In general, an unincorporated association is an association of two or more individuals who have come together to carry out a shared purpose.
An unincorporated association has an identifiable membership which is bound together by identifiable rules or an agreement between the members. These rules set out how the unincorporated association is to be run and managed.
Sometimes the rules might be formalised, for example in a written constitution. However, they do not need to be formalised.
For example, members’ clubs are sometimes unincorporated associations.
What makes an unincorporated association permissible?
An unincorporated association is permissible if:
it has more than one member
the main office is in the UK
it is carrying on business or other activities in the UK1
You must be sure that the unincorporated association meets all three criteria.
How do you check permissibility?
There is no register of unincorporated associations. Permissibility for unincorporated associations therefore must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
If you are not sure that an association meets the criteria, you should consider whether the donation is actually from individuals within it (rather than the association) or if someone within the association is acting as an agent for others.
If you think this is the case, you must check the permissibility of all individuals who have contributed more than £50 and treat them as the donors.
You must ensure that the unincorporated association has more than one member and has its main office in the UK.
You must check that the unincorporated association is carrying on business or other activities in the UK.
If an unincorporated association makes political donations amounting to more than £37,270 in a calendar year, you should make them aware that they have to report this to us. Please see our website for more information on unincorporated associations.
If you would like further advice on checking the permissibility of unincorporated associations in specific cases, please contact us.