Managing charity trustees
Charity trustees are the people in overall control and management of a charity. They are responsible for the charity’s governance and strategy, and making sure it is well-run.
Our guidance will help you to understand:
- what you need to consider when recruiting new charity trustees
- how to ensure charity trustees understand their responsibilities
- what information you need to tell OSCR about your charity trustees
- the steps you need to take when a charity trustee leaves
Please see the sections below for more detailed guidance on recruiting, inducting, managing and removing Scottish charity trustees:
Charity trustee duties and responsibilities
Charity trustees are responsible for making sure that the charity works to achieve its charitable purposes.
It is important for both you and your charity that you know what your responsibilities are, and understand what you are expected to do.
For more detailed guidance about trustee duties, responsibilities and good governance, please see the following sections:
Adding and removing charity trustees in OSCR Online
From 30 June 2025, OSCR began collecting charity trustee information through OSCR Online. Providing this information is a legal requirement for all charities.
You must update your charity’s trustee information as soon as possible whenever there are changes.
Resources for charity trustees
Our Trustee Guidance & Information Pack provides you with the knowledge you need to run a charity effectively, tailored to your charity based on answers you give us.
Making sure that people know you are a charity is one of the specific charity trustee duties set out in the 2005 Act. To help you do this, you can download the registration logo for your charity.