Charitable company
A company, usually limited by guarantee, with exclusively charitable purposes. It is registered at Companies House and with a charity regulator.
- Entiva fee to form
- $189
- Government fees to form
- £152
- Run plan
- $49 a month
- Steps to form
- 12
- Ongoing filings
- 8
- Ways to close
- 5
Who it suits, and what defines it.
Governed by the Companies Act 2006 and charity law.
Who it suits
- Charities that want to be incorporated as a company.
- Northern Ireland charities that want incorporation.
Key facts
- Legal form
- A company, usually limited by guarantee
- Purposes
- Exclusively charitable
- Registers with
- Companies House and a charity regulator
- Charity Commission
- Mandatory in England and Wales if income is over £5,000
- Charity return
- Within 10 months of year end in England and Wales
- Confirmation statement
- Every 12 months
- 'Limited' exemption
- Exemption can be claimed on NE01
- Law
- Companies Act 2006 and charity law
What the law requires.
7 rules, each in plain words.
Incorporation at Companies House
The company is limited by guarantee, or by shares, with charitable objects.
Registration with the charity regulator
It is the Charity Commission for England and Wales (income over £5,000), the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI).
Northern Ireland registration is paused
CCNI has paused invitations to register while it upgrades its systems.
Registration with HMRC for charity tax reliefs
This covers Gift Aid.
Filings with both Companies House and the regulator
The company files accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House, and an annual return with the charity regulator.
Regulator authority for some changes to the articles
Changes to purposes, trustee benefits or the dissolution clause need it first.
A signed declaration from each trustee
The Charity Commission cannot accept electronic signatures on this form.
How Entiva forms it.
12 steps. Entiva prepares and files each one, and collects every signature the law needs.
The steps
12 steps- 1Check the name is available
Checked in the same way as a company limited by guarantee.
- 2Incorporate the company at Companies House
Incorporate as a company limited by guarantee, or by shares, with charitable objects. Government fee: £100 online.
- 3Choose the articles of association
Charity-model articles carry the dissolution clause. Changing the objects needs regulator authority.
- 4Claim the exemption from using 'Limited'Only if needed
Optional.
- 5Verify each director's identity
Every director must verify their identity. This is compulsory for new directors since 18 November 2025.
- 6Set up the register of members
It is the only statutory register kept by the company since 18 November 2025.
- 7Register with the charity regulator
The Charity Commission if income is over £5,000, or OSCR before the company calls itself a charity in Scotland.
- 8Tell CCNI of the intention to register
Northern Ireland only. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) has paused invitations to register while it upgrades its systems.
- 9Register with HMRC for charity tax reliefs
Before claiming Gift Aid or other charity tax reliefs.
- 10Register for Corporation Tax
- 11Pay the data protection fee
Paid to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) before processing personal data, unless exempt.
- 12File the workplace pension declaration
Within 5 months of the duties start date.
Documents
8- Articles with charitable objects and dissolution clauses
- Certificate of incorporation
- Memorandum of association
- Signed trustee declaration, one per trustee
- Proof of income over £5,000, for the Charity Commission
- Trustees' declaration on checks for work with vulnerable groups
- Board resolution approving the charity registration
- Regulator's confirmation with the charity number
Who takes part
3- Every director verifies their identity with Companies House
- Every trustee is identified, with ID and proof of address
- The authorised contact who instructs Entiva is identified
What has to be filed, and when.
Entiva tracks every deadline from the day it is formed, and files before each one.
Every year, and as things happen
8 filings- File the confirmation statement
Within 14 days after the end of each 12-month review period
- File the annual accounts
9 months after the accounting year end
- File the Charity Commission annual return
England and Wales: within 10 months of the financial year end
- File the OSCR annual return
Scotland: within 9 months of the financial year end
- File the CCNI annual monitoring return
Northern Ireland: within 10 months of the financial year end
- Pay the data protection fee
Every 12 months, on the renewal date the ICO sets
- Report and publish the gender pay gap
By 4 April each year, with 250 or more employees
- Verify existing people with significant control
The transition for existing directors and people with control ends about 18 November 2026
The changes Entiva handles.
Each change is prepared, approved, signed and filed.
The most common changes
9 changes- Appoint a director
- Record a director's or secretary's resignation
- Amend the articles, with regulator authority
- Claim the exemption from using 'Limited'
- Change the registered office
- Appoint a company secretary
- Appoint an auditor
- Convert to a charitable incorporated organisation
- Convert to a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
How it closes.
5 routes. The right one depends on whether it can pay its debts, and who starts it.
Voluntary strike-off
When the company has no assets or liabilities and the regulator has no objection.
- 1
Settle charity assets under the dissolution clause
- 2
Close the company and tell the charity regulator
- 3
The Gazette publishes notice and interested parties are told
- 4
The company is dissolved and the regulator removes the charity
- 5
Cancel the VAT registration
- 6
Close the PAYE scheme
Creditors' voluntary liquidation
When the company is insolvent and the members and creditors agree to wind up.
- 1
Start the creditors' voluntary liquidation
- 2
The liquidator realises the assets
- 3
Make the final account and dissolve the company
- 4
The regulator removes the charity
- 5
Cancel the VAT registration
- 6
Close the PAYE scheme
Members' voluntary liquidation
When a solvent liquidation is preferred to strike-off.
- 1
Start the members' voluntary liquidation
- 2
Make the final account and dissolve the company
- 3
The regulator removes the charity
Compulsory liquidation
When the company petitions the court itself.
- 1
Petition the court to wind up the company
- 2
The Official Receiver or a liquidator takes over
- 3
The company is dissolved and the charity is removed
Conversion to a CIO or SCIO
When the trustees choose a non-company charity form.
- 1
Convert to a charitable incorporated organisation
- 2
Convert to a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
- 3
The company is dissolved on conversion
What Entiva does for you.
From the first filing to the last.
Charitable company
- Prepares the incorporation documents with charitable objects and files them.Formation
- Prepares the charity registration and, with the trustees' mandate, submits it.Formation
- Applies to HMRC so the charity can claim Gift Aid and other tax reliefs.Formation
- Files the confirmation statement within 14 days of each review period.Ongoing
- Prepares the Charity Commission annual return and files it through a named user's account.Ongoing
- Files the amended articles with Companies House within 15 days, after any regulator authority is in place.Changes
Build it with the API.
Every step on this page is an action in the Entiva API, with its documents, signatures and filing.
What it costs, item by item.
Every Entiva fee and every government fee, from forming it to closing it.
Forming it
$189one-off
- Government fees
- £152
Steps marked only if needed are not counted.
Closing it
From $2,659
- Entiva fee
- Fixed, quoted first
- Government fees
- At cost
Included in the Run plan
- File the confirmation statement
- File the annual accounts
- File the Charity Commission annual return
- File the OSCR annual return
- File the CCNI annual monitoring return
- Routine changes
- Every deadline tracked
Extra, at a fixed fee
- Register with the charity regulator
- Tell CCNI of the intention to register
- Pay the data protection fee
- File the workplace pension declaration
- Report and publish the gender pay gap
- Amend the articles, with regulator authority
- Convert to a charitable incorporated organisation
- Convert to a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
Each extra is quoted before it starts, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Forming it
Entiva's formation fee is $189, one-off. Government fees are passed through at cost.
£100 software, £156 same-day, £124 paper.
Tier 1 £52; tier 2 £78; tier 3 £3,763; £5 off by direct debit.
Excludes steps marked only if needed.
Every year
The Run plan costs $49 a month ($588 a year).
£50 online or software, £110 paper.
CICs pay £15 for the CIC34 report, shown as a separate line in government_fees[].
Tier 1 £52; tier 2 £78; tier 3 £3,763; £5 off by direct debit.
Changes
Routine changes are included in the Run plan.
Closing it
Closing is a fixed-fee project, quoted before it starts.
£13 online for the DS01.
The Gazette 2026 price list: £96.55 plus VAT per corporate insolvency notice placed by webform, XML or template. A CVL normally needs two notices, about £193.10 plus VAT.
Gazette notice extra: £96.55 plus VAT via webform.
Entiva fees are in US dollars. Government fees are in the currency each authority charges, passed through at cost when the filing is made. Taxes are separate.
Start with your first company.
We are onboarding a small group of founders and finance teams with entities in more than one country.