Changes you can make yourself

You can change your charity’s governing document yourself if either:

• your governing document specifies that you have ‘the power’ to make the change
• the law (for example, the Charities Act or the Companies Act) allows you to make this kind of change

Changes allowed by governing documents

Your charity’s governing document may contain a ‘power of amendment’ that allows you to make certain changes yourself. If it does, check if:

• the amendment you want to make is allowed by that power
• you need to get the commission (or someone else) to approve the change

If your charity is a company or CIO, you can usually change its articles of association (for companies) or constitution (for CIOs) yourself, unless the change is a ‘regulated alteration’ (see ‘changes the commission needs to approve’).

Use this service to update your charity’s details, such as the:

• name of the charity
• governing document
• contact details, address or bank account details

You can also use it to ask the Charity Commission for permission to make a change, if your governing document says you need to.

Tell the Charity Commission online

You’ll need your charity registration number to sign in

If you’re changing your charity’s name or governing document, you’ll need to upload a PDF of the decision (‘resolution’) to make the change.

You may also need to upload a PDF of your:

• updated certificate of incorporation from Companies House, if your charity is a company and you’re changing its name
• new governing document, if you’re a charitable incorporated organisation

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