The simple answer is it is the law and all schools are obliged to register. All schools fall within the terms of the Charites Act 2009. The Charites Regulator is the statutory regulatory agency for all charitable organisations and it has the power to bring legal proceedings against individuals who do not comply with the Act. This could include all the members of the Board of Management. If your school has not registered with the Regulator, the FSSU encourages you to submit your school’s application as soon as possible.
The registration process for primary schools is straightforward. The application is made via an on-line system at charitiesregulatoryauthority.ie, which has some pre-populated information on your school. Your school will be able to create a charity account which will have a unique login username and password. The Charities Regulator will require the names and addresses of all Board of Management members for registration. However, only the names of board members will be publicly available on the Regulator’s website. Should there be any changes to the board members, the school’s charity account should be updated.
The Charites Regulator’s customer service team can be contacted in the following ways:
- Use this Query Form on the website
- Helpline: (01) 633 1500 (available 11am-1pm Monday to Friday).
- Website: charitiesregulator.ie
Once your school is registered you will receive a unique Registered Charity Number (RCN). The RCN should be displayed on school letterhead, website, email and all published material.
The benefits of registration with the Charites Regulator are:
- It demonstrates your school operates to the highest standards of governance and administration
- It highlights your school’s commitment to transparency and accountability
- Your school is in a better position to retain and attract state funding
- Your school can attract funding from the corporate sector
- It provides a sound basis for donors and volunteers to support your school
- Your school will require an RCN number when applying for a permit for any on-street collections from An Gardai Síochána
- To apply for Revenue’s Charitable Tax-Exempt status and associated benefits it is a prerequisite that your school has an RCN
- It allows your school to play its part in building trust and confidence in the charities sector
Yes, a school should display its unique Registered Charity Number (RCN). The RCN should be displayed on the school’s letterhead, website, email and all published material.
Yes, as all charitable organisations are obliged to report on their financial activities. To facilitate schools, the FSSU shares the required financial information with the Charities Regulator. This information is pre-populated in the Charities Regulator’s annual report form for your school. Schools must review the information to ensure it is correct by 30th June each year.
Reviewing your annual report
Please take the following steps, starting with the oldest report form outstanding:
- Log into your account in the CRA online portal, (login guide)
- Locate your annual report (annual return guide)
- Review the information for each of the outstanding annual reports
- Declare that the information is correct and submit.
if you find information that is incorrect, you may simply correct it on the online form. As the information came from the FSSU, we would ask you to please contact us to correct our information also.
Video on Reviewing your annual report
Questions for CRA (Charities Regulatory Authority) should be referred to the CRA www.charitiesregulator.ie
Questions regarding the Charitable Donation Scheme should be directed to Revenue.
Follow the instructions in this Login Guide
Follow the instructions in Locate and File Your Annual Report guide
If you have a query that is not addressed in these FAQs, please email us at primary@fssu.ie.