Your legal status is the way your organisation is defined in law, based on the way it is set up and the rules and regulations that govern it. All organisations have some kind of legal status whether they're aware of it or not, if there is an underlying intention to create a legal relationship (even if they do not have a written governing document).

• write a Constitutions
• register as a charity
•  incorporate as a company

There are two main types of legal structure:
Unincorporated - e.g. Associations, Trusts
Incorporated - e.g. Companies limited by guarantee, Industrial & Provident Societies, Community Interest Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, (Charitable Incorporated Organisations once introduced under the Charities Act 2006).

Incorporated - Unincorporated
What's the difference?
An incorporated organisation has a legal identity of its own. In other words, it's a corporate body that can legally act as a single entity. This means that it can own property, enter into contracts and employ people in its own name.

An unincorporated organisation, on the other hand, remains a collection of individuals, and if it wants to own property and so forth, it must rely on individuals to do so on its behalf. Incorporation also means the liability of the organisation to third parties is limited to the total amount of the member's guarantees or share capital, depending on the nature of the organisation. This affords protection to those running the organisation and its members in most cases.

So what's best for your organisation?
There are pros and cons to both types of legal structure. Factors that you need to consider include: the size of your organisation, setting up and running costs, the level of risk involved, and democratic decision-making processes. Typically organisations will opt for incorporation where they are undertaking inherently risky activities such as buying premises, employing staff, raising large scale finance, entering into large contracts, etc.

We can go through your options in greater detail, provide guidance to write a constitution, help you to register with the Charity Commission or Companies House , and much more.

Contact the Development Team on 01570 423232 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it