The guidance from the Charity Commission NI is that an organisation must apply for registration as a charity in Northern Ireland, regardless of its income, size or whether or not it has received charitable tax status from HMRC, if:

• it has exclusively charitable purposes

• it is governed by the law of Northern Ireland

• it is an institution, that is, it is an organisation that is an independent body, the hallmarks of which include having control and direction over its governance and resources.

To apply for charity registration submit an Expression of Intent (EOI) to the Commission, which will provide the Commission with your contact details. You will then be issued with a password for an Online Registration Application Form. You will normally be called forward to apply for registration within six weeks of submitting the EOI.

The registration tutorial video created by the Commission is, available here, is a useful tool in preparing to make your application.

Please note: Because different organisations will take different routes through the online application form depending on responses, the videos below do not show all the questions on the updated application. The screenshots do show the questions that most organisations will be asked on the application and has tips on how to answer these. The meaning of terms used in the Commission’s guidance is listed in the glossary below.