Trustee Role, Eligibility and Fitness
Use this section if you are becoming a charity trustee, recruiting trustees or want to be sure that your existing trustees understand what the role involves and are eligible to hold it.
What does being a trustee involve?
Charity trustees carry the legal responsibility for the charity. They must act in its best interests, manage its resources responsibly, act within its governing document and comply with charity law. Acting voluntarily and in good faith does not by itself remove that responsibility and in some circumstances trustees can be personally liable. The Guidance Note - Charity trustees' duties, responsibilities and liabilities explains the duties, the risks and how trustees can protect themselves.
Who is eligible and fit to act as a trustee?
Some people are disqualified from acting as charity trustees and the Charity Commission expects a charity to check eligibility before an appointment is made. The Trustee Declaration of Eligibility Registration Form records each trustee's confirmation that they are eligible.
Separately, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) applies a fit and proper persons test to the people who manage a charity that claims tax reliefs such as Gift Aid. The Guidance Note: Fit and Proper Persons (Trustees and Managers) explains the test and the Declaration for Fit and Proper Persons (Trustees and Managers) is the declaration each manager signs.
Once a person is confirmed as suitable, the documents for formally appointing them are in the Appointments and Resignations: Corporate Charities section.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What paperwork should a new trustee complete before their first meeting? +
Three documents, ideally before appointment is confirmed: an eligibility declaration confirming they are not disqualified, a fit and proper persons declaration protecting the charity's tax reliefs and acknowledgement of the trustee code of conduct if you have one. Give them the trustee duties guidance note to read alongside. This makes the appointment defensible and the induction real. The Code of Conduct for Charity Trustees is in the Conflicts of Interest and Trustee Conduct section. The other documents mentioned above are in this section.
Who has to pass HMRC's fit and proper persons test and what happens if someone does not? +
Everyone who counts as a manager: trustees and anyone able to determine how the charity spends its money, including senior staff. The test protects tax reliefs, if a manager is not fit and proper, and the charity cannot show it took care, HMRC can refuse or claw back reliefs such as Gift Aid. In practice you evidence care by having each manager sign the declaration when appointed. The guidance note and declaration form here cover the test and the paper trail.
When do we need the trustee eligibility declaration form? +
At two moments: when registering the charity, the Commission requires trustees to declare eligibility and responsibility as part of the application, and whenever a new trustee is appointed afterwards, where a signed declaration is best practice evidence that you checked. Keep signed declarations with the trustee's record. The registration-style declaration form in this section mirrors what the Commission expects, so one document serves both moments.
What should a trustee code of conduct include to be useful rather than decorative? +
Behavioural commitments a board can actually enforce: preparation and attendance, confidentiality, declaring conflicts, speaking with one voice after decisions, respect in debate and how breaches are raised. Avoid restating legal duties at length, the guidance note covers those, and keep it to two or three pages. Adopt it by resolution and revisit annually. The Code of Conduct for Charity Trustees in the Conflicts of Interest and Trustee Conduct section follows that shape and adapts to any structure.
