The Charity Commission has announced a phased timetable allowing charitable companies to convert to charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) following legislative changes in Parliament on 23 November 2017.
The new legislation also means that all charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) will be listed on the Business names index, held by Companies House.
The much anticipated Secondary Legislation under the Charities Act 2011 contains 3 distinct elements:
- the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Conversion) Regulations
- the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (Consequential Amendments) Order
- the Index of Company Names (Listed Bodies) (England and Wales) Order
The Charity Commission (the Commission) is now preparing a programme of work to support these changes.
Charitable Company Conversion – Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
Please note this service will only begin from 1 January 2018. It will then follow the phased implementation timetable (by income bracket) detailed below. Applications will not be accepted before this time.
| Date | Annual income |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2018 | Less than £12,500 |
| 1 March 2018 | Between £12,500 and £25,000 |
| 1 May 2018 | Between £25,000 and £100,000 |
| 1 June 2018 | Between £100,000 and £250,000 |
| 1 July 2018 | Between £250,000 and £500,000 |
| 1 August 2018 | Greater than £500,000 |
The conversion process should be simple and straightforward in most cases. As part of this process, the new CIO Constitution and Special Resolution will need to be included before submission to the Commission.
The Commission will liaise with Companies House to ensure that necessary records are updated correctly. This will mean that the date of conversion of the charitable company to a CIO – as shown on the public Register of charities – will match the date of removal of the charitable company at Companies House.
