Charity registration threshold: what’s happening

The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 gave the Department for Communities the power to set a minimum size for charities that must register with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. This is known as a registration threshold.

Right now, all charities still need to register. But in early July 2025, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons gave the go-ahead to start work on introducing a registration threshold. This means that in the future, smaller charities may not need to register.

What will change?

Once the registration threshold is in place:

• charities with annual income of £20,000 or less, and
• assets of £100,000 or less

will not have to register or send annual reports and accounts to the Commission.

This change follows a public consultation by the Department for Communities.

What’s the Commission’s role?

The Commission doesn’t decide whether there should be a registration threshold or what it should be. Its job is to carry out the law as it’s written.

However, there’s a lot of work to do. The Commission will now begin to:

• develop a new IT system, which will allow for the de-registration of smaller charities.
• update its internal manuals and processes to prepare for the registration threshold.
• develop and publish clear guidance to help charities understand how the changes will affect them and their options around registration.

We would encourage all charities to sign up to the Commission’s newsletter, and keep an eye on our website, to ensure you don’t miss any updates or alerts around the registration threshold. You can subscribe to the newsletter here: Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

What happens next?

Now that the Minister has approved the introduction of a registration threshold, the Department for Communities will draft the necessary regulations. These regulations will ensure the Commission will have the same powers and provide the same services to charities not registered as it does for registered charities. 

Further details will be shared once the regulations are finalised.

In the meantime, the Commission is preparing for the changes, as outlined above.

Do I need to do anything now?

No changes have been made yet. The law remains that all charities are required to register.

Once the regulations are made, the Commission will be able to provide updates as things progress, including expected timescales as well as guides to help charities understand what the change means for them.