Charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)

A CIO is one of the main structures a new charity can choose in England and Wales. Being “incorporated” means the charity is its own legal person: it can hold property, sign contracts and employ staff in its own name, and trustees generally are not personally liable for its debts. The trade-off compared with an unincorporated group is a bit more formality.

A CIO is regulated only by the Charity Commission and must register with it whatever the charity’s income, unlike an unincorporated charity, which registers only above £5,000. (Source: GOV.UK, How to set up a charity (CC21a); Charities Act 2011, accessed 9 July 2026.) That single-regulator model is the main reason small charities pick a CIO over a charitable company, which must also file with Companies House.

Choose between the foundation and association models based on whether you want a wider membership. To compare all the structures, see the Trustee & Governance Handbook and the planned structure chooser tool.