The Short Answer

Very little of it is law. A registered charity with gross income over £10,000 must state that it is a registered charity on anything that asks for money, which on the cautious reading includes its donation and appeal pages. A charitable company must show its registered name, number, place of registration and registered office on its website, and a CIO its name. Non-essential cookies need consent. Most of what trustees assume is required, including the charity number in the footer, is expectation rather than law. This page applies to charities in England and Wales.

At a Glance: Law, Code and Good Practice

What the website shows or does Who it applies to Status Source
A statement that you are a registered charity on anything soliciting money, and on invoices and receipts. The section names documents, not websites: applying it to donation and appeal pages is the cautious reading, not settled guidance Registered charities with gross income over £10,000 in the last financial year Law Charities Act 2011, section 39
The registered name, on the website Charitable companies, and CIOs Law Trading Disclosures Regulations 2015, regulation 24
For CIOs: Charities Act 2011, section 211
The registered number, the part of the UK where the company is registered, and the registered office address, on the website Charitable companies Law Trading Disclosures Regulations 2015, regulation 25
A statement that it is a charity, wherever the registered name must appear Charitable companies whose name does not include "charity" or "charitable" Law Charities Act 2011, section 194
A statement that it is a CIO, wherever its name must appear CIOs whose name does not include "CIO" or "charitable incorporated organisation" Law Charities Act 2011, section 212
The annual report and accounts, sent to the Charity Commission (filing, not publishing) Charities with gross income over £25,000 Law Charities Act 2011, section 163
The most recent accounts and annual report, supplied within two months of a written request All charities Law Charities Act 2011, section 171
Charities Act 2011, section 172
Consent before setting non-essential cookies, unless an exception such as the statistical one applies Any website Law PECR regulation 6, as replaced by:
Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, section 112
In force 5 February 2026 (SI 2026/82)
ICO guidance on the exceptions
A clear and publicly available fundraising complaints procedure Charitable institutions that fundraise Code of Fundraising Practice, not statute Code of Fundraising Practice, section 2.3 (effective 1 November 2025)
The registered charity number in the footer All registered charities Good practice Funder expectation; section 39 requires the statement, not the number
Trustees, accounts, governing document and safeguarding policy on the site All charities Good practice Funder expectation; see the sections below

For a charitable company, the website rules come from company law, not charity law, which is why most charity guidance leaves them out. Section 194 and section 211 reach the website by the same route: they apply wherever the company regulations require the registered name, and regulation 24 requires it on the website.

Regulatory Transparency Is Not Optional

The Charity Commission for England and Wales requires registered charities to account publicly for their activities, finances and governance. Part of that accountability is making key information available, and for most charities the website is now the mechanism.

This isn't just about satisfying regulatory requirements. Institutional funders, grant-making trusts, corporate partners, and major donors routinely check charity websites as part of their due diligence. A charity that cannot be found on the Charity Commission register, whose accounts are not publicly accessible, or whose governance structure is unclear faces credibility questions that no amount of compelling programme content can offset.

This page separates what the law actually requires from what funders expect, because the two are routinely confused in both directions. The requirements table above was checked at source on 29 September 2026, and the rest of the page on 8 September 2026.

What the Register Already Says About You

Every registered charity in England and Wales appears on the Charity Commission's public register at register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. The register entry is a public record showing registration number, legal name, trustees, objects, accounts, and annual return history.

Your website and your Charity Commission register entry are separate records and they must agree. A different version of the charity's name, an outdated registered address, a trustee list that does not match the register: each is a discrepancy a funder can find quickly, without contacting you.

What the register must show (maintained by submitting annual returns):

  • Current registered address
  • Current trustee names
  • Current charitable objects
  • The annual report and accounts for every year in which gross income exceeded £25,000 (Charities Act 2011 section 163)
  • Annual return for each year

Your website should reflect the same information. Keep the charity's legal name, registered address, and charity number visible and consistent.

What the Law Requires

Very little of UK charity law is about websites. What follows separates the statutory duties from the disclosures that are expectation, because trustees are usually told the two are the same thing.

Core disclosures: what is required, and what funders expect

Statement of registered charity status. A charity whose gross income exceeded £10,000 in its last financial year must state that it is a registered charity on all notices, advertisements and other documents that solicit money, and on its bills, invoices, receipts and letters of credit (Charities Act 2011 section 39). Issuing such a document without the statement is a criminal offence under section 41. Note what the section says and does not say. It requires the statement of registered status, not the registration number, and it does not mention the website footer. The section does not mention websites. Treating donation pages, appeal pages and emailed receipts as documents soliciting money is the cautious reading, and the one I would follow. The registered name and number in the footer is expectation rather than law, and there is no reason to omit either.

Registered address. The charity's registered address should be reachable from the website, normally on the contact page or in the footer. This is expectation, not statute.

Trustees/Board of Directors. Publishing the trustee board is not required by law. It is one of the first things a grant officer looks for, and a trustee list that does not match the register is worse than no trustee list at all.

Charitable objects. The statement of your charity's purposes, taken from your governing document, should be reachable from the website. Summarise it on the About page and link to the governing document if you publish that. This is expectation, not statute.

Strongly expected disclosures (best practice, expected by funders)

Filing the annual report and accounts. Where gross income exceeds £25,000, the trustees must send the annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission (Charities Act 2011 section 163). They then appear on your register entry. That threshold is not changing in 2026. Filing is not publishing: the register is somewhere a funder has to decide to go, and putting the documents on your own site removes that decision.

External scrutiny of the accounts is a separate question from filing them, and the thresholds are about to move. For financial years ending before 30 September 2026, accounts must be independently examined once gross income exceeds £25,000, and audited once gross income exceeds £1 million, or exceeds £250,000 where gross assets exceed £3.26 million (Charities Act 2011 sections 144 and 145).

For financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026, those figures become £40,000 for independent examination, £1.5 million for audit, and £500,000 of income against £5 million of gross assets. The threshold above which an independent examiner must be professionally qualified rises from £250,000 to £500,000. The change is made by the Charities Acts 1992 and 2011 (Substitution of Sums) Order 2026, and it does not apply to any financial year ending before that date. The threshold for filing the annual report and accounts with the Commission is unchanged at £25,000.

Two things follow for the website. The examiner's or auditor's report forms part of the accounts you publish, so a charity crossing a threshold will publish accounts that look materially different from last year's, and a reader who is not told why will draw their own conclusion. And a charity that falls below the audit threshold also falls outside the statutory fundraising statement, which is the next section.

Beneficiary and impact information. The trustees' annual report has to explain what the charity achieved against its charitable objects. A plain-language version on the website, with impact data and programme outcomes, does the transparency job and the credibility job at once.

Safeguarding policy. Charities working with children, young people, or vulnerable adults are required to have a safeguarding policy. While the Charity Commission doesn't mandate its publication on the website, funders and partner organisations routinely ask for it. Publishing it (or a summary) on the website signals operational maturity and saves staff time in responding to individual requests.

What You Must Hand Over If Someone Asks

Two provisions decide what happens when a funder, a journalist or a former trustee stops browsing and starts asking. If any person requests the charity's most recent accounts in writing, the trustees must supply them within two months, subject to a reasonable fee for the cost of complying (Charities Act 2011 section 172). Section 171 imposes the same duty for the most recent annual report.

This is why publishing the accounts costs less than withholding them. The obligation exists either way. A PDF on a governance page discharges it silently and immediately. Nothing on the website means the request has to be made and answered, and the delay is visible to the person counting.

Fundraising and Donations

Charities that fundraise from the public have additional obligations, primarily governed by the Fundraising Regulator (not the Charity Commission) and the Code of Fundraising Practice.

Website fundraising obligations

Registration with the Fundraising Regulator. Registration is voluntary, and the threshold is lower than most trustees assume. The regulator invites charities that spend more than £100,000 a year on fundraising to pay an annual levy, which registers them, and charities spending less than that can register for a flat fee. Registered organisations may display the Fundraising Badge and are listed in the public directory. Two things follow for the website. Displaying the badge without being registered is a misrepresentation on your own domain. And an eligible charity that declines the levy is not breaking a law, but it is declining a voluntary scheme, which is exactly the sort of thing an institutional funder reads as a signal.

The statutory fundraising statement. Where a charity's accounts must be audited, the trustees' annual report has to state the charity's approach to fundraising, whether professional fundraisers or commercial participators were used, which voluntary fundraising scheme or standard the charity is bound by and any failure to comply with it, how fundraising carried out on the charity's behalf was monitored, and how the charity protected vulnerable people from unreasonable pressure (Charities Act 2011 section 162A). That statement is public. If it names a standard your website does not, or your website claims one the report does not, the two disagree in public. From 30 September 2026 the audit threshold rises to £1.5 million under the 2026 Order, so some charities will leave this requirement without noticing.

Clear donation information. Any donation mechanism on the website, whether a button or an embedded form, should make clear who the money goes to under the charity's registered name, how it will be used, and how a donor raises a question.

Gift Aid. If the charity is registered for Gift Aid with HMRC, donation pages should offer Gift Aid and explain what it is. The declaration, whether collected on the form or separately, has to meet HMRC's requirements. Donation platforms help collect declarations; the charity remains responsible for whether they are valid.

Donor privacy. Fundraising consent has to satisfy UK GDPR and the Code of Fundraising Practice at the same time, and they are not the same test. The mechanics are in the GDPR compliance checklist. What matters here is that your privacy notice, the consent wording on the donation form and the supporter database all say the same thing. On most sites I audit they do not.

Governance Transparency

Beyond the statutory minimum, institutional funders expect a level of governance transparency that charity law does not require. This is where most of the difference between a credible website and a thin one sits.

Governance section on the website

A dedicated governance section demonstrates institutional maturity. It should include:

Board composition. Names and brief biographies of trustees, with any relevant professional backgrounds noted. The board composition page signals stability, diversity, and skills-based governance.

Governance documents. The governing document, the conflicts of interest policy, and any other governance policies the organisation is willing to make public. Not everything needs publishing. The governing document and the conflicts policy carry most of the signal.

Financial documents. Published annual accounts for at least the last three years, with links to the register for older years. Publish a summary page carrying the headline figures before the full PDF, because a non-specialist reader will not open the PDF.

Strategic plan. Where the charity has a published strategic plan, linking to it from the governance section signals forward planning and strategic direction to funders.

What funders look for in a governance section

When a grant officer visits your governance section as part of due diligence, they are looking for evidence that the organisation is well-run, financially stable, and professionally governed. The specific indicators:

  • Accounts filed on time with the Charity Commission, which is checkable on the register entry
  • A trustee board with relevant skills and appropriate independence (not dominated by related parties or single-family control)
  • Clear financial information: income sources, and spending on charitable activities against raising funds, in the accounts' own headings (the accounts carry no separate "administration" line; where your money goes explains why)
  • Evidence of risk management: a risk register, or risk management referenced in the trustees' annual report

A governance section that provides this evidence without requiring a funder to open PDF accounts or navigate the register is a real advantage in a grant application, and it costs nothing but assembly.

The Self-Check

Work through this against your live site before the next funder meeting, grant application or trustee review. The basis stated in each row tells you which items are law and which are expectation, which is the distinction a trustee will ask about.

Requirement, and its basis Where on site Status
Statement that you are a registered charity on anything soliciting money. Charities Act 2011 s.39, if income over £10,000. Criminal offence under s.41 if omitted Donation and appeal pages, emailed receipts Check
Registered name and charity number visible. Expectation, not statute Footer Check
Registered address accessible and matching the register. Expectation Contact page or footer Check
Trustee names published and matching the register. Expectation About or governance section Check
Charitable objects stated. Expectation About page Check
Most recent annual accounts published. Filing with the Commission is required over £25,000 (s.163); publishing on your own site is expectation Governance section Check
Most recent trustees' annual report accessible. Same basis as accounts Governance section Check
Independent examiner's or auditor's report included in the published accounts, and the change explained if you have crossed a threshold Governance section Check
Website fundraising claims consistent with the statutory fundraising statement. Charities Act 2011 s.162A, if the accounts are audited Compare site against the trustees' annual report Check (if audited)
Impact information against the charitable objects. Expectation About or impact page Check
Safeguarding policy published or available on request. Expectation Governance section Check (if applicable)
Gift Aid explained and the declaration meeting HMRC requirements Donation page or form Check (if Gift Aid registered)
Fundraising Badge displayed only if actually registered. Voluntary scheme Footer or donation page Check
Privacy notice accessible and matching what the donation form actually does. UK GDPR Footer Check
Cookie policy and a working consent mechanism. PECR and UK GDPR Footer and site-wide Check
A named person who can answer a written request for the accounts inside two months. Charities Act 2011 s.172 Contact page, and internally Check

What Non-Compliance Actually Costs

There is no fine for an out-of-date website, which is exactly why it stays out of date. The exposure sits elsewhere. Everything you file with the Commission is preserved and open to public inspection under section 170 of the Charities Act 2011, so any gap between what your accounts say and what your website says is checkable by anyone, at any time, without them having to contact you.

The practical cost is funder credibility. A grant application that reaches due diligence and then stalls because the site shows accounts two years old, or an empty governance section, or no charity number, is recoverable and entirely avoidable. A Blueprint Audit can catch that gap before it costs an organisation a grant. The alternative is a communications director who finds it after a funding conversation goes quiet.

This is not the budget problem charities usually describe. The Charity Digital Skills Report 2026, produced by Zoe Amar Digital and Think Social Tech from a record 807 responses, found squeezed organisational finances to be the largest barrier to digital progress, affecting 63% of charities. Almost nothing on this page is a digital project. It is publishing documents the charity has already written.

A governance-ready website is not expensive to maintain. The information already exists inside the organisation. The work is making it findable, organised and current, and then keeping it that way.

What This Page Does Not Cover

England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate regimes with their own regulators, thresholds and filing rules, and OSCR and CCNI are not interchangeable with the Charity Commission. It does not cover Companies House obligations for charitable companies, which run to their own deadlines. It does not cover accessibility, which is an Equality Act question rather than a charity law one. And it does not tell you whether your website is accurate, only what belongs on it.

Thresholds in charity law move by statutory instrument. Every figure here was checked against legislation.gov.uk, gov.uk and the Fundraising Regulator on 8 September 2026. Check the date on anything you rely on, including this.

Further Reading

The register is the version of your charity a funder can check. The website is the version you control. When the two disagree, the register is the one that gets believed, and nobody tells you it happened.

If you would rather have that checked than assumed, a Blueprint Audit is an independent assessment of what your website says about your governance, read against your register entry and against what a funder looks for. It is standalone work, and it sometimes concludes that nothing needs rebuilding.