Many smaller churches which are affiliated to the FIEC or another umbrella body are currently excepted from the requirement to register with the Charity Commission. This excepted status for churches is due to come to an end in March 2031 and it is possible that the Commission will enable or invite registrations from excepted churches in the interim. It is therefore advisable for all churches which are not currently registered with the Commission to think about what steps they will need to take in order to get ready to register.
What are the current regulations and how do they apply to your church?
Requirements for Registration with the Charity Commission
Under s.30 of the Charities Act 2011, all charities whose gross income is more than £5,000 must register with the Charity Commission unless they are an exempt charity or fall within an exception.
Excepted Charities under the Charities Act and Regulations
Whilst excepted charities do not have to register with the Charity Commission or submit annual returns and accounts, they must still comply with charity law and their trustees have the same duties and responsibilities as trustees of any other charity. Importantly, the Charity Commission regulates excepted charities in the same way as registered charities and can use any of its powers if it needs to.
Under the Excepting Regulations, a church is currently excepted from registration if its income is £100,000 or less, it is not a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”), and it is connected with any of the following bodies:
1. Baptist churches including:
- Association of Grace Baptist Churches East Anglia
- Association of Grace Baptist Churches South East
- Association of Grace Baptist Churches West Anglia
- Baptist Union of Great Britain
- Baptist Union of Wales
- Gospel Standard Trust
- Grace Baptist Trust Corporation
- Old Baptist Union
2. A church which is affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (“FIEC”)
3. Congregational churches including:
- Congregational Federation
- Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches
4. Union of Welsh Independents
5. A church which is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
6. The Calvinistic Methodist or Presbyterian Church of Wales
7. The Church of England
8. The Church in Wales
9. The Methodist Church
10. The Religious Society of Friends
11. The United Reformed Church
The Excepting Regulations are currently due to expire on 31 March 2021, but the Charity Commission has indicated that this date will be extended to give the Charity Commission and umbrella bodies more time to help churches prepare for registration.
What if you are not an excepted church?
The following groups of churches used to be excepted, but were not included in the Excepting Regulations:
1. The Church of the Nazarene
2. The Free Church of England
3. Independent Methodists
4. Wesleyan Reformed Union
5. Churches of Christ
Any church with income over £5,000 belonging to one of these groups (and indeed any other church that is not affiliated to one of the excepting umbrella bodies) that is not currently registered should already have registered with the Charity Commission.
What should you consider before registering with the Commission?
Before beginning the process of applying to register with the Charity Commission, churches should consider the following:
(a) Should the church consider incorporating as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”)? Some types of excepted charity may be unable to convert to a CIO, so you will need to take legal advice on this. For further information on CIOs see our Article Should you consider becoming a CIO?
(b) Is the church’s income above the threshold of £5,000? If not, then there will not be a requirement to register.
(c) Are the church’s constitutional documents up to date and appropriate to meet charity law requirements? In particular, churches will need to demonstrate that they are compliant with rules about the payment of trustees (including a pastor or lead elder) and dealing with conflicts of interest. We can assist with reviewing and amending your constitution as necessary. If the church has properties governed by separate property trusts, you should check that you have up to date copies of those trust documents, together with any Deeds of Variation etc.
(d) Do you have a sufficient number of trustees? It will usually be necessary to have at least three trustees, and more if any of the trustees are “connected” i.e. related to each other or financially inter-dependent in some way, especially if one or more of them is also paid. See our Article on Trustees, Spiritual Leaders and decision-making.
Incorporating as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”)?
If an excepted church charity incorporates as a CIO, it will no longer be excepted and must register with the Charity Commission (this is because under the provisions of the Charities Act, a CIO can only exist when it is registered by the Charity Commission).
In most cases, incorporating the church as a CIO will involve setting up a new CIO and then transferring the assets and operations of the current excepted charity to the CIO. In some cases this may be straightforward, but others could be more complicated depending on issues such as what property the church uses and whether there are restrictions in the church’s current constitutional provisions. See our booklet on Charitable Incorporated Organisations for more details.
Do get in touch if you would like further information on registration requirements, constitutional amendments or the process of incorporating a CIO and what could be involved for your church.
This information has been provided by solicitors working for Edward Connor Solicitors. It is designed for the purpose of knowledge sharing only and does not constitute legal advice.
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