
FAQs: SCIOs on the Index of Company Names