Trustee Eligibility Checks
Checking people are eligible to be Trustees
When recruiting volunteers to your Trustee Board, you’ll need to check that they’re eligible to be Trustees. These checks apply to all Trustees.
Completing eligibility checks
If you have a team or volunteer who’s responsible for admin support, they can do these checks on behalf of the Trustee Board. For more information on Trustee Board administration and organisation, see Moving to Trustee Boards.
The process of completing the checks is different depending on where your charity is located.
To see if a volunteer can be a Trustee, you’ll need to check that they’re not on any of the following registers:
If they appear on one or more of these registers, they’re not able to be a Trustee.
These checks have been required since January 2024. Legal requirements can change, so make sure to read the England and Wales Charity Commissions guidance for the latest information on Trustee eligibility.
For British Scouts Overseas Groups and Districts, you’ll need to follow the regulations for your local regulator.
To see if a volunteer can be a Trustee, you’ll need to check that they’re not on any of the following registers:
If they appear on one or more of these registers, they’re not able to be a Trustee.
These checks have been required since June 2025. Legal requirements can change, so make sure to read the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) guidance for the latest information on Trustee eligibility.
To see if a volunteer can be a Trustee, you’ll need to check that they’re not on either of the following registers:
If they appear on one or more of these registers, they’re not able to be a Trustee.
These checks have been required since January 2024. Legal requirements can change, so make sure to read the Northern Ireland Charity Commission’s guidance for the latest information on Trustee eligibility.
To check if someone can be a Trustee, follow the advice from your relevant charity regulator.
Recording Trustee eligibility checks
New Trustees
The Chair or Lead Volunteer will need to record the outcome of the checks in the Trustee’s profile in My Membership. Read the record Trustee Eligibility Checks digital tool guide to find out more.
After the Annual General Meeting
It’s good practice to recheck Trustee’s eligibility annually and record the outcome in the minutes of the first Trustee Board meeting.
For example:
On [Date], [Full Name] reported that searches were made of the Individual Insolvency Register, Register of disqualifications, and Register of removed charity Trustees. They checked for all Trustees and confirmed they're eligible to be Trustees.