Guidance

How to transfer charity assets to another charity

How to transfer aall your charity’s money,assets investments or property to another charity if it closes,merges, mergeschanges orstructure is replaced by a charitable company or CIO.closes.

From:
The Charity Commission
Published
2 December 2014
Last updated
147 JuneMarch 20232024 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

About

This charityguidance assetis transfers

Yourabout charitytransferring canall makeof grantsa orcharity’s giftsassets and liabilities to another charity, usually before closing.

For example, when a charity:

  • merges with other charities
  • changes structure, such as from a waytrust to supporta itsCharitable purposesIncorporated (unlessOrganisation your(CIO)
  • voluntarily governingcloses

It documentis specificallynot preventsabout this).donating Butfunds youor maymaking decidegrants to formallyanother transfercharity.

In allthis yourguidance, charity’sthe charity transferring its assets toand anotherliabilities is called the ‘transferring charity’, and the charity ifreceiving you:assets and liabilities is called the ‘receiving charity’.

  • close

    In anthis unincorporatedguidance, charitythe toterm create‘assets’, awhich newcan Charitablesometimes Incorporatedbe Organisationcalled (CIO)‘property’, orincludes: charitable 

    This charityguidance intosets anotherout orthe formkey aareas newto charitythink toabout, replacesuch as:

    • using the originalright charitiespowers and processes
    • closeconsidering yourthe charitypurposes soof anotherthe charitycharities caninvolved
    • transferring takepermanent onendowment, itsdesignated assetsland andor dospecial similartrusts
    • whether workyou need Charity Commission authority

    YouIf willyou often need toCommission getauthority, thealways Charitycontact Commissionus toearly approveespecially charityif assetyou transfers.

    Assethave transfersa alloweddeadline bysuch governingas documents

    Usually,the aend charityof hasthe afinancial poweryear.

    Take torelevant transferprofessional inadvice itsif governingyou document,need oftenit, infor theexample dissolutionif section.you Thisare maymerging sayor whatchanging anystructure assetsand you transferhave canemployees be– usedthere for.may Forbe example,pension itor mayTUPE sayissues thatto theyconsider. canTUPE onlystands befor usedTransfer byof aUndertakings charity(Protection withof similarEmployment) purposes.Regulations.

    YouThis mustguidance followdoes anynot procedureapply forto:

    • CIOs agreeingusing andthe makinglegal thesteps transferdescribed thatin yourour charity’sguidance governingHow documentto specifies.

      Assetmerge transfersa allowedCIO bywith law

      Theother CompaniesCIOs. ActThese allowslegal yousteps toautomatically transfer corporateassets, propertyno betweenfurther charitableaction companies.

      Theis Charitiesneeded

    • Royal ActCharter allowscharities youseeking to transfer sometheir typesassets. ofCheck assetpowers ifin your charityCharter, isget aprofessional CIO,advice providedif you followneed theit, rulesor below.contact ItPrivy alsoCouncil allowsOffice youby emailing enquiries@pco.gov.uk

    1. The power to transfer mostcharity typesassets

    You ofmust assethave if:

    • the power to transfer your charity’s incomeassets isand underliabilities £10,000,to another charity.

      Make sure you know which power you are using and

      • that you:

      • use it iscorrectly ‘unincorporated’– (notyou amust charitablecomply companywith orany CIO)instructions that come with the power

      How
    • use toit transferfor anits unincorporatedproper charity’spurpose, assets

      • Younot mustfor bea satisfiedpurpose for which it was not intended

    • ensure that the transferreceiving ischarity thehas bestpurposes waythat forare thesuitable, assetsgiven tothe continueterms toof bethe usedpower asyou theyare wereusing

    Merging intendedor tochanging be.

    structure

    TheIf charityyou receivingare thetransferring your charity’s assets mustand haveliabilities atbecause leastyou oneare:

    • merging, purposeread similarour guidance about mergers to yours.understand Itthe powers you can haveuse
    • changing wideryour charitablecharity’s purposesstructure, thanread yoursour unlessguidance about this meanstopic peopleto thatunderstand couldhow currentlyyou benefitcan fromdo this

    If you are transferring your charitycharity’s won’tassets befor ableany toother afterreason, read the transfer.

    Atrest aof charitythis meeting,section. 

    General agreepower

    You thecan transfer -your seecharity’s ‘howassets to passanother acharity transferif powerthis resolution’furthers below.your charity’s purposes.

    You can’tshould:

    • check the wording of both your charity’s and the receiving charity’s purposes to make sure that the transfer landwould whichfurther your charity’s purposes, and
    • check the rest of your governing documentdocument, saysto mustmake besure usedit fordoes anot specificcontain purposeother (knownrules asthat ‘designated’prevent oryou ‘specie’from land).going ahead

    If you wantare tonot dosure this,you you’llcan needgo to:ahead, you can:

    • consultconsider changing your charity’s purposes so that they are sufficiently the publicsame aboutas the proposedreceiving transfercharity’s purposes
    • askcheck theif Commissionyou tohave make a ‘scheme’,power ain formalyour legalgoverning document that approvesyou thecould transferuse instead (see next heading)
    • get professional advice

    If someyou ordecide allto ofchange theyour assetscharity’s you’repurposes, transferringyou aremust permanentdo endowment,this they’llfirst. continueThis is because you must get Charity Commission authority to bechange permanentyour endowmentcharity’s afterpurposes, theyand transfer.you will need this authority before you can use the general power.

    PermanentUnderstand endowmentthe isrules propertyabout thatchanging yourgoverning charitydocuments.

    Powers mustin keepgoverning ratherdocuments

    Check thanyour spend.governing Theredocument arefor twopowers mainyou typescan ofuse. permanentFor endowment:example:

    • moneyan orexpress otherpower to transfer assets givento, toor yourmerge charitywith, foranother investment.charity. OnlyAn theexample investmentis incomeclause can5(7) beof spentthe Commission’s model trust deed
    • propertya givengeneral power to yourdo charityanything whichthat mustis benecessary usedor onlydesirable forto aachieve particularthe purpose.charity’s purposes. For example, landClause or5(10) buildingsof giventhe forCommission’s usemodel astrust deed  
    • a schoolcharity’s ordissolution recreation groundclause 

    Transfer

    If permanentyour endowmentgoverning fromdocument andoes unincorporatednot charityinclude a power, you can add one. You may need the Charity Commission to aauthorise CIO

    this change. Read our guidance about changing governing documents, which sets out how you can apply for authority.

    IfGet professional advice if you haveneed permanentit.

    2. endowmentThe method of transferring charity assets 

    Having established which power you wantwill use, you should:

    • consider how you will transfer the assets (what documentation you will use)
    • agree a transfer date with the receiving charity
    • understand what other steps you may need to transfer,take depending on the type of asset you are transferring

    You should get relevant professional advice if you need to:it.

    Most transfers can be completed using:

    • registera pre-merger vesting declaration and/or
    • a newtransfer CIO,agreement

    Understand thenif your charity has:

    • general assets only or
    • makepermanent whatendowment, isdesignated knownland or special trusts as awell as general assets

    General assets can be used in any way to further your charity’s purposes; they have no other rules on how they can be used.

    Pre-merger vesting declaration.declaration

    Using Thisa pre-merger vesting declaration is a legalstraightforward documentmethod thatto transfersuse allwhen:

    • you theare propertytransferring all of theyour originalcharity’s charityassets and liabilities to the newreceiving CIOcharity and
    • you will close your charity or
    • you will not close your charity but only because your charity has permanent endowment which you will not transfer

    TheA pre-merger vesting declaration will:is also the most straightforward method when you:

    • transferare propertytransferring whichpermanent hasendowment noand
    • the restrictionsreceiving tocharity theis a CIO

    For more information about this, read the section below on ‘Designated land, permanent endowment and special trusts’.

    There is a template pre-merger vesting declaration you can use when transferring assets to a CIO.  

    Not all property can be heldtransferred asusing parta ofpre-merger itsvesting corporatedeclaration. property

  • vestGet legalprofessional titleadvice if you are not sure.

    Transfers to an unincorporated charity

    When transferring assets to an unincorporated charity, the permanentlytransfer endowedwould propertybe into the CIO,individual trustees of the unincorporated charity to behold heldthe assets on itstrust original– trusts

  • appointnot to the charity itself.

    This is because, unlike a CIO asor trusteea forcompany, thean permanentunincorporated endowmentcharity trusthas andno givelegal personality separate from its members and/or trustees. As a result, it cannot hold land or other assets.

    Other steps

    On or after the powerstransfer date, you can take other steps such as transfer money in bank accounts and register the change in ownership of aland trustat corporationthe Land Registry.

    What else you need to do will depend on what the asset is. For example:

    • investments (such as stocks and shares)
    • fixed assets, for thatexample trustvehicles or equipment
    • meanliabilities

    You thatshould theget CIOrelevant andprofessional theadvice. permanentFor endowmentexample, trustyou arewould treatedusually asinvolve a singleconveyancer charityif foryou registrationare andtransferring accountingland.

    Accounting purposes,for sothe theytransfer

    The won’treceiving charity will need to registerconsider separatelyhow orthe producetransfer separateof accounts

assets is treated in its accounts. Get relevant professional advice if you are unsure.  

Template model vesting declaration

You can use this template if you are transferring assets to a CIO.

Model vesting declaration

MS Word Document, 43.5 KB

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You

3. mayDesignated needland, topermanent takeendowment professionaland advice.

special trusts

FindDesignated aland legalis adviser

Howland tothat transfermust be used for a CIO’sparticular assetspurpose of your charity according to anotherthe CIO

Youdocument maythat needexplains tohow transferthe oneland CIO’smust assetsbe toused. anotherFor ifexample, you’re:property that must be used as a recreation ground. 

You given to your charity for investment where only the investment income can either:be spent.

  • pass

    A aspecial members’trust resolutionis agreeingmoney theor transferassets atthat ayour generalcharity meetingmust (three-quartersuse offor thosespecific votingpurposes mustthat are narrower than your charity’s purposes. Permanent endowment can be ina favour)

  • getspecial unanimoustrust supportbut fornot thealways.

    Understand transferhow resolutionto fromdeal allwith memberspermanent byendowment, otherdesignated means

land or special trusts correctly.

IfYou you’recannot transferringclose ayour CIO’scharity after transferring your assets to anotherthe CIO,receiving itscharity membersif needyou todo acceptnot theproperly transferdeal bywith passingany apermanent resolutionendowment, indesignated theland sameor way.special Youtrusts needyour charity has.

Transfer permanent endowment, designated land, or special trusts to geta CIO

Using a PDFpre-merger copyvesting ofdeclaration thisis resolutionthe andmost contactstraightforward way to make the Commissiontransfer to aska forCIO approval.

Thebecause receivingit CIOwill must(at havethe substantiallysame similar:time):

  • charitabletransfer purposes
  • rulesmost onof whatthe happenscharity’s general assets to itsthe propertyCIO, ifso itthey closesbecome part of the CIO’s corporate property
  • rulesappoint onthe benefitsCIO toas trustees,trustee membersof andpermanent connectedendowment, persons

Howdesignated toland transferor investments

Completespecial atrusts

  • vest stocklegal transfertitle formin (variousthe templatesCIO areto availablehold forpermanent downloadendowment, fromdesignated externalland sites)or andspecial sendtrusts iton totheir existing trusts
  • mean that the registrarpermanent namedendowment, ondesignated theland stockor certificate.special Youtrusts needbecome part of the fullCIO corporatefor nameaccounting, reporting and registeredregistration officepurposes. addressThis ofmeans anythe receiving CIO orwill charitablebe companyable (trustees’to, namesfor andexample, addressesinclude ifthem it’sin unincorporated).

    its accounts

    • Alternatively,If instructyou do not use a stockbrokerpre-merger orvesting otherdeclaration, agentyou will need to sellseparately appoint the stockCIO andas releasethe fundstrustee toof the receivingpermanent charity.

    Takeendowment, advicedesignated fromland someoneor suitablyspecial qualifiedtrust toby actdeed. onAnd youryou charity’swill behalf,need particularlyto ifaccount thefor situationpermanent endowment that is complex.not Fora example,special transferringtrust sharesseparately.

    Transfer inpermanent Commonendowment, Investmentdesignated Fundsland or ifspecial atrusts namedto stockholderan hasunincorporated died.

    charity

    How

    Draft toyour pass a transfer resolution

    Usingagreement theas Charitiesa Actdeed provisions

    First,so checkthat theit charitywill you’re(at transferringthe to:same time):

    • hastransfer agreedyour charity’s general assets to acceptthe trustees of the unincorporated charity, to hold on trust (this is because you cannot transfer the assets to an unincorporated charity)
    • knowsappoint thatthe anytrustees permanentof endowedthe assetsunincorporated willcharity continue as trustees of permanent endowment
    • intendsendowment, todesignated useland theor transferredspecial assetstrusts forto similarhold purposesthese on the same trusts

    Your

    Transfer transferpermanent powerendowment, resolutiondesignated thenland needsor special trusts to seta out:

    charitable company

    1. whichDraft charityyour ortransfer charitiesagreement as a deed so that it will receive(at the assetssame time):

      • transfer your charity’s general assets to the charitable company

      • howappoint andthe whencharitable company as trustee of the assetspermanent willendowment, bedesignated transferredland (especiallyor ifspecial trust

      If you do not transfer permanent endowment, designated land or special trusts in the ways described above

      In practice, transferring topermanent moreendowment, thandesignated oneland, charity)and special trusts is about changing who the trustees are of these types of assets.

    2. howIf you willfollow makethe sureguidance above, you should automatically appoint the assetsreceiving willcharity be(or, usedin forthe similarcase purposesof byan unincorporated charity, its trustees) as trustees of the receivingpermanent charityendowment, designated land, or charitiesspecial trusts.

    AgreeIf theyou transferdo powernot resolutionfollow atthe aguidance trusteeabove, meetingyou attendedwill byneed enoughto trusteesseparately toappoint makethe areceiving decision.charity At(or, leastin two-thirdsthe case of trusteesan votingunincorporated mustcharity, beits intrustees) favouras the trustee of the transfer.permanent Don’tendowment, countdesignated peopleland whoor abstainspecial from voting.trust.

    MakePowers sureto theappoint minutestrustees ofmay come from the meetinglaw stateor thatmay you’rebe relyingfound onin the transfergoverning powerdocument. inCheck theif Charitiesthere Actis provisions.a Askseparate thegoverning Commissiondocument, toor approvewhether (where your charity is unincorporated) the asset transferis (seeincluded below)in beforeyour charity’s governing document.

    Get professional advice if you makeneed it.

    UsingThe aeffect powerof inchanging trustees

    Changing who is trustee does not change anything about permanent endowment, designated land or special trusts, for example their purposes. They must not be merged with the receiving charity’s governinggeneral documentfunds and assets and they must continue to be held on their original trusts.

    Accounting for permanent endowment

    MakeIf sureyou thathave thetransferred meetingpermanent endowment that is callednot ina accordancespecial withtrust and either:

    • the governingreceiving documentcharity is a CIO and thatyou theredid arenot sufficientuse trusteesa presentpre-merger tovesting formdeclaration or
    • the receiving charity is not a quorum.

      CIO

    Followthe receiving charity must produce separate accounts for the requirementspermanent ofendowment.

    If this applies to you, you can apply to the transferCommission power/dissolutionfor sectiona andlinking ensuredirection that youenables complythe withreceiving anycharity to, for example, include the permanent endowment that is not a special conditionstrust itin makes.its own charity accounts. 

    Read about linking directions.

    Get professional advice if you need it.

    Ask4. theWhen Commissionyou tomay approveneed anCharity assetCommission transferauthority

    Asset

    Charities transfersmay need authority from anthe unincorporatedCommission charityas topart aof CIOtransferring orassets. charitable 

    Get company

    professional advice on these areas if you need it.

    UnlessHow thereto apply is noset overlapout at the end of this section.  

    Limited liability  

    The trustees betweenof thecharitable transferringcompanies and theCIOs receivinghave charity,the onebenefit orof bothlimited charitiesliability. willThis usuallymeans needthat the Commission’strustees approvalare not normally liable (or responsible) for anthe assetcharity’s transferdebts. ifIf you’rethe closingcharity anwas unincorporatedunable to setpay upits adebts, CIOcreditors or(those charitablethe company.

    Thischarity isowed explainedmoney moreto) fullycould intake action against the flowchart.charity, but not the trustees.

    YouThe needtrustees to:of an unincorporated charity gain the benefit of ‘limited liability’:

    • identifywhen boththeir charitiescharity (namesmerges andwith, registeredor number)changes structure to, a charitable company or CIO and
    • givethey detailsbecome trustees of the assetscharitable (andcompany anyor liabilities)CIO

    Because tothey will be transferredgaining andthis inbenefit, particularthe (intrustees of the caseunincorporated charity who are also trustees of the receiving charity have a company)conflict whetherof theyinterest includeand ashould substantialnot nonvote cashin assetsthe decision to merge or anychange permanentstructure. endowment

  • confirmYou thatwill need authority if you followeddo thenot ruleshave inenough charitytrustees lawwho andcan yourmanage governingthis documentconflict (statingof whichinterest powerand make the decision.

    So, you arewill planningneed toauthority use,if:

    • the iftransferring authorisedcharity tois proceed)an unincorporated charity (a trust or unincorporated association), and
    • explain how the transferreceiving charity is ina eachCIO charity’sor bestcharitable interestcompany, and
    • setyou outare howtransferring manyassets ofin theorder trusteesto ofmerge theor transferringchange charitystructure, and
    • there are alsonot enough trustees ofat the receivingunincorporated charity
    • indicate whetherwho theare not trustees of the transferringCIO charityor charitable company (or are seekingconnected anto indemnitya fromtrustee trusteesat ofthese charities) to manage the receivingconflict charity
    • checkof thatinterest and make the Commissiondecision hasto themerge latestor accountschange ofstructure

    It is the unincorporatedtransferring charity,charity that applies for and ifmust not,receive provideauthority.

    Authority ais copyprovided under section 105 of these

  • tellthe usCharities ifAct there2011 is(as aamended).

    Granting deadlineindemnity for transferliabilities (and why)

    • incurred

    IfThis havingis consideredabout the flowchartreceiving youcharity thinkprotecting youthe needtrustees Commissionof approval,the pleasetransferring contactcharity usfor andliability providefor theany informationlosses setas outa inresult theof bulletdecisions pointsthey above.made as trustees of the transferring charity.

    How

    The tovalue transferof charitythe assets

    PDF,indemnity 234is KB,the 2amount pages

    Thisthe filereceiving maycharity notagrees beto suitablepay forto userscover ofany assistivesuch technology.losses.

    Request

    The antrustees accessibleof format.

    Ifthe youreceiving usecharity assistivecan technologydecide (suchwhether asor anot screento reader)grant indemnity, and needthe a versionvalue. ofIf thisthey documentdo indecide to grant indemnity, authority is needed because this is a moretype accessibleof format,trustee pleasebenefit emailbeing usability@charitycommission.gov.uk. Pleaseawarded tellto usthe whattrustees formatof youthe need.transferring charity.

    It willis helpthe usreceiving ifcharity youthat sayapplies whatfor assistiveand technologymust youreceive use.

    authority to grant indemnity.

    ContactThe Commission provides authority under section 105 of the CommissionCharities Act 2011 (as amended). You will need to getdemonstrate approvalthat granting the indemnity is expedient in the interests of the receiving charity.

    What

    The ifCommission wewould haveusually alreadyprovide proceededthis withauthority aif transferthe and/ortrustees grantinggaining ofthe indemnity withoutwill firstbe obtainingin theno Commission’sbetter approval?

    position afterwards.

    AThis transfermeans (orthat grantingthe ofindemnity indemnity)will thatnot shouldentitle havethe hadtrustees Commissionof approvalthe buttransferring hascharity goneto aheadmore withoutprotection itthan doesthey notwere automaticallyentitled requireto anyat furtherthe action.transferring charity.

    InThe certainreceiving circumstances,charity should ask the Commissiontrustees canof takethe stepstransferring charity to helpkeep a charityclear affirmrecord itsof previouswhat decisions.they However,are wecurrently wouldentitled onlyto. considerIf doingyour thisdecision ifto agrant thirdindemnity partyat indicatedthe tovalue chosen means the trustees thatof itthe intendedtransferring tocharity challengewill be in a better position after the transfertransfer, you should explain this in your application.

    Transferring a substantial non-cash asset

    You will need authority if:

    • either the transferring or grantingreceiving ofcharity indemnity.is Itunincorporated mayand
    • the thenother becomecharity necessaryis toa establishcharitable company, and
    • there confirmis thatat theleast trustees’one decisionindividual waswho inis a trustee at both the charity’stransferring interest.

      Theand Commissionreceiving wouldcharity not(or beis ableconnected to granta retrospectivetrustee authority,at butboth couldthe affirmtransferring and receiving charity) and

    • the continuationmerger ofinvolves the situation.transfer Thisof affirmation,a however‘substantial couldnon-cash not:asset’

    A ‘substantial non-cash asset’ is:

    • beany givenform toof aproperty charity(or thatinterest hasin ceasedproperty) toother existthan afterbank transfer;balances or foreign currency and
    • authoriseits trusteesvalue toeither retainexceeds payments10% receivedof asthe acompany’s resultasset ofvalue anand indemnityis beingmore triggeredthan £5,000 or exceeds £10,000

    IfIt there is nothe prospectcharitable ofcompany challengethat toapplies thefor transferand ormust toreceive theauthority. grantingYou ofwill indemnity,need thereto isconfirm nothat needyou tohave contactpassed us.the relevant members’ resolution.

    IfAuthority there is aneeded challenge,under thensection contact201 us.of Youthe shouldCharities explainAct the2011 situation(as providingamended).

    Any informationconflict aboutof whatinterest approvalthat youcannot believebe shouldmanaged

    You havewill beenneed providedauthority andeach why,time anda thedecision naturegives rise to a conflict of theinterest challenge.and you cannot manage it.

    AssetReceiving transfersor fromtransferring onecharity CIOhas toa anothersole corporate trustee

    AskWhere theyou Commissionare toconsidering approvethese scenarios and where any of the charities has a CIOsole assetcorporate transfertrustee, bythere completingwould itsbe onlinea form,conflict attachingof PDFinterest copiesif directors of the members’corporate resolutiontrustee from:are also either:

    • thetrustees transferringof CIO,the agreeingother tocharity, transfer the assetsor
    • where the receivingother CIO,charity agreeingalso tohas receivea thecorporate assetstrustee, they are directors of that corporate trustee

    The

    Applying Commissionfor canauthority

    Send directin theone transferringapplication CIOif toyou giveneed publicauthority noticefor ofmore thethan transfer.one Itreason.

    For mustall takeapplications:

    • provide intothe accountnames anyand representationsregistered madenumbers toof itthe withintransferring 28and days.

      Thereceiving Commissioncharities, mustand decidesay towhich confirmis ortransferring refuseand thewhich transferis withinreceiving

    • state 6the monthscharitable purposes of either:

        both charities
      • theexplain datehow thattransferring theassets resolutionand liabilities is received,in orthe best interests of each charity
      • theset startout ofwhat theassets publicand noticeliabilities periodare (ifbeing required)transferred, giving their value and highlighting any significant (potential) liabilities

      The

    • explain Commissionif canany extendof thisthe timescaleassets byare apermanent furtherendowment, 6designated monthsland ifor needed.

      Ifspecial you’retrusts

    • confirm that the transferring allcharity ahas CIO’sthe assets,power rightsto transfer assets and liabilities to anotherthe CIOreceiving becausecharity
    • say it’swhat closing,authority you are seeking and why
    • check that the Commission willhas automaticallythe dissolvelatest accounts of the transferringcharities CIOinvolved, onceand itif approvesnot, theprovide new,a receivingcopy CIO.of Allthese
    • tell us if there is a deadline for the originaltransfer, CIO’swhat property,it rightsis and liabilitiesif thenthe belongdeadline tois theparticularly receivingimportant

    For CIO.limited liability:

    How
    • confirm tothat completeyou ancannot assetmanage transfer

    the conflict of interest, as explained above

    OnceFor trustee indemnity:       

    • provide details of the transferindemnity powerbeing resolutionprovided
    • confirm isif passedthis andwill anyrepresent necessarythe approvalsame granted,or arrangea better position for allthe assetstrustees toof bethe transferredtransferring tocharity. If better, provide details (see guidance above)
    • explain why granting the indemnity, at the value you have decided, is expedient in the interests of the receiving charity/charity

    For charitiestransferring ona ansubstantial agreednon-cash date.asset:

    • confirm that you have passed the relevant members’ resolution

    Apply for authority.  

    5. After the transfer

    Give anythe receiving charity:

    • a copy of the transfertrustee powerdecisions resolutionor resolutions authorising the transfer
    • a lettercopy confirmingof the effectivepre-merger datevesting ofdeclaration or transfer agreement
    • titlea deedscopy andof otherthe relevant documentsdocumentation ifrelating transferringto landthe orasset propertythat was transferred
    • a copy of any Commission authority grantedreceived
    • where relevant, separate documentation about appointing new trustees of permanent endowment, designated land or special trusts

    IfWhere you’reyou closinghave yourmerged charity,or changed structure, you mustmay arrangealso forprovide itsthe lastreceiving year’scharity meetingwith records,your accounts,charity’s trustees’records, annualfor reportsexample andminutes anyof othertrustee documentsmeetings.

    6. toClosing beyour keptcharity for 

    Once atyou leasthave:

    • transferred sevenall yearsyour afterassets youand closeliabilities it.to Thethe receiving charity
    • dealt mayappropriately agreewith toany dopermanent thisendowment, fordesignated you.

      land or special trusts

    Ifyou you’recan transferringclose assetsyour becausecharity.

    Read guidance about closing your charity. isYou closing,must youtell canthe onlyCommission about the closure so we can remove ityour charity from the registerregister. ofWe charitieswill oncealso thestop resolutionwriting hasto beenyou passed,– paperworkfor completedexample andto allfile assetsannual transferred.returns. 

    Take

    Register legalthe advicetransfer ifof youassets needon it,the forregister exampleof mergers

    Consider if theyou transfercan, isor complexmust, becauseregister itthe involvesmerger permanently(this endowment.

    Published 2 December 2014
    Last updated 147 JuneMarch 20232024 + show all updates

    1. Guidance updated to reflect changes introduced by the Charities Act 2022.

    2. Guidance updated to reflect changes introduced by the Charities Act 2022.

    Contents