AN INDEPENDENT PLAIN-ENGLISH GUIDE

The church on the corner
is probably a charity.

Charity law covers far more churches than the register shows.

In England and Wales, the advancement of religion is one of the purposes the law recognises as charitable. Yet many local churches never appear on the public register. This guide explains why, using Charity Commission guidance and the legislation itself.

£100,000 the excepted ceiling

Check a case

A small stone village chapel seen across a quiet green at a distance, with soft morning light and open sky to one side — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Purpose set in law
Some are excepted
Still regulated
How the rules fit together

THE SHORT ANSWER

Charitable in law,
not always on the list.

Three ideas explain most of it:
purpose, registration and exception.

PURPOSE

Religion is a charitable purpose

The Charities Act 2011 lists the advancement of religion among its charitable purposes, and says religion can include faiths with more than one god or no god.

Read the law

EXCEPTED

Some churches skip the register

Churches linked to certain listed denominations with income of £100,000 or less are excepted: no registration and no annual return.

Check a case

LOOK IT UP

The register is public

Anyone can search the Charity Commission register for free by name, number or area, and see trustees, aims and finances.

How to search

General information only, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to a qualified lawyer or a free advice service.

A QUICK CASE CHECK

Does this church
have to register?

Pick a situation to see what the Charity Commission's guidance says about registration. The bar shows how clearly the guidance points to registering.

Registration check

Choose a situationAny charity with income under £5,000Listed denomination, income £100,000 or lessListed denomination, income over £100,000Other faith body, income over £5,000Church charity becoming a CIO

Any charity with income under £5,000Not required

The normal threshold for registration is £5,000 a year, so smaller charities usually do not register, unless they are a CIO.

Listed denomination, income £100,000 or lessExcepted

Excepted until 31 March 2031: no registration or annual return, but trustees must still follow charity law and the commission still regulates the charity.

Listed denomination, income over £100,000Must register

The exception only covers church charities with annual income of £100,000 or less, so a larger one must register.

Other faith body, income over £5,000Must register

The guidance says charities linked to faith bodies not on the excepted list must register if their income is more than £5,000.

Church charity becoming a CIOMust register

A CIO can only exist once the commission registers it, so an excepted church that becomes a CIO stops being excepted.

Source: Charity Commission, Excepted charities (GOV.UK), sections 1, 4, 5 and 14; GOV.UK, Register your charity.

Based on the Charity Commission's guidance on excepted charities. General information only, not legal advice; a church's own denominational body or the commission can say how the rules apply to it.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

One threshold,
one deadline.

The figures that decide whether
a local church appears on the register.

£100k

Top income for an excepted church

Church charities linked to the listed denominations are excepted if their annual income is £100,000 or less. The normal registration threshold for other charities is £5,000.

INCOME CEILING · CHARITY COMMISSION

2031

When the church exception ends

Most exceptions are permanent. The one for certain churches ends on 31 March 2031, to give the commission and denominations time to prepare churches for registration.

END DATE · CHARITY COMMISSION

The guidance also notes that registered places of worship under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 are excepted, but only as buildings, not their funds.

FOUR STEPS TO A PUBLIC RECORD

Finding a charity's
public record.

The register of charities for England and Wales is free to search. These steps help you read what you find, and understand what you might not find.

Search by name or number
Use the GOV.UK 'Search the charity register' service and search by name, charity number, registration date or area.
Read the main details
A record shows the name and address, trustees, work and aims, and finances.
Check the right register
Scotland and Northern Ireland keep separate registers, so a charity based there will not appear in the England and Wales one.
Remember who is missing
Charities below £5,000, excepted charities and exempt charities are not on the register, even though most are still charities in law.

A laptop on a kitchen table next to a mug and a notebook, with a hand resting on the trackpad — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

An old ledger and a pair of reading glasses on a wooden vestry table beside a window — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

EXCEPTED IS NOT EXEMPT

Off the register,
still under the law.

The commission is careful to separate two words. Excepted charities, such as many small churches, Scout and Guide groups and smaller student unions, do not register or file annual returns, but the commission regulates them like any other charity and can use its powers if needed.

Exempt charities are different: they are exempt from both registration and regulation by the commission. Since 2009 no new exceptions can be made, apart from for charities that stop being exempt.

Questions

Questions people ask

Is every church a registered charity?

No. Many churches are charities in law but are not on the register, because their income is under £5,000 or because they are excepted. Excepted church charities linked to the listed denominations have income of £100,000 or less.

Which churches can be excepted?

The Charity Commission lists bodies including Baptist and Congregational unions, the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Methodist Church, the Religious Society of Friends and the United Reformed Church, among others.

Does an excepted church follow charity law?

Yes. Apart from not registering or making annual returns, excepted charities must comply with charity law, and their trustees have the same responsibilities as trustees of any other charity.

What happens in 2031?

The exception for certain churches has an end date of 31 March 2031. The commission says this gives it and denominational bodies time to help churches prepare for registration by, or soon after, that date.

Is this site connected to a church?

No. It is an independent informational guide to how charity law treats churches and chapels. It does not represent any church, denomination or the Charity Commission.

The church on the corner
is probably a charity.