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Publication duties
Irish registered charities file an annual report with the Charities Regulator within 10 months of the financial year end. That report declares compliance with the Charities Governance Code. No statute names a governance page. Section 46(7) sets what a registered charity must state. Code standard 6.1 asks for the charity name and Registered Charity Number on the website.
A reference note from Dan Malone, who builds software products.
The rule
“All charitable organisations are legally required to complete and submit an Annual Report to the Charities Regulator regarding their activities and financial affairs in the previous financial year.”
The facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Filing deadline | Charity trustees must submit the annual report not later than 10 months after each financial year end. The Authority can specify a longer period. Source |
| Worked date | A 31 December year end makes the annual report due on or before 31 October of the following year. Source |
| Where it is filed | The annual report form is completed and submitted through the charity MyAccount portal at the Charities Regulator. Source |
| Code declaration | Charities confirm their level of compliance with the Charities Governance Code when they submit the annual report. Source |
| Comply or explain | The Code runs on a comply-or-explain basis. A charity that does not comply is asked to explain why. Source |
| Compliance Record Form | To comply with the Code, a charity completes the Compliance Record Form every year and keeps it. The Regulator can ask for it at any time. Source |
| Website standard 6.1 | Core standard 6.1 asks charities to show the charity name and Registered Charity Number. It covers the website, social media and email. Source |
| Statutory publication duty | Section 46(7) requires a registered charitable organisation to state in legible characters that it is registered. The duty covers all public documents and other prescribed publications, including television and the internet. Source |
| Public timeliness marker | The Register of Charities shows green, amber or red for on-time, late or missing annual reports. It applies to reports due on or after 2 April 2025. Source |
| What becomes public | The contents of the annual report form are published on the public Register of Charities. Source |
| Offence on failure | A charitable organisation that is a body corporate and contravenes section 52 commits an offence. Each charity trustee also commits an offence. Source |
| Penalty range | On summary conviction: a fine up to EUR 5,000, or up to 12 months in prison, or both. On indictment: up to EUR 300,000, or up to 10 years, or both. Source |
The artefact
What goes wrong
/01
The annual report goes in after the 10-month date, so the Register entry shows a red marker to every visitor.
/02
The trading name on the website differs from the registered name. A donor cannot match the charity on the Register.
/03
The Registered Charity Number sits only in a footer image or a PDF. Search engines and screen readers miss it.
/04
The Compliance Record Form is never completed for the year, so nothing exists to give the Regulator on request.
/05
The governance page still shows the prior year accounts months after the new report was filed.
/06
Governance content is published only as PDF downloads. The pages are slow, unsearchable and hard to read on a phone.
/07
The complaints route is a generic contact form with no owner and no stated reply time.
Who supplies this
Free editable Compliance Record Form, Code checklist, minutes, risk register and annual plan templates from the regulator.
https://www.charitiesregulator.ie/en/information-for-charities/charities-governance-code/toolkit-and-templates
National association for Irish charities and community groups. Governance guidance and training.
https://www.wheel.ie/get-support/advice-guidance/governing-your-organisation/
Dublin-based support body for non-profits. Governance training, consultancy and Code implementation support.
https://www.carmichaelireland.ie/
Membership body for larger Irish charities. Governance, fundraising and compliance programmes.
https://www.charitiesinstituteireland.ie/
Trustee and board member recruitment for Irish non-profits. Useful where board composition rules bite.
https://www.boardmatchireland.ie/
Send the duty, the deadline and where it has to sit. What comes back is a written scope for the page, or a straight answer that you do not need one.
Send the briefLast checked 2026-09-01 · Published 2026-09-01
This page is reference material, not legal advice. Your advisor owns what applies to you.