Are You Prepared For The New Charity Regulations?

21 Jul 2025

New guidelines have been implemented in 2025 that will affect charities and social enterprises. Find out about each change and how to prepare for them below. 

Trustee Trasnparency

Charities are now required to provide OSCR with details about their trustees. Starting from early 2026, full charity accounts will begin to be publicly available on the Scottish Charity Register. Individual trustees will be able to apply for their name not to be published, but only where this might put safety or security in jeopardy. 

At the moment, you should:

• make sure all your charity trustees know about this change.
• gather the required information about all your charity’s trustees.
• make sure your charity has granted OSCR Online access to the appropriate individuals.

Changes to Publication of Charity Accounts

Currently, OSCR publishes accounts on the Scottish Charity Register for charities that meet certain criteria based on legal form and income, and redact any personal information about individuals in the accounts. Charities are required to provide their latest accounts upon request and may choose to share additional financial information on their own platforms.

From early 2026, every accounts document submitted to OSCR will be publicly available on the Scottish Charity Register for at least five years. These documents will be published exactly as received, and OSCR will no longer redact any personal information from these documents prior to publication.

At the moment, you should:

• carefully consider what information to include in your accounts before drafting them. Some personal data is required by the legislation, such as the names of charity trustees. However, you may want to consider if it is appropriate to include the names and images of other volunteers or beneficiaries.  
• make sure your accounts can easily be displayed online, with a PDF document being the most preferable option.
• consider adding digital or typed signatures, rather than handwritten.
• make sure that submitted information is accurate and on time – that’s the responsibility of the charity trustees.

 For support with charity accounting, check out OSCR's Charity Accounting Guidance. 

New Code of Fundraising Practice

The new Code of Fundraising Practice comes into effect from the 1st of November 2025.

The code has now moved to a principles-based approach, which makes it easier to apply the same high standards across different types of fundraising activity. Rather than overly prescriptive rules, the principles empower fundraisers to exercise good judgement in a wide range of scenarios – including new and emerging fundraising methods. The new code is also 45% shorter than the previous version, with improved signposting to legal requirements and external guidance. It also includes additional requirements that strengthen protections for fundraisers themselves. Fundraising organisations must now take reasonable steps to protect fundraisers from harm and harassment while fundraising and ensure that fundraisers feel supported and able to raise concerns. 

To support organizations in implementing the new code, the Fundraising Regulator have published a set of support guidelines covering three areas, which you can find links to below:

• Due Diligence
• Documenting Fundraising Decisions
• Monitoring Fundraising Partnerships