The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is this week writing to the trustees of registered charities that have accounts and reports overdue by more than six months.
A charity is marked in default on the register of charities when it misses the deadline for submitting its annual accounts and reports. In these cases, the charity’s register entry will be marked in red to show the information is late.
By law, charity trustees must submit an annual monitoring return (AMR) along with the charity’s accounts and reports within 10 months of the charity’s financial year end.
All trustees share responsibility for ensuring the charity meets this annual reporting duty.
Around 3,400 charity trustees will be sent an in-default notification from the Commission this week. Where overdue reporting is not resolved, the Commission may consider further regulatory action.
If you would like more information or have received a letter and want to know what to do now, the FAQs below may help.
Online services - the secure portal used to submit AMRs and manage charity details - has been renamed My charity login.
To access it:
No. If you have previously contacted us about personal circumstances affecting your ability to meet reporting deadlines, please be reassured that the information you provided is on file.
This week’s letter is part of a general mail-out to all charities with overdue reporting. You only need to contact us again if your situation has changed or if you require further assistance.
We have already issued reminder emails and three default notices to your charity’s registered contact email address.
It’s possible the emails were diverted to the junk folder. Please check, and if found there, mark them as safe to ensure you receive future updates.
If your charity’s contact details have changed, please update them through the online My charity login portal on our website.
No. If your register entry is accurate and up to date, no further action is required and you may disregard the letter.
If your charity has closed or stopped operating, let us know so we can update the register. The easiest way to do this is by completing the closure notification form on our website, under the Running a charity section.
Once you’ve sent it in, we’ll take it from there. Let us know if you need any help with the process.
The contact information used for this mail-out was supplied by the charities, either during registration, via an update they made or through annual reporting. It is the charity’s responsibility to keep trustee names and contact details up to date.
Only the charity can update trustee information via the My charity login portal. Please contact the charity and ask them to update your details as soon as possible.
If they experience difficulties, they can contact the Commission at admin@charitycommissionni.org.uk.
Please contact the charity in the first instance. They are responsible for maintaining their register entry, including removing former trustees.
For data protection and accuracy reasons, only the charity can update trustee information through My charity login. If a charity needs assistance, they can contact admin@charitycommissionni.org.uk.
Letters were issued to trustees and charity contact persons based on the information provided by the charity at registration or through subsequent updates. Please check your charity’s entry on the register.
• If you are not listed, contact the charity and ask them to update the details so you do not miss future regulatory communications.
• If you are listed, the charity may need to update your contact information, or the letter may have been filtered into your junk folder.