Need help? – you can help yourself
Many of the services provided by the Charity Commission can be carried out by charity trustees or their representatives.
Get a password and log in to online services
The commission’s online services provide you with the ability to update your charity details and complete your annual return form.
You must have a password to access these services.
If you have used the system before and previously registered, then you can use the password the commission sent to you.
If you have forgotten your password or don’t have one you can request a new one. The commission will send the new password to you by:
- email if it has an email address to use for the charity - it should take up to 24 hours to arrive
- post to the charity contact address if it doesn’t have an email address
Before requesting a new password you should check if anyone from the charity already has one.
The commission will only send passwords to the registered correspondent email address, not to individual trustees.
If sent via the post please check the correspondent address is correct on the register of charities as this address is where the password will be sent to.
If you are the new correspondent please ask one of the existing trustees to contact the commission otherwise it will need to verify who you are.
Get a new or replacement password
Keep your charity details up to date
By law, you have to tell the commission about changes to your charity’s contact and other details.
You can update the contact and trustee details the commission holds for your charity through its online services. To access the online services you must have the charity’s unique password.
Some of the information appears on your entry on the register of charities, so it’s important any changes are recorded such as contact name and address, email and website addresses and trustee names.
You can also change other aspects of your charity, including:
- where your charity operates
- your charity’s activities
- bank or building society account details
Personal details of the trustees, such as address or date of birth, will not be shown on the commission’s website.
Any change to trustee details will be subject to a validation process.
What you have to send to the commission
Every charity must inform the commission of its income and expenditure and make sure the trustee and correspondent details are up to date.
This is done through the commission’s online services.
If your charity’s income is above £25,000 in that year you must provide a copy of your charity’s accounts as a PDF file when you complete your annual return. Your accounts must include:
- a formal statement of accounts
- your trustees’ annual report
- the required level of external verification (eg an audit or independent examination)
You must submit your annual return/accounts (where applicable) no later than 10 months after your charity’s financial year ends.
The commission’s guide will tell you how to prepare a charity annual return.
Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) must submit an annual return regardless of income.
Correct a mistake on the annual return form
Make sure you have the correct income and expenditure figures before you submit your annual return.
If you have made a mistake within the charity information part of your annual return form, you can log on to the commission’s online services and use ‘view/amend your charity’s details’ to make the changes.
If the error is to the income or expenditure figures, you can email the commission to confirm the correct figures.
The commission may have to reset your annual return reporting period to record the correct figures. However, the filing date will be the date of the new submission and could result in the charity being shown as in default on the register.
You may also upload a PDF copy of corrected accounts if necessary. However, the commission only requires you to send accounts if the income exceeds £25,000, unless it is a CIO.