Trustee declaration: wet signatures and what to collect
Every trustee signs a printed form in ink. You upload a scan of it with the online application.
The form
The Commission's "Trustee Eligibility Declaration", on GOV.UK as Charity trustee: declaration of eligibility and responsibility (opens in new tab). One page, room for 4 trustees. Print another copy for trustees 5 onwards.
- Block capitals, black ink. The form says so at the top.
- Organisation name exactly as it appears in your governing document.
- Total number of trustees. It should match the number you give in the application.
- Each trustee: name, signature, date.
- Tick box: vulnerable groups, if you work with vulnerable people, including children.
- Tick box: corporate trustee, if another organisation is the trustee and its directors are signing.
Wet ink only
The Commission can't accept electronic signatures. A typed, pasted or on-screen signature won't do.
With more than 4 trustees, fill in the organisation name and total number on each extra copy too.
What each trustee is declaring
Every trustee should read the form itself and the material it links to before signing. In summary, they declare that they:
- are willing to act as a trustee
- understand the charity's purposes and the rules in its governing document
- aren't disqualified. The form lists the reasons: an unspent conviction for a listed offence; an IVA, debt relief order or bankruptcy order; removal as a trustee by the Commission or the Scottish regulator; removal from management of a body in Scotland; disqualification by the Commission or as a company director; being a designated person under anti-terrorism law; being on the sex offenders register; contempt of court for making, or causing to be made, a false statement; disobeying a Commission order or direction
- if a trustee will be paid for being a trustee, or a trustee or connected person for goods or services: that it'll be in the charity's best interests, lawful and authorised, and help carry out its purposes or be a necessary by-product of doing so
- will keep the charity's money in its name, in a bank or building society account in England or Wales
- will follow The Essential Trustee (CC3)
- are giving true, complete and correct information
- have given correct address and residency details, where asked, and will tell the Commission if they change
It's an offence under section 60(1)(b) of the Charities Act 2011 to knowingly or recklessly give the Commission false or misleading information. The Commission checks every named trustee's eligibility, including with other agencies.
Settle any doubt about an old conviction or a debt arrangement before signing: read the Commission's automatic disqualification guidance (opens in new tab), including its exceptions. A disqualified person can't act while waiting for a waiver. Disqualification rules and waivers.
The vulnerable groups box
Ticking it confirms the trustees have read and understood the Commission's safeguarding guidance. It also confirms they've done all the eligibility checks the law requires and are satisfied each trustee is eligible and suitable. If your activities need DBS checks on trustees, do them before you tick.
Collect everything in one go
The Commission needs details of every trustee. HMRC, if you apply for charity tax recognition, needs details of the officials you name to it. Collect them together, then keep them up to date.
| Detail | Commission | HMRC (officials) | On the Commission register? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yes | Yes | Yes, on the register |
| Previous names | Yes | No | |
| Home address and postcode | Yes | No | |
| Date of birth | Yes, unless a corporate trustee | Yes | No |
| Email (if they have one) and phone | Yes | No | |
| Date of appointment | If applicable | No | |
| National Insurance number | Yes | Not on the register | |
| Signature, in ink | Yes | No |
Ask too whether any trustee, the founder, or anyone connected to them will be employed, sell goods or services to the charity, or own premises it uses. The application wants the minutes of the meeting that agreed each arrangement, and for premises, any lease or agreement.
If a trustee has a good reason for their name not to be published, the application lets you explain it.
HMRC's fit and proper declaration
The fit and proper test applies to any charity claiming tax reliefs. HMRC's model declaration is optional. HMRC normally assumes the people a charity appoints are fit and proper, and expects trustees to have considered it. It suggests new managers read its helpsheet and sign its model declaration. Keep each signed copy while they're in post and for 4 years after. Don't send it unless HMRC asks.
One way to do it
- Send every trustee the form and its linked guidance a week ahead.
- At a trustee meeting, such as the one that agrees the governing document, bring printed declarations and a details sheet for each trustee.
- Everyone signs in black ink, in capitals where asked.
- Scan the pages into one PDF. Check every signature and date is legible.
- Keep the paper originals with the charity's records.
Easy to get wrong
- name on the form differs from the governing document
- total number doesn't match the application
- a typed, pasted or drawn-on-screen signature
- a trustee missing from the form but listed in the application
- vulnerable groups box left blank by a charity running children's activities