Guidance on disqualification criteria for charity trustees and those undertaking a senior management function from summer 2025

What this guidance is about

The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 is the law which applies to charities that are registered in Scotland and regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).  The 2005 Act was amended by the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023.

The changes made to the 2005 Act by the 2023 Act set out specific criteria under which certain people are automatically disqualified from being a charity trustee or undertaking a senior management function within a charity.

The disqualification criteria include having unspent convictions for various offences, being subject to notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, being an undischarged bankrupt and having an undischarged Protected Trust Deed.

The full list of the disqualification criteria is set out in Annex 1.

Anyone who acts as a charity trustee or in a senior management function for a charity while disqualified is guilty of an offence punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.

This guidance explains what the law will say about automatic disqualification from summer 2025 with the exact date to be confirmed. The current rules relating to automatic disqualification are available here.

All charities should review this guidance and refer to the latest version on the OSCR website when recruiting new charity trustees and those that will carry out a senior management function in a charity.  It is important for charity trustees to think about the changes in the law and how those changes will affect the charity.

Every charity trustee and anyone undertaking a senior management function for a charity must ensure that they comply with the law.