Charities, social enterprises and B Corps are not the same thing

They get talked about as one sector. They are different legal animals with different regulators, different filing and different tax, and picking the wrong one is expensive to undo.

The short answer

A charity exists only for charitable purposes for the public benefit, is run by trustees who are generally unpaid, and answers to a charity regulator.
A CIO is a charity with limited liability that registers only with the Charity Commission. No Companies House.
A charitable company is a company that is also a charity, so it files with Companies House and the Charity Commission. Two rulebooks.
A CIC is a company with a lock on its assets. It is not a charity, it pays corporation tax, and it can pay its directors.
A B Corp is not a legal structure at all. It is a certification a for-profit company earns and has to keep earning.

The six structures

Registered charity

Purposes must be exclusively charitable and for public benefit. Run by trustees, who are generally unpaid. Registration is required in England and Wales once income passes £5,000. Accounts under the Charities SORP, with independent examination or audit depending on size.

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)

A charity with the protection of limited liability, registered only with the Charity Commission. No Companies House filing at all. Two forms: the foundation model, where the trustees are the only members, and the association model, which has a wider membership.

Charitable company

A company limited by guarantee that is also a registered charity. It files at Companies House and with the Charity Commission, and its trustees are also company directors. More administration than a CIO, and still the right answer for some.

Community Interest Company (CIC)

A company that exists to benefit the community, regulated by the CIC Regulator inside Companies House. It has an asset lock, so on dissolution its assets go to another asset-locked body. It files a CIC34 community interest report with its accounts. It is not a charity, it pays corporation tax, and it can pay its directors.

Co-operatives and community benefit societies

Member-owned and member-run, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority rather than Companies House. A community benefit society runs for the wider community; a co-operative runs for its members.

B Corp

A certification, not a structure. Any for-profit company that has traded for at least twelve months can go for it, including a CIC. Under B Lab's new standards you have to meet mandatory requirements and evidence them across seven impact topics, verified by an independent assurance provider. The certificate lasts five years with an audit at year three.

What to weigh up

A CIC is not a charity and never becomes one by accident. No Gift Aid, no charity rate relief, no charitable tax exemptions. It pays corporation tax on its profits. What it does get is the ability to pay its directors and to trade freely.
The asset lock is permanent. It is the point of a CIC and it cannot be unwound. Anyone hoping to build value they can one day take out should not be forming one.
B Corp certification is not a badge you buy. It requires a change to your articles of association, evidence across the whole business, and doing it again every few years. It is a commitment rather than a marketing exercise.

Becoming a trustee

Trustees carry ultimate responsibility for a charity, act together as a board, and are personally accountable for decisions the board takes.

What the job actually is

The Charity Commission sets out six duties, from carrying out the purposes to managing resources responsibly. Read the guide.

If you are the treasurer

The board's financial responsibility does not transfer to you, but making sure they can discharge it does. Read the guide.

Which accounts you have to file

Set by your income, and most of the thresholds are changing on 1 October 2026. Read the guide.

Reserves

How to work out your free reserves and write a policy your funders accept. Read the guide.

Managing volunteers

Recruiting them, keeping them, and paying expenses without accidentally creating an employment relationship. Read the guide.

Finding trustees

Recruiting a board with the skills you are missing rather than the people you already know. Reach Volunteering and Getting on Board both do this free.

Free help, from other organisations

Regulators, membership bodies and support organisations, and what each one covers.

Charity Commission for England and Wales — Registering a charity, trustee guidance, the annual return and the register itself.
OSCR — The Scottish Charity Regulator. Different rules, different thresholds, its own register.
Charity Commission for Northern Ireland — The regulator for Northern Ireland charities.
Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies — Forming a CIC, the community interest statement, the asset lock and the CIC34.
Companies House — Where every company files, including charitable companies and CICs.
NCVO — Practical guidance for voluntary organisations, and the standard reference on governance.
Social Enterprise UK — The membership body for social enterprises, with the clearest plain-English explainers.
B Lab UK — B Corp certification: the standards, what the process involves and what it costs.
Getting on Board — Recruiting trustees, and training for people becoming one for the first time.
Reach Volunteering — Free trustee recruitment and skilled volunteers.
Charity Excellence — Free funding finder, governance health checks and a large library of templates.
Social Value International — The Principles of Social Value, SROI practitioner training and assurance.

Questions

We want to do good and make money. Charity or CIC?

If the surplus needs to be able to reward the people who built it, or you want to pay yourself properly as a director, a CIC is usually the answer. If the work is purely charitable and you want Gift Aid, rate relief and the tax exemptions, it is a charity. The asset lock decides most of these conversations.

Can we be a CIC and a B Corp?

Yes. B Corp certification applies to for-profit companies, and a CIC is a company. Several UK CICs are certified B Corps.

Is a CIO better than a charitable company?

For most small charities, yes, because it is one registration and one set of filing instead of two. A charitable company still suits organisations with complex membership, trading subsidiaries or funders who expect a company number.

We are already the wrong structure. Can we change?

Usually. A CIC can convert to a charitable company. An unincorporated charity can incorporate as a CIO. None of it is quick and all of it needs the regulator, so it is worth being certain before you start.

Do we need a solicitor?

For a standard CIO or CIC on a model constitution, generally not. For anything with a trading subsidiary, property, or a bespoke constitution, yes.