If you are thinking of setting up a charity, you should think carefully about the advantages and disadvantages for your organisation before making a decision. Another option is to consider working with an existing charity in your chosen field.
Being a charity can give the public confidence in supporting you and may help encourage donors. It can also open up funding opportunities. If you do become a charity you will have legal responsibilities, duties and restrictions. You will have to report to OSCR every year and provide accounts; give certain information to the public about what you do and how you do it.
Find out more about becoming a charity here.
An organisation must meet a legal set of requirements call a charity test to become a charity and be entered in the Scottish Charity Register.
Once you've read the guidance, decided upon your legal form, and made the decision to apply to become a charity you need to send us:
- a completed application form,
- signed Trustee Declaration forms,
- your Governing document (a draft is fine),
- where possible a Business Plan or similar document that tells us what you plan to do and
- if you're already up and running a copy of your latest accounts.
See our How to apply page for more information. It is free to apply and to register a charity.
OSCR can't help you set up a charity or decide if it's the right option for you but there are advice and support organisations that can. The main ones are your local Third Sector Interface (TSI) and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
If you need help using our online 'Application to be a charity' system, this guidance takes you through the pre-application information required and shows you how to navigate the online system.
Concerns must be reported to OSCR using our online concern form.
You must complete the form and include as much detail as possible so we can assess your concerns appropriately. The form will explain what types of concerns we can and cannot deal with.
For more information about what you can expect when you raise a concern, please read our guidance on how OSCR deals with concerns and inquiries.
In line with our published inquiry policy, we will not be in touch again with those who have raised a concern when we have assessed a concern and do not take it forward. We only contact someone who has raised a concern when we require more details to make our assessment.
Charities need to complete an online annual return each year to provide us with information about the charity.
In addition to an online annual return, charities need to provide us with:
The online annual return and these documents are submitted using OSCR Online.
Please read our Using OSCR online to submit an online annual return guidance.
You can also:
- add or amend your charity trustee information
- change your accounting reference date
- update contact details
Charity users are individuals who can log in to OSCR Online to submit an annual return and make certain updates on behalf of their charity. Each charity can designate up to three charity users.
When a charity is first registered, its principal contact is automatically set up as a charity user based on the information provided in the application. Charities can update their list of charity users at any time.
You do not have to be a charity trustee to be added as a charity user. Users can also be someone associated with the charity, for example an Independent Examiner.
For details on how an existing charity user can add others, click here.
If no one in your charity currently has access to OSCR Online, please email us at info@oscr.org.uk with your charity name and number, and we will assist you.
To change your password, click the ‘reset password’ button on the OSCR Online login screen.
Once you have clicked this you should be taken to a page where it will ask you to input your email address. If you then click ‘send verification code’ you will receive an email with instructions that will then allow you to reset the password.
Charity users can be added and removed within OSCR Online. Please see our guidance on managing charity users for more information.
A charity’s principal contact is the main person we communicate with. This individual can be a charity trustee, an employee, an accountant, or a legal adviser.
It is the responsibility of the charity trustees to ensure the principal contact details are kept up to date. Please login to OSCR Online and make the necessary updates.
Please see our guidance on how to update principal contact details for more information about how to do this.
No. Please make sure all of your required documents are correct before you complete your submission. If you feel they need to be changed afterwards, please email info@oscr.org.uk.
OSCR are unable to grant an extension to the deadline date for the submission of your charity’s annual return and accounts.
If we receive the charity’s annual return and accounts late, we will process them but the annual return submission history on the Scottish Charity Register will show the year’s submission was received late. Being late can restrict a charity’s ability to do its work and affect public trust in the sector overall.
In addition to displaying this information on the charity’s entry in the Scottish Charity Register, if a charity does not provide us with the required information the following could apply:
- under section 45 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, we can appoint an accountant to prepare the accounts at the trustees’ expense
- funding for the charity may not be granted as many funders use the information on the register to inform their judgements
- it may affect some of the benefits that charitable status brings, for instance a water rates exemption.
We encourage you to submit the charity’s annual return, reports and accounts using OSCR Online as soon as possible.
Yes, OSCR will accept typed or digital signatures on charity accounts that are submitted with a charity's online annual return.
You do not need to include wet signatures in the annual report and accounts which are submitted to us.
There are two types of charity accounts:
- receipts and payments accounts (R&P) - a simpler format of accounts for charities utilising cash accounting
- fully accrued accounts - more complex accounts
You will only have to prepare fully accrued accounts if one of the following applies:
- the charity's gross income in the financial year is £250,000 or more
- the charity is also a registered company
- the charity's governing document says it should prepare accrued accounts
- any third party, for example a funder, has asked for accrued accounts.
Who can check your accounts depends on:
- your charity's governing document
- gross income and net assets and
- whether or not your charity is also a company.
Our Guide to Charity Accounts explains what form of external scrutiny is required for your charity's accounts.
More information about charity accounting can be found here.
Yes, accounts must be prepared on an annual basis to report the activity of the charity.
Yes you can. You can change the date using OSCR Online.
- A charity can change its financial year end to any date as long as the new period does not exceed 18 months.
- There are restrictions to the number of changes a charity can make in a 5 year period.
- A charity can only have 2 periods which exceed 12 months in any 5 years.
The accounts must show information for the current and the previous year. When changing from an accruals to a receipts and payments basis the previous year’s figures must be restated to a receipts and payments basis.
This means they must be recalculated and presented as though receipts and payments accounting has always been used. The same applies if you are changing from receipts and payments to fully accrued accounting.
No.
Receipts and Payments Accounts (R&P) show all items which are received into and paid out of a charity's bank account(s). If the charity receives a loan this must be included as a receipt within the receipts and payments account for that year. When the loan is repaid this must be shown as a payment.
The outstanding balance on any loans should be recorded as a note in the statement of balances.
More information about charity accounting can be found here.
Receipts and Payments Accounts (R&P) show the transactions which pass through a charity's bank account. How an investment is recorded in the R&P accounts will depend on whether the charity uses an investment broker or not.
Where a charity manages the investment directly via their own bank account then all the transactions going through the bank account will need to be reflected in the R&P accounts.
Where a charity uses a broker, the broker may buy and sell investments on the charity's behalf. In these cases the investment transactions would not be included in the charity’s accounts, because the investment transactions take place outside the charity's bank account. The only amounts which should be included are amounts which are remitted to (or paid from) the charity’s bank account.
No, charitable companies are not eligible to opt in to the micro-entity regime. They are specifically excluded from opting in under The Small Companies (Micro-Entities' Accounts) Regulations 2013. This means that charitable companies cannot submit micro-entity accounts to OSCR or to Companies House.
OSCR started to publish the accounts in full for all Scottish charities on the Scottish Charity Register for early 2026 after receipt. This is part of charity law, and enhances transparency and public trust.
The previous approach, which was in place since April 2016, had OSCR publishing redacted annual reports and accounts for all charities with an income of £25,000 or more, as well as all SCIOs.
Charities should carefully consider the personal information included in their accounts and only include the names or images of volunteers or beneficiaries where appropriate.
We are unable to help with queries about Gift Aid for your charity. For all questions about Gift Aid, please contact HMRC directly.
Further information is available on the gov.uk website here.
We can't provide specific advice this. However, we do have guidance on charity investments: Charity investments: guidance and good practice
Reserves are the funds that your charity has which can be freely spent on any of its charitable purposes. You should have a policy which sets out the level of reserves your charity aims to hold to allow your charity to be financially sustainable. It is an integral part of the financial management of the charity. It should be specific to your own charity’s needs.
OSCR can’t provide specific advice on the level of reserves a charity should hold. This is because all charities are different and will need different levels of reserves.
For more information, see our Charity Reserves Guidance.
OSCR can’t provide trading advice.
Charities which set up trading arms or subsidiaries do so because this allows them to carry out commercial activities which the charity can't do. It is also a way of protecting the charity and its assets from the risks associated with trading.
As a charity trustee you have a duty to act in the best interests of your charity and the decision to set up a trading subsidiary should be taken after getting appropriate professional advice.
Find out more by reading our charities and trading guidance.
We are unable to help with queries about Business Stream's Charity Exemption Scheme that supports charities with the cost of their water and waste water bills.
If you are applying for the scheme or have a query about Business Stream, you must contact them directly. You can do so by visiting the Business Stream website or calling them on 0330 123 2000.
You can check the status of your charity’s accounts submission on the Scottish Charity Register.
Charity trustees are people in ‘general management and control’ of the charity. This means the trustees are the people legally responsible for all decisions and actions taken by the charity.
Charity trustees can also sometimes be known as committee members, directors or board members.
Everyone who is a trustee of your charity must be aware of their responsibilities and requirements under charity law. Even if your trustees have different roles within the charity, like Treasurer or Chairperson, they all have a shared responsibility under charity law.
OSCR's Guidance and good practice for charity trustees explains what the law says charity trustees must do and must not do.
A SCIO must have at least three charity trustees as stated in the SCIO Regulations.
For other legal forms, there is no legal number of charity trustees but it is good practice to have at least three.
Legislation states that certain people are disqualified from acting as charity trustees:
One of your charity’s designated OSCR Online charity users must go into OSCR Online and update our schedule of charity trustees. All charity trustee names (first and last names only) will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026, unless an individual has an exemption awarded by OSCR.
More information about providing trustee information can be found here.
Providing charity trustee information is a legal requirement as part of the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023. This has been a requirement since 30 June 2025.
Charity trustees are the individuals responsible for the overall control and management of a charity. They may be referred to in your charity as directors or committee members, but legally, they are recognised as ‘charity trustees’.
Providing charity trustee information enhances transparency and public trust, allowing donors, funders and the public to see who is responsible for governing each charity. Some exemptions do apply.
Guidance for charities on providing this information can be found here.
Charities must tell us the following information for each charity trustee:
- Full name
- Home address
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Date of birth
- Date of appointment*
This information must be submitted exclusively through OSCR Online by an OSCR Online charity user. OSCR will securely store this information for regulatory purposes and to maintain contact with charity trustees as needed. A charity trustee’s information will be retained by OSCR for two years after they cease to be a trustee, after this time it will be deleted.
*The date of appointment refers to the original date the individual became a charity trustee. If a charity trustee has been reappointed after serving a term, you should still use their initial appointment date. If the charity trustee was appointed many years ago and the exact date is unknown, it is acceptable to provide an estimated date.
You should submit the required information for all of your current charity trustees.
You only need to enter your current charity trustee details. We do not need you to enter details of your former charity trustees. When a current charity trustee resigns and you notify us in OSCR Online, their details will automatically be moved to the former charity trustees section.
It is helpful to us if you can provide a personal email address for every charity trustee. This will allow us to contact charity trustees if we need to.
If a charity trustee does not have a personal email address, OSCR will accept a group email used by the charity such as finance@charity.org.uk, or if you do not have this we will accept multiple trustees sharing an email address used by the charity.
One of your charity’s designated OSCR Online charity users must go into OSCR Online and update your schedule of charity trustees. All charity trustee names (first and last names only) will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026, unless an individual has an exemption awarded by OSCR.
More information about providing trustee information can be found here.
You must notify OSCR of any changes to charity trustees within three months of the change. The notification is done by making the necessary changes in OSCR Online. Our guidance explains how to update charity trustee details in OSCR Online.
You do not need to enter any details in the former charity trustees section. When a charity trustee ceases to be a charity trustee and you notify us in OSCR Online, their details will be automatically moved to the former charity trustees section.
The name of each charity trustee will be published on the charity’s page on the Scottish Charity Register (exemptions can apply).
Only the first and last names of charity trustees will be publicly available. Any other information provided in relation to trustees using OSCR Online will be held internally by OSCR and will not be publicly accessible unless a charity decides to include it in their annual report and accounts.
Charity trustees will be able to apply for an exemption from having their name published only if there is a risk to their personal safety or security.
OSCR also publishes annual reports and accounts in full on the Scottish Charity Register as they are received. No other charity trustee details will be made public unless the charity has chosen to include additional information in its annual report and accounts.
In exceptional circumstances charity trustees can apply for an exemption from the publication of their name on the charity’s entry of the Scottish Charity Register.
An exemption can only be granted where the publishing of this person’s name is likely to jeopardise the safety or security of any person or premises.
You must demonstrate to us in the application how the safety and security of a person or premises is likely to be jeopardised.
The application form can be accessed on our website here. There is guidance which accompanies the form.
If you simply do not wish your name to be published, then you may wish to consider if it is appropriate for you to remain in post as a charity trustee.
If you have an organisation acting as a charity trustee then you must select the option which says ‘Organisation or body as a charity trustee’. This will change the information you need to complete. You will be asked to provide:
- Organisation name
- Point of contact
- Companies House number (if applicable)
- Email address
- Contact address and postcode
- Phone number
- Date of appointment as a charity trustee
If you accidentally add a charity trustee twice, you must email us to have the duplicate charity trustee removed. Please email us on info@oscr.org.uk with the duplicate charity trustee details and we will remove them. Please do not call us as we cannot deal with this request over the phone.
You must ask for OSCR's prior consent before making any of the changes listed below.:
- changing the name of the charity
- winding up the charity
- amending the objects or purposes of the charity
- amalgamating the charity with another body
- changing the charity's legal form
- applying to the court to change purposes, amalgamate or wind-up.
This page tells you how to seek permission from OSCR for these changes.
In addition to the changes that require OSCR's prior consent, you must update tell us within 3 months when:
- your Principal Contact changes*
- the contact details for the existing Principal Contact change*
- you have changed your accounting year end date**
- you change your governing document (unless the change is to the charitable purposes or the charity's name - this needs our approval first).
- when any change consented to by OSCR is implemented.
Find out more about making changes to your charity.
*This should be changed straight away and can be done using OSCR Online.
**You can do this by using OSCR Online.
If you want to continue your organisation's activity but don't want to be a charity any more, you can email info@oscr.org.uk and ask us to remove your organisation from the Scottish Charity Register. We aim to do this within 28 days. However, we may continue to request an online annual return and accounts from the organisation to ensure any remaining assets are used for charitable purposes.
If you are a SCIO this information does not apply. Please see our FAQs on SCIOs for further information.
You must seek consent from OSCR to wind up the charity.
Guidance and the wind-up application form can be found on our website: Find about more about winding up or dissolving your charity.
If you require further assistance to wind up, please contact your local Third Sector Interface who will be able to give you help and advice through the process.
One of your charity’s designated OSCR Online charity users must go into OSCR Online and update our schedule of charity trustees. All charity trustee names only will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026, unless an individual has an exemption awarded by OSCR.
More information about providing trustee information can be found here.
In order to change the legal form of your charity, you will need to follow the incorporation process.
This process applies to charities considering changing from an unincorporated body (and trusts) to a SCIO or a company.
A charity seeking to incorporate must apply to create a new charity and apply for consent to wind up the existing (old) charity.
Before starting the incorporation process, it is vital that you read our Incorporation Guidance. This guidance sets out the process that must be followed, including links to appropriate application forms and hints and tips on the wider implications charities should consider. We also have FAQ’s which may help you with the process.
The Scottish Charity Register is a public record maintained by the OSCR. It contains key information about every registered charity in Scotland. The details available on the register typically include:
- Basic charity details
- Principal office or trustee contact address
- Public email or website (if provided)
- Charity Purposes and Activities
- Financial Information
- Annual return submission history
- Redacted copies of the latest set of accounts for certain charities depending on their income level or legal form (current law restricts us from publishing all accounts in full).
From early 2026, the Register will also contain trustee information and full unredacted charity accounts received after this time.
If you are not searching using the charity number (beginning SC0 [zero]), try using less search terms. It may be that the charity has a slightly different name on the Register than the one you have. Remember, there are additional filter options on the Register search page, including the option to search for former charities.
Where the address for the charity is a trustee's address, we have to publish this along with the name of the principal contact. Where the address held is the principal office address, we are only required to publish this address.
OSCR does not issue proof of registration or incorporation. This is because over time your information will change. For example, you may update your purposes or change your principal contract address.
Instead, proof of registration is shown by the charity being entered on the Scottish Charity Register. You can search for a charity's register entry here.
There is also a “print this page” button at the top of the charity’s page on the Register which will allow you to download or print off the necessary information.
Every entry contains up-to-date information about a charity and is updated overnight every working day.
If you need to prove you are a registered charity, you can send a link to the register entry or print the entry webpage.
Since April 2016, OSCR has published the annual reports and accounts of all charities with an income of £25,000 or more and all SCIOs. Current legislation does not allow OSCR to publish reports and accounts without redacting them first. This is because of data protection concerns.
The Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 is changing the rules around redaction of accounts for charities in Scotland. From early 2026, the annual reports and accounts from every Scottish charity submitted will appear on the public Scottish Charity Register. Each annual return submitted after the Law is introduced will be visible for 5 years. These documents will be published in exactly the same format as they have been sent, and OSCR will no longer delete (redact) any personal information from these documents prior to publication.
As Regulator, we can give you general guidance on the legal requirements of being a charity, but we can't give you specific advice about your individual charity or matters outside of Scottish Charity law.
However, information and guidance for charities is available from:
- Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO): the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.
- Third Sector Interface (TSI): these are local organisations that offer support to voluntary organisations.
- Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS): the national body for development trusts in Scotland.
- You may also wish to consult a professional advisor.
- The Law Society of Scotland may be able to help you to identify a professional firm with expertise in charity law.
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland may be able to help you to identify a professional firm with expertise in charity accounting.
- HMRC: will be able to help you with any questions you may have about tax and gift aid.
Our services are designed to be accessible and easy to understand. We do know, however, that people with disabilities sometimes need our help and support to use our services. This means that we need to provide something different so you can access and use our services in the same way as a person without a disability. We call this a reasonable adjustment.
If you have a disability that means you can’t access our online services and/or meet your responsibilities, please get in touch with us. Find out more about how to arrange a reasonable adjustment.
Our Service Standards set out the level of service you can expect from us in key working areas.
We try to give the best possible service in all areas of our work but we accept that sometimes things can and do go wrong. When this happens we would like to know so that we can try to put things right. Find out how to raise a complaint about OSCR here.