Charity and Company Status
on your Documents
Information.
The Charities Act 2006 introduced requirements for registered charities and
charitable companies to state their charitable status on certain documents.
Similar provisions are already in place for charitable companies, laid down in
the Companies Act 1985.
Which organisations are affected?
The charity legislation affects all registered charities that have an annual
income of more than £10,000. The company legislation affects all charitable
companies and are registered with the Charity Commission and Companies
House. Charitable companies need to comply with both charity and company
law.
What is required of charities?
Charities are required to state their charitable status 9must be able to read
with naked eye) on the following documents:
 All financial fundraising and tax documents
 any written or printed notice, advertisement or document which is
intended to persuade the reader to give money or property to the
charity (even where the reader will receive something in return)
 cheques, invoices, receipts, bills and orders for goods
 promissory notes, letters of credit and money orders
It is good practice to state charitable status on the charity’s letterheads and emails as well.
The statement may be printed, applied with a stamp, handwritten or put on in
some other way. However it appears, it must be clear, easy to read and in
English. The registered charity number does not have to be included, though
it can be if desired. Any of the following statements are acceptable:
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A Registered charity
Registered Charity No. (followed by the charity number)
Registered as a Charity
Registered with the Charity Commissioners of England and Wales
Charity and Company Status on your Documents
Banks should not charge for inserting the statement ‘registered charity’ on
cheque books.
What is required of charitable companies?
The company must state its name (and if it is a charity, the fact that it is a
charity, unless its name includes the word “charity” or “charitable”) on the
following documents:
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Order forms
Orders for money, goods or services to be signed by/on behalf of
all the company’s business letters
all its notices and other official publications
all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and
orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by, or on behalf of,
the company
all its bills of parcels, invoices, and other demands of payment
conveyances
Cheques stating to be signed on behalf of x company
Applications for licences to carry on a trade or activity
All other forms of its business correspondence and documentation
Website
In addition, the following details must be shown on all business letters and
order forms:
 the company’s name, place of registration (e.g. England) and
registration number
 the address of its registered office
 the fact that it is a limited company if it is exempt from using the word
‘limited’ in its name.
Must directors’ names be shown?
A company does not have to state the directors’ names on its business
letters, but if it chooses to do so it must state the names of ALL its directors.
In other words, a company cannot be selective about which directors’ names
it shows - it must show all of them or none of them. The names of honorary
officers can be listed, provided they are listed as the charity’s honorary
officers and not in their capacity as directors.
Updated: June 2013
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Charity and Company Status on your Documents
What happens if the charity fails to comply?
The trustees and staff of charities or companies who are involved in the issue
of any document without the necessary details are committing an offence and
can face criminal prosecution.
This information is intended for guidance and is not a comprehensive
statement of the law.
For Further information.
www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/495/note/made
www.charitycommission.gov.uk/detailedtheessential trustee/cc3
For further information
Telephone: 0191 478 4103 Fax: 0870 705 8702
E-mail: enquiries@gvoc.org.uk
Internet: www.gvoc.org.uk
Registered charity number 1137389 A Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in
England & Wales Company Registration Number 7302622
Updated: June 2013
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