Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
User Guide – Apply for Registration
(Section 39 of the Charities Act 2009)
Updated April 2017
1
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
The Charities Act, 2009 requires all charitable organisations operating in the State to be registered and to
provide certain information pertaining to their organisation to the Charities Regulator.
This guide is to be used only by (1) All charitable organisations who were established after 16 October,
2014 and (2) all charitable organisations established on or before 16 October, 2014 who did not have a
charitable tax exemption (CHY number) issued by the Revenue Commissioners.
If you are a charitable organisation who had a charitable tax exemption (CHY number) issued by the
Revenue Commissioners prior to 16 October, 2014 please refer to Registration User Guide – (S40) for
information on your obligations under the Charities Act., 2009.
Contents
Some important notes about the website / application for registration process ................................................. 3
Apply for an online account for your charitable organisation ........................................................................... 4
Create an account for your charitable organisation ........................................................................................... 5
“Charity Details” Tab ........................................................................................................................................ 7
“Charitable Purpose” Tab .................................................................................................................................. 8
“Activities” Tab ............................................................................................................................................... 10
“Address” Tab .................................................................................................................................................. 12
“Places Outside Ireland” Tab ........................................................................................................................... 13
“Fundraising” Tab ............................................................................................................................................ 14
“Fundraising Agents” Tab ............................................................................................................................... 15
“Trustees” Tab ................................................................................................................................................. 16
“Parents / Subsidiaries” Tab ............................................................................................................................ 17
“Financial” Tab ................................................................................................................................................ 18
“Financial Advisors” Tab ................................................................................................................................ 19
“Bank Accounts” Tab ...................................................................................................................................... 20
“Further Information” Tab ............................................................................................................................... 21
“Documents” Tab............................................................................................................................................. 22
“Payment” Tab ................................................................................................................................................. 23
“Declaration” Tab ............................................................................................................................................ 24
Contact the Charities Regulator ....................................................................................................................... 25
2
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
Some important notes about the website / application for registration process
While application should be possible on all internet browsers, Google Chrome
is recommended..
Red *
Any fields with a red asterisk * are required to be completed.
Move your mouse over any help symbols for further information.
The eye symbol indicates that information provided will appear on the public
register of charities
The Save button allows you to save your progress and return at a later stage to
complete.
Check Completeness will inform you of remaining required fields that must be
completed before the application can be submitted.
3
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
Apply for an online account for your charitable organisation
*Please see Page 2 to confirm if your charitable organisation needs to apply for a charity account
To apply for a charity account go to the home page of our website www.charitiesregulator.ie and select
‘Information for Charities’ and then ‘apply’
Information required to apply for a charity account is as follows;








Organisation’s name.
CHY number (if you have one).
Charitable purpose.
Country where your charity was established.
Whether you have a principal place of business and activities in the Republic of Ireland.
Your charity's financial year end date (Day and Month).
Name and address to whom we should send security information plus telephone number.
Agree to our terms and conditions *please read our Terms and Conditions and Data Protection Statement before
agreeing
Once your application for an account has been processed, you will receive a letter from the Charities Regulator
with an Access PIN Code.
4
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
Create an account for your charitable organisation
*To complete this section you must have received a letter from the Charities Regulator containing an Access PIN Number.
To create a charity account go to the home page of our website www.charitiesregulator.ie and select
‘Information for Charities’ and then ‘activate account’
Enter the Access PIN Code from the letter provided by the Charities Regulator.
Enter a username – *your username must be a valid email address.
Enter a password – *your password must be a minimum of 9 characters and include (1) a capital letter (2) a lower case
letter (3) a number & (4) a special character.

Confirm your agreement to our terms and conditions * please read our Terms and Conditions and Data
Protection Statement before agreeing
Complete the Text Verification
After you create your charity account you will receive an email from the Charities Regulator confirming its
creation and activation. This can take up to 24 hours. Once you receive this confirmation email you can
proceed to login to your account and complete the required information.
* = Required Fields
5
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
Log into your Charity Account
To log into your charity account, go to the home page of our website www.charitiesregulator.ie and select
‘Information for Charities’ and then ‘log in’

Enter your username – *your username must be the valid email address used to create your charity
account.

Enter your password – *your password must be the password used when creating your charity account.
It must be a minimum of 9 characters and include (1) a capital letter (2) a lower case letter (3) a number
& (4) a special character.

Confirm your agreement to our terms and conditions *please read our Terms and Conditions and Data
Protection Statement before agreeing

Click the “log in” button
*If you have forgotten your password, please reset your password on the log in screen.
6
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Charity Details” Tab

Input any other names that your organisation uses.

Input a contact name and phone number for the person dealing with the application

Indicate your preferred language for communications

Input your CHY (charitable tax status) number if your organisation has been granted one

Confirm the “type” of organisation that your organisation is

Input your organisation’s Registered Company’s Number (if applicable)

Input the Establishment Date of your organisation

Input the Country where your organisation was established

Confirm if your charity also operates in Northern Ireland

Confirm if your organisation is an “education body” or “centre of education” as per the Charities Act 2009

Confirm your organisations Financial End of Year (Date and Month only)

Confirm the Size of your organisation based on gross income in the most recent financial year.
* = Required Fields
7
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Charitable Purpose” Tab

Charitable Purpose
You must select at least one charitable purpose, as defined by the Charities Act, 2009.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Relief of poverty or economic hardship
Advancement of education
Advancement of religion
Other purpose that is of benefit to the community
If you select “Other purpose” you are required to specify the nature of benefit to the community by selecting from the
drop down list
*Please note that a purpose shall not be a charitable purpose unless it is of public benefit.
8
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)

Charitable Purpose as per the objects clause of your governing document
Please insert your main object according to your governing document. Here you should use the text from your main
object as it is exactly in your governing document. You should not include subsidiary objects.
If registered, the ‘Charitable Objects’ will be visible in the public register and will inform potential donors and the
wider public of what your organisation does/plans to do. Therefore, it should be clear and precise. It should leave no
doubt in the reader’s mind of what your organisation was set up to do.
Ideally, the charitable objects should make it clear what the charity is set up to achieve, where the charity operates,
who the charity helps and how the charity’s goals will be achieved.
Using the main objects clause of your governing document, please answer the questions:

What outcome is your organisation set up to achieve?

How will your organisation achieve this?

Who will benefit from the outcome?

Where (geographically) will the benefit occur?

Red = Required Fields
9
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Activities” Tab
When completing the Activities section you must show how your activities during the reporting period
directly support your organisation’s objectives and how you are providing a Public Benefit.

Activities - Please select from the list provided the wording which best describes the activities carried out
during the reporting period.

Description of your organisation’s activities during the reporting period - Please describe the activities
carried out in furtherance of the charitable objectives of your organisation (max. 300 words).

Direct Beneficiaries - Please select one or more beneficiaries from the list provided.
10
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)

Does your charity provide a direct service to individuals?
If you answer ‘yes’ to this question you will then be asked if you charge a fee for this service, and if so, for
details of your fee structure. If you do not charge a fee, you will then be asked to provide details of your
selection process in deciding who will benefit.

Indicate the average number of employees and paid office holders & indicate the number of individuals
who volunteered (excluding Northern Ireland).
Please select one band to indicate the average number of employees and paid office holders in your
organisation/ how many individuals have volunteered (unpaid) for your organisation during the reporting
period in Ireland (excluding Northern Ireland). This includes full and part time individuals.

Indicate if your organisation has signed up to any of these codes or principles - Please select one or more
codes, principles, or programmes that your organisation has signed up to from the list provided.
11
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Address” Tab

Principal address
Your organisation’s principal office details must be in Ireland or another EEA state. This should be the address from
which your operations are managed. If your organisation does not have a principal address in Ireland, enter your
principal address elsewhere. This cannot be a PO Box or similar, it must be a physical address.

Correspondence address
If you have an address for correspondence that is different to your principal address please enter it here, this can be a
PO Box or similar. This will be the address we use to send letters and documents not sent in emails or that can be
found on our website.
To add an address - click the “
Add an Address” button
*If approved, all addresses will appear in the public register unless indicated otherwise.

= Required Fields
12
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Places Outside Ireland” Tab

Please add details of any places outside of Ireland where your organisation operates by clicking on the
‘Add Jurisdiction’ button
13
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Fundraising” Tab

How do you plan to raise money in the future? - Please indicate your plans by ticking the relevant
boxes.

If you plan to raise money through donations specify type(s) - Please indicate your plans by ticking
the relevant boxes.

Additional general description of fundraising plans - Please describe your fundraising plans in more
detail

Statement of Guiding Principles for Charity Fundraising - Please indicate your if your
organisation has signed up to these principles

Through who do you obtain your funds - Please indicate who carries out your fundraising
* = Required Fields
14
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Fundraising Agents” Tab

If you use professional fundraising agents or consultants e.g. companies you contract to provide
fundraising services, please add details by clicking on ‘Add fundraising agent’ button
15
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Trustees” Tab

You must enter details of all of the current trustees. To add a trustee - click the “
complete the required information.
Add Trustee” button and
A Charity trustee includes (as per Section 2 of the Charities Act 2009):
(a) in the case of a charitable organisation that is a company, the directors and other officers of the company, and
(b) in the case of a charitable organisation that is a body corporate (other than a company) or an unincorporated body
of persons, any officer of the body or any person for the time being performing the functions of an officer of the body.
*You must confirm that each trustee is not disqualified, under Section 55 of the Charities Act, 2009 from being a trustee of
a charitable organisation.
** If approved, the name, position type and start date of trustees are made public in the Register of Charities
16
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Parents / Subsidiaries” Tab

If your organisation is a parent or subsidiary of another charitable or non-charitable organisation please add
details by clicking on ‘Add Associated Organisation” button
17
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Financial” Tab
In this section you are required to provide financial information about your organisation. This information will
typically be available from your accounts or income and expenditure reports. Please enter all values in EURO.
If you have not yet commenced operations you are not required to enter any details in this section.

Gross Income in Ireland - This is the total gross amount of all income from all sources received by your
organisation in Ireland during the reporting period.

Sources of your Income - Please break down total income to specify how much has come from the listed
sources. If you have income from any sources not included in the list you can enter this under “other” and
please specify what these sources are.

Gross Expenditure in Ireland - This is the total gross expenditure of all types by your organisation in Ireland
during the period you have specified.

If you have donation income please specify types - Please select all options from the list which apply to
your organisation

What was your organisation's expenditure on salaries in that year? - Please enter the amount of money
your organisation spent on salaries and wages including taxes, pension payments, etc. to employees in the
specified period.
18
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Financial Advisors” Tab

If you have appointed Accountants, Auditors or Solicitors, please add details by clicking on ‘Add Advisors’
button
19
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Bank Accounts” Tab

Please add details of all bank accounts operated by your organisation by clicking on the ‘Add Bank Account’
button.
20
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Further Information” Tab

Please use this section to add any additional information that you think we should consider when
evaluating your application.
21
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Documents” Tab
When you are making an application for registration you are required to provide the following reports and
documentation to complete your record.







Constitution or other governing document
Most recent annual report
Full set of accounts in a single document
Profit and loss account (or income and expenditure account if income is less than €100,000)
Balance Sheet / Statement of assets and liabilities
Director’s report
Auditors report (if applicable)
In order to attach a file - click “
Attach File”
*No file to attach - If you are unable to attach a file because you haven't got one / it is combined with another one or
is simply not required please click “ Attach File” then tick "I am not attaching a file" in the popup box and add a
comment explaining why.
*All documents need to be in PDF (Portable Document Format) to be uploaded. The maximum allowable size for a
document for upload is 10mb.
*If you have additional documents to upload please use the Add Optional Attachment facility at the bottom of this
screen.
22
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Payment” Tab

This screen is not active as no fee currently applies
23
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
“Declaration” Tab
To submit your application you must complete and attach a declaration, signed by all trustees, that the information is
accurate
The steps for this process are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To download the declaration – click “
Download”
Enter your organisation’s name in the places indicated
Get all your trustees to sign the form
Scan the signed form to PDF (keep the original for your records)
To upload the scanned PDF declaration – click “ Attach File”
Part of the declaration is that you have read and understood section 39(15) of the Charities Act 2009, which is
as follows:
“A person who, in purported compliance with this section, knowingly or recklessly provides information or a
particular to the Authority that is false or misleading in a material respect, or who believes any such
information or particular when provided by him or her, in purported compliance with that subsection, not to
be true, shall be guilty of an offence.”
Once you are satisfied that you have completed the application and supplied all the required data you can now
confirm that your application is complete by clicking on the ‘declare complete’ button at the top of the screen
*= Required Fields
24
Charities Regulator – Apply for Registration User Guide (S39)
You have now submitted your application
Your application will now be assessed by the Charities Regulator.
We may need to contact you during this process to seek clarification or additional information on your
application.
Please note that the status of your application is "Applied" and that this status provides you with no specific
approval or indication of future approval as a registered charitable organisation.
Contact the Charities Regulator
Our customer service team can be contacted by:
 Our online query system: www.charitiesregulator.ie
 Email: [email protected]
 Telephone: 01-633-1500 (afternoons only)
 Post: St. 3 Georges Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1 D01 X5X0
25