Closing a charitable company

A charitable company is regulated by company law as well as charity law. This means that there are two stages involved in the dissolution of a charitable company. It must first follow the process for removing a company from the Companies House Register and then follow the Charity Commission’s process so that it can also be removed from their register.

Take the Decision to Close

Follow the rules in your governing document about how to take this decision, including who should be involved. If you need help to understand your governing document, Connected Voice can help.

Apply to Companies House to voluntarily close your charitable company

Companies House Guidance on voluntary striking-off and dissolution of a company is available on the Companies House website. Guidance is also available from the Companies House Contact Centre. 

Charity Commission

The trustees are responsible for notifying the Charity Commission of the dissolution and removal of a charitable company from the Companies House Register. They must notify the Charity Commission by completing the online charity closure form, found on the 'Close a Charity' section of the Charity Commission website.

The Charity Commission will ask for information about why the charity has closed and will confirm that the charitable company has been removed from Companies House's register.

The Charity Commission will then remove the charity from their Register.

Companies House Tel: 0303 123 4500 (Contact Centre) 
Website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house

Charity Commission Tel: 0300 066 9197 
Website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission