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Introduction

Published: 02/04/2025
Updated: 25/02/2026

Charities make a big difference in all aspects of our society. Achieving this requires the hard work and commitment of thousands of charity trustees who give their time and energy to Scotland’s charities.

Charity trustees are the people who have general control and management of the charity and are responsible for making sure that the charity works to achieve its charity’s purposes (the reasons the charity exists).

The role of a charity trustee is extremely important and can be very rewarding. It is important for both you and your charity, that you know what your responsibilities are, and understand what you are expected to do. This guidance will help you do this.

What this guidance covers

The charity trustee duties are set out in The Charities and Trustee Investment(Scotland) Act 2005, referred to in this guidance as the 2005 Act. We, the Scottish Charity Regulator, are responsible for regulating charities registered in Scotland and their charity trustees. This guidance explains what the 2005 Act says charity trustees must do or must not do.

The guidance does not cover all the laws that might be applicable to your charity. It covers the legal duties of charity trustees set out in the2005 Act, with good practice recommendations and links to sources of advice.

As charities come in all different shapes and sizes, not everything in this guidance will apply to all charities registered in Scotland. In addition, many charities have to comply with other legislation and regulation, for example, charitable companies must also comply with company law.

Who is the guidance for?

This guidance is for:

  • Anyone who is a trustee of a charity registered in Scotland.
  • Anyone thinking of becoming a charity trustee.
  • People working with or advising charity trustees.

How to use the guidance

In this guidance, we explore the general duties and specific duties of charity trustees in the 2005 Act. We give you examples of how these might work and share good practice from our experience as Regulator and from organisations in the charity sector.

Legal requirements are something that the law says you must do and are highlighted by the 'Legal Duty' icon:

Good practice is not required by law but is something you could do to help to make sure that your charity is doing its best to comply. What is good practice for your charity might depend on the size or type of charity you are. In this guidance, we try to give examples of good practice that will be applicable to many Scottish charities.

The glossary provides you with further information, definitions and descriptions of some key terms. Clicking on these terms will take you straight to the glossary or the relevant section of the guidance.

The guidance is split into sections to help you find the information most relevant to you and your charity. 

Who are the charity trustees?

The people in charge of a charity and responsible for controlling its management and administration are its ‘charity trustees’. You may call yourselves a committee, a board, Directors or something less formal but the 2005 Act says you are the charity’s trustees and have legal responsibilities. 

Charity trustees are the people who control and manage a charity. They are responsible for complying with the law.

There is no minimum age for charity trustees stated in the 2005 Act; however, we would expect charity trustees to be over the age of 16. If any charity trustees are under the age of 16, it would be best to get professional advice to determine if this is suitable and if there are any legal implications. Some model governing documents or specific legal forms (such as a company) state the minimum age of a charity trustee.

The 2005 Act states that charity trustees are the people who have “the general control and management” of a charity. However, there can be situations where people who are not formally appointed as charity trustees can exercise influence and even control over a charity. For example, an elected member or employee of a local authority attends meetings of the charity trustees. The 2005 Act makes the following two points clear:

  1. Charity trustees are responsible for the charity and may not pass this responsibility onto anyone else as long as they remain a charity trustee.
  1. Any person who, though not formally elected or appointed as a charity trustee, exercises some degree of control over a charity, may still be held legally liable as a charity trustee.

Who cannot be a charity trustee?

Charity law states that the following criteria will automatically disqualify a person from acting as a charity trustee:

  • Unspent conviction for an offence involving dishonesty or an offence under the 2005 Act
  • Undischarged bankruptcy (sequestration)
  • Granting a Protected Trust Deed
  • Entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (England and Wales) to pay off debts with creditors
  • Being removed by a court from being a charity trustee
  • Being disqualified from being a company director

From 31 August 2025, the criteria was extended to include a wider range of offences and will also include people who undertake a senior management function within a charity, as well as charity trustees.

OSCR has the power to waive a disqualification if a person applies to us and meets the relevant criteria. This can be in relation to one particular charity or a type of charity. However, the person will remain disqualified unless / until we grant this waiver.

Guidance on the automatic disqualification criteria is available here.

Waivers

A disqualified person can apply to us for a waiver to lift the disqualification. You can do this in relation to a specific charity, type of charity or for charities in general. We will take into account all the circumstances when deciding if we can grant a waiver of disqualification. If you want to apply for a waiver please complete the application for waiver of disqualification as a charity trustee. 

What does being a charity trustee mean?

Being a charity trustee means you are fully responsible for how your charity is run and what it does. It does not necessarily mean running the charity on a day to day basis and making operational decisions. Your charity might have volunteers or staff that do this.

All the charity trustees share responsibility

All of the group of charity trustees have charity trustee duties - no matter how small your charity is. A duty is something that you must do. The group shares the responsibility equally. No individual charity trustee, for example the Chair or Treasurer, has more responsibility than the other charity trustees do. We call this collective responsibility.

See the section on charity trustee duties for more details.

How many charity trustees should your charity have?

Your charity’s governing document may set a minimum and/or maximum number of charity trustees needed and the minimum number required for a quorum. A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) must have at least three charity trustees as stated in the SCIO Regulations. For other legal forms the law does not set a minimum number of charity trustees, but it is good practice to have at least three.

Sources of help, advice and best practice

Legal note

Here we set out the specific sections of charity law in Scotland relevant to each part of the guidance.  

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