A Charitable Incorporated Organisation, or CIO, is a new legal form for a charity.

A CIO:

• is an incorporated form of charity which is not a company
• only has to register with the Charity Commission and not Companies House
• is only created once it is registered by the Commission
• can enter into contracts in its own right and its trustees will normally have limited or no liability for the debts of the CIO

The CIO was created in response to requests from charities for a new structure which could provide some of the benefits of being a company, but without some of the burdens.

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