CIO Registration

How to apply for Charitable
Incorporated Organisation
(CIO) status
If you run a community group, voluntary organisation or social enterprise, you
can apply for CIO status from the Charity Commission - this gives you charitable
status and the ability to trade and apply for grant funding. All the information,
guidance and forms you need are here
Hive can offer support with your application or answer any specific questions you
have, this is your application and you are the best person to talk about your
vision and passion for your work!
Collecting your information:
Governing Document or Constitution ( prescribed by Charities Act 2011) :
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Keep as close to the Charity Commission templates as possible - Hive can help with
explaining this
Decide if you want just the Trustees to be voting members (foundation model), or if you
want a wider voting membership (Association model)
The constitution includes your Charitable Purposes, where you set out what your CIO will
do, who it will help and how - keep these concise!
The Charity Commission needs to approve any changes made to your Constitution
Trustees:
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Choose trustees wisely, they need to understand, support and promote your charitable
purposes
It is good to have a minimum of three and probably not more than twelve to aid decision
making
When asking people to be a trustee, a good document to give them is the Essential Trustee
Each trustee needs to sign and date the Trustee Declaration form and this needs to be
included with the application
Each trustee is to be named on the application form and for each one you need:
o name;
o address inc postcode;
o date of birth;
o telephone number and email address;
o if they have ever been known by another name;
o if they are or have been a trustee of a charity before
o if applying to HMRC, you will also need their National Insurance number
You can nominate an organisation to appoint a representative as a trustee and that
organisation can change their representative without notifying the Charity CommissionOther information needed:
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You will need an address that the CIO operates from, this is displayed on the charity
register so you may not want it to be your home address - you can apply for a PO Box
number or mailing address, there will be a charge for this
It is good to have an organisation email, website and telephone number - now might be the
time to set those up to strengthen your application
You will be asked for a bank account, if you have an existing treasurers account for
your group you can use that or this can be left blank if you do not have an account
yet. Most banks will not give you a charity account without a charity number.
Starting the application:
The CIO application is all online - start here to register as a new user, the Charity Commission
then send you log in details for your application - you can save and close and come back to the
application, you will have a set time to apply
The Charity Commission will acknowledge receipt and then contact you again when they have
assessed your application
o They may approve the application straight away, but more likely
o They will usually ask for clarification on specific points
o They may refuse the application - it is good to read the feedback and you can re-apply
with updated information
Points to note:
• There is no fee at present to register
• You can upload supporting information during the application - the form prompts you when
to do this
• A business plan or activity calendar is useful supporting information to demonstrate how
you are meeting your charitable objects
• If you are working with children or vulnerable adults, you will need to supply the relevant
policies and procedures - as your organisation grows, there are other policies you should
consider and Hive can direct you to templates
• All documents to be submitted need to be in PDF format - Hive can help
• You can register your charity’s details with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to get tax
back on things like Gift Aid donations
• You must hold an annual general meeting to vote on any new trustees, re-elect any
trustees at the end of their term and present your annual report and accounts - this
information must be submitted to the Charity Commission
• If you are setting up the CIO as the founder, you can be fully involved in the direction and
activities of the CIO but if you wish to take a salary, you need to step down from the
Trustee Board and become a paid employee of the CIO as the manager or chief executive -
it is important that your trustees share your vision as you are now accountable to them
We wish you success with your application and can introduce you to a
thriving network of charities, community groups and social enterprises
in Portsmouth!