Apply for an exemption from publication under Section 3(4) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005
All charities in Scotland are required to provide OSCR with details of their charity trustees. Each year charities are required to complete an online annual return form and submit a set of accounts.
From early 2026 OSCR will publish the first and last names of charity trustees and a copy of the submitted set of accounts on the charity’s Register entry. OSCR also publish a principal address for the charity.
In certain circumstances OSCR can grant an exemption to prevent a charity trustee’s name or the principal address from being displayed on the charity’s Register entry.
The circumstances in which OSCR can grant an exemption are where displaying the information on the Scottish Charity Register entry would be likely to jeopardise the safety or security of any person or premises.
What should I consider before applying for an exemption?
For an exemption to be approved you must clearly demonstrate how the publication of the information is likely to jeopardise the safety and security of a person or premises.
As a charity trustee it is important that you are accountable for the work of the charity and that there is a high degree of transparency around the charity’s governance. The 2005 Act provides that names will be published unless there is a demonstrable risk to the safety and security of a person or premises.
If the information involved is already in the public domain, then it is unlikely that any exemptions will be approved. For example:
- The charity is a company, and the information is available on Companies House
- The charity publishes the information relating to principal address or charity trustee names on their website
- The charity’s accounts are accessible elsewhere
OSCR will not award an exemption solely on the basis that the charity trustee does not want their name to be published. The fact that the combination of the charity trustee’s name and the type of charity may indicate that the charity trustee falls under one of the protected categories of data is also not a reason to allow an exemption from publication.
Examples
How do I apply?
An individual or charity can make an application for exemption using our online application form.
We will accept applications from charity trustees, charity representatives and charity staff members.
Each application is specific to the charity, so if a person is a charity trustee of more than one charity then they must make a separate application for each charity they are involved in. This is because the risk to safety and security will relate to the trustee’s connection with that charity.
The application form will ask several basic questions about the charity and the person applying for the exemption. It will then ask the reasons for the application. It is important that as much detail as possible is included in this section, to help us understand why their will be a risk to safety and security.
Do I still need to provide my details to OSCR?
Yes, you must still provide your details to OSCR even if you intend to apply for an exemption from publication. If an exemption is granted no details will be published, but that the law still requires OSCR to keep the details on our internal database.
When the charity representative provides your details through OSCR Online they must tell us that you intend to apply for an exemption. You then have 28 days to apply for the exemption through our online application form.
How long will you take to decide?
The time OSCR will take to decide will depend on the complexity of the application and the number of applications we have received. No details will be published until a decision has been reached, as long as you have advised us in OSCR Online that you are applying for an exemption.
You should provide as much information as possible in your application form to allow us to properly assess your request. If we do not have all the information, we need we will need to contact you further.
What if I do not agree with your decision?
If you do not agree with our decision, you can request a review of our decision. This review must be requested in writing within 21 days of the original decision being communicated.
The review will be undertaken by someone who wasn’t involved in the original decision. You should provide us with any other information which may be useful when you request the review.
We will review the decision within 21 days and will either confirm, vary, reverse or revoke the original decision. More information about our review procedures can be found here.
What should I include in the charity accounts if there is an exemption?
If an exemption from publication has been awarded, then you should exclude this information from the accounts which are submitted to OSCR. This is because we will publish the accounts without any redaction, therefore any information included will be published.