News & Updates

Charities - Required Information on Letterhead and Documentation

The Charities References in Documents (Scotland) Regulations 2007 will come into effect on the 1st April 2008 and will require every charity to include certain information on its documentation.  Below is a summary of what information will be required and what documentation will be required to carry this information.

 

Charities must include the following:-

  • The Charity's name as registered on the Scottish Charity Register. If this name does not include the words "charity" or "charitable", reference should be made to its charitable status by using one of the following terms:-
o "Charity";
o "Charitable body";
o "Registered charity"; or
o "Charity registered in Scotland" (This term can only be used if the charity is established and registered under Scottish law or is managed or controlled wholly or mainly from Scotland);and
  • Any other name by which it is commonly known; and
  • Charity number.

 

Languages Used
If your charity is sending out documents wholly in a language other that English, the information required may be in that other language. For example, if the documentation is in Gaelic all the required information may also be in Gaelic too. 


Documents to contain required information
The following documentation should contain the required information:¬

  • Business letters and emails
  • Advertisements, notices and official publications
  • Any document which solicits money or other property for the benefit of the charity
  • All bills of exchange (excluding cheques), promissory notes, endorsements and orders for money or goods
  • Bills rendered
  • Invoices, receipts and letters of credit
  • Statements of accounts prepared in accordance with the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulation 2006
  • Educational or campaign documentation
  • Conveyances which provide for the creation, transfer, variation or extinction of an interest in land; and contractual documentation

 

 

CHARITABLE COMPANIES
In addition to the requirements under charity law, charitable companies also have to comply with the new Companies Act 2006 which requires the following be contained on every company's business letters, order forms and website:-

  • The company's place of registration and number with which it is registered
  • The address of its registered office and
  • In the case of a limited company exempt from the obligation to use the word "limited" as part of its name, the documentation should contain reference to the fact that it is a "limited company"