Guidance: The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3)

What's required of a charity trustee, including your responsibilities to your charity.

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Charity trustees are the people who share ultimate responsibility for governing a charity and directing how it is managed and run. They may be called trustees, the board, the management committee, governors, directors or something else.

This guidance explains what being a trustee involves, including:

You should read this guidance if you are:

See also our ‘5 minute guides’ on the basics that all trustees need to know

Updated to reflect changes to our guidance on charity accounts.

This publication has been updated in line with recently published guidance on automatic disqualification and safeguarding.

Added a Welsh version of the infographic (essential trustee: 6 main duties).

The commission has published updated guidance for trustees that takes account of the feedback from the CC3 consultation.

Step 1: Check if setting up a charity is right for you

Trustees are responsible for the operation of your charity. They must show they understand their legal requirements.

Step 3: Find out how to choose a charity structure

There are rules on what words you can use in your name.

You cannot register a name that's the same as or similar to another charity.

and Decide and write your charity's purposes

Your ‘purposes’ describe what your charity is set up to achieve.