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Publication duties
Charities Act 2009 section 46(7) applies to all public documents, including the internet. A registered charity must state there that it is a registered charitable organisation. The Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 adds the Register name and the registration number, after a commencement order. Street and door appeals also need a Garda collection permit.
A reference note from Dan Malone, who builds software products.
The rule
“A registered charitable organisation shall, in all public documents and such other publications as may be prescribed, including on television or the internet, state in legible characters— ( a ) that it is a registered charitable organisation”
The facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Where the charity statement must appear | Section 46(7) covers all public documents and other prescribed publications, including television and the internet. The text must be in legible characters. Source |
| Extra detail the Minister can prescribe | Section 46(7)(b) lets regulations require more information in the same place. The Act names the charity trustees and the address of the principal office. Section 15 of the 2024 Act moves this power into a new paragraph (e). Source |
| Register name and number, once commenced | Section 15 of the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 inserts section 46(7)(c), (d) and (e), adding the Register name and number. Each section needs a commencement order signed by the Minister. The first order, S.I. No. 10 of 2025, took effect on 27 January 2025. The Law Reform Commission marks the change as not commenced. Source |
| Unregistered bodies cannot look like charities | Section 46(2) applies to a body that is not a registered charitable organisation. It is an offence for that body to describe itself, or its activities. This covers a notice, advertisement, promotional literature or other published material. The test is whether the description would cause the public to reasonably believe it is a charity. Source |
| Annual report deadline | A charity must submit its annual report within 10 months of its financial year end. A 31 December year end gives a 31 October deadline the following year. Source |
| The public Register shows the filing record | A green tick means the report arrived on time. Amber means late. Red means not submitted. The symbols apply to reports due on or after 2 April 2025. Source |
| Failure to file is an offence | Section 52(7) makes a charitable organisation that is a body corporate guilty of an offence. Section 52(8) makes each charity trustee guilty of an offence. Source |
| Street and door appeals need a permit | Section 3 of the Street and House to House Collections Act 1962 makes an unauthorised collection an offence. Section 5(3) sets the cash-collection window. An application must come not more than 6 months and not less than 14 days before the first collection day. Source |
| Card and direct debit pledge drives count | Section 93 of the Charities Act 2009 defines a non-cash collection. It is solicitation in a public place, or by house to house visits. The solicitation seeks pledges to pay by credit card, direct debit mandate, standing order or similar device. The same section states that money includes payment by electronic transfer. Source |
| Collection boxes and collectors carry the number | Section 94 requires a cash collection box to bear the number in the collection permit. The box must also bear the charity name and registered number, in a prominent and clearly legible manner. A non-cash collector must wear a garment that shows the charity name and registered number. Source |
| Regulator guidance on donor-facing detail | The Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public cover donor-facing detail. Fundraisers should carry clearly visible identification. It shows the fundraiser name, the charity name, the logo, contact details and the Registered Irish Charity Number (RCN). Trustees must make sure the charity describes the purpose of any fundraising accurately. Source |
| Pledge drive application window | For a pledge drive, section 5A(3) of the 1962 Act applies. It was inserted by section 93 of the Charities Act 2009. The window is not more than 12 months and not less than 14 days. Source |
The artefact
What goes wrong
/01
The appeal page shows only a logo and a CHY number. The Register name and the RCN are absent.
/02
The charity statement sits in the homepage footer only. The donation page and the campaign microsite carry nothing.
/03
The donate button sends people to a third-party platform page that carries platform branding and drops the charity identifiers.
/04
The annual report misses the 10-month deadline. The Register record turns amber or red while the appeal is live.
/05
The permit application goes in less than 14 days before the first day of a street or door pledge drive. The standard window is missed, so the drive now depends on a late grant by the Commissioner.
/06
A card or direct debit pledge drive is treated as marketing, not as a non-cash collection. Nobody applies for a permit.
/07
A restricted appeal raises more than the target, and the page never said what happens to the excess.
/08
Trustee names and the office address go stale after a board change, because nobody owns the page.
/09
The required text is set inside an image, or in tiny grey type, so it fails the legible characters test.
/10
The page has no complaints route, so a donor query goes to a generic inbox and gets no response.
Who supplies this
Irish fundraising platform. Hosts donation pages for charities and causes, plus event, club and raffle pages.
https://www.idonate.ie
Campaign platform for charities. Builds branded appeal and peer-to-peer pages; states 3,500+ charities use it.
https://www.raisely.com
Donation form and campaign page tool. Embeds a donation form and a progress total into an existing site.
https://donorbox.org
Irish sector body. Runs the Triple Lock standard and fundraising and SORP courses for member charities.
https://charitiesinstitute.ie
Irish representative body for charities and community groups. Publishes fundraising guidance for members.
https://www.wheel.ie
Statutory regulator. Publishes the fundraising guidelines, the Governance Code and the public Register of Charities.
https://www.charitiesregulator.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.