Scottish charities: OSCR, SCIOs and the 2023 reforms

Updated October 2026 · Scotland (OSCR) · 9-minute read

Most of the charity guidance you will find online is written for England and Wales and quietly assumes it. The regulator is different in Scotland, the law is different, the incorporated structure is different, and the registration rules are different in a way that catches people out immediately. This is the Scottish version.

The one thing to know first. There is no income threshold in Scotland. Every body that wants to be, or to call itself, a Scottish charity must be on the Scottish Charity Register, no matter how small. A community group turning over £500 a year registers on the same basis as a national charity. If you have read that you only need to register above £5,000, that was guidance for England and Wales.

Who regulates you, and under what law

Scotland's regulator is the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), and the governing law is the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, significantly reformed by the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023, which has been phased in between 2024 and 2026.

To be registered, your organisation has to pass OSCR's charity test: its purposes must be entirely charitable under the 2005 Act, and it must provide public benefit. Scotland also now applies a connection to Scotland test, so a body with no real Scottish presence can be refused registration or removed from the register.

The SCIO, and how it differs from a CIO

Scotland's incorporated charitable structure is the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). Like the CIO in England and Wales it gives the charity its own legal identity, so it can hold property and enter contracts in its own name and the trustees are not personally liable for its contractual debts in the ordinary course of things. And like the CIO, it deals with one regulator rather than two: OSCR, not Companies House.

A SCIO comes in two forms, and this is worth settling before you draft your constitution rather than after.

A single-tier SCIO is one where the members and the charity trustees are the same people. It is the simplest arrangement and suits a small group getting started. A two-tier SCIO has a wider membership separate from the board, which gives your community a formal voice and a vote, and gives the board someone to be accountable to. Changing between them later means amending your constitution and getting OSCR's agreement, so choose deliberately.

One practical point that trips up new groups: a SCIO only legally exists once OSCR registers it. It cannot hold funds or sign anything before that, so build the wait into your plans and do not commit to a lease or a grant in its name beforehand.

The main alternative is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered with both OSCR and Companies House. It is familiar to banks and funders, but it means dual filing forever, and its directors are caught by the Companies House identity verification rules, where a SCIO's trustees are not.

What the 2023 reforms changed

The 2023 Act is the biggest change to Scottish charity regulation in two decades, and most of it is now in force.

OSCR has wider powers. From April 2024 it gained broader inquiry and enforcement powers, including the ability to issue directions and appoint interim trustees.

OSCR holds details of every trustee. Charities must provide OSCR with each trustee's details, including names, dates of birth and contact details, for an internal register. Submissions opened on 30 June 2025.

Trustee names are now public. Since 9 March 2026, trustees' first and last names appear on the public Scottish Charity Register. Individuals can apply for their name to be withheld where publication would be likely to jeopardise the safety and security of a person or premises, and OSCR does not charge for this. Two steps are easy to miss. First, whoever enters a trustee's details in OSCR Online must state at that point that an exemption is intended, and nothing is published while OSCR considers it only if that has been done. Second, once flagged you have 28 days to submit the application itself. A bare preference for privacy will not succeed: OSCR will not grant an exemption solely because a trustee would rather not be named. Our guide on keeping a trustee's name off the public register covers how to apply and what the test is.

Accounts are published in full. Charity accounts submitted from 9 March 2026 are published online without redaction. That matters more than it sounds: if your accounts carry trustee names, signatures or a home address, those are now public too. It is worth looking at your last set with that in mind before you file the next one.

There is also a published record of disqualified and removed trustees, and a register of charity mergers.

Your accounts and your annual return

Scottish charities report to OSCR annually through OSCR Online, submitting an annual return with accounts appropriate to your size and structure. Smaller unincorporated charities can generally use receipts-and-payments accounts; larger ones and all SCIOs above the relevant thresholds prepare fully accrued accounts.

The accounting rulebook itself has changed. The new Charities SORP 2026 applies to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 and covers the whole UK, so Scottish charities reporting to OSCR are squarely in scope. It moves to a tiered framework based on income, which is lighter for smaller charities. Our guide to Charities SORP 2026 sets out the tiers and what changes.

The practical advice is the same as it is everywhere: speak to your independent examiner or accountant before your year end rather than after it.

If you work on both sides of the border

A charity established in England or Wales that also operates in Scotland may have to register with OSCR as well, and a Scottish charity operating in England and Wales may need to register with the Charity Commission. Being accountable to two regulators means two sets of filings and two rulebooks that do not quite agree with each other.

This is worth checking properly before you expand rather than discovering it afterwards. Our guide to charity law across the four nations sets out who answers to whom and where the cross-border trap sits.

Frequently asked questions

We are tiny. Do we really have to register?

If you want to be a charity in Scotland, or describe yourself as one, yes. There is no minimum income. Some very small groups decide they would rather operate as an unincorporated community group without charitable status, which is a legitimate choice, but then they cannot call themselves a charity or claim charitable tax reliefs.

SCIO or charitable company?

For most new Scottish charities, a SCIO. One regulator, one annual return, limited liability, and no Companies House filing or director identity verification. A charitable company is worth considering where funders or lenders specifically expect that form, or where you have a complex membership or trading structure.

Are Scottish charity trustees' duties different?

The underlying expectations are similar — act in the charity's interests, with care, within your purposes — but they are set out in the 2005 Act rather than the Charities Act 2011, and OSCR's guidance is the one to follow. Do not rely on Charity Commission duty guidance if you are a Scottish charity.

Can a trustee's name be kept off the Scottish register?

Yes, where publication would be likely to jeopardise the safety and security of a person or premises, and OSCR does not charge for the application. The order matters: the exemption must be flagged in OSCR Online when the trustee's details are entered, and the application itself then follows within 28 days. Wanting privacy on its own is not enough — OSCR says so explicitly.

Does Martyn's Law apply in Scotland?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 applies across the UK, so Scottish community venues are in scope on the same basis. See our guide to Martyn's Law and community halls.

This guide is general information for charity trustees, not legal or financial advice, and every charity is different. The 2023 Act is being phased in and some detail may still change, so always confirm the current position with OSCR or a suitably qualified adviser before acting. Last reviewed October 2026.