Power to direct a change of name

Clauses 25 to 28 extend the Charity Commission’s powers to direct a change of name if it is too similar to an existing charity. The bill extends this power to include the working names of charities. It will also allow the Charity Commission to delay the registration of a charity until the name has been changed.

This power is welcome, and if used appropriately, will help ensure new charities that have inadvertently used a name that is too similar to an existing charity will be able to address this issue prior to registration. As well as reducing the possibility that there is confusion between an established charity and a newly registered charity with a similar name.

This page was last reviewed for accuracy on 19 July 2021