A lot of the structure advice online is written for England and Wales, which doesn't quite fit if you're setting up in Scotland. So here's the Scottish version.

The go-to incorporated structure in Scotland is the SCIO — the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Like a company, it gives you limited liability and lets the organisation hold property and sign contracts in its own name. But it's regulated solely by OSCR, not Companies House — so one regulator and one annual return, rather than two sets of filings. That single-regulator simplicity is exactly why most new Scottish charities choose it.

A SCIO can be "single-tier," where the members and the charity trustees are the same people (simplest for a small group), or "two-tier," where you have a wider membership separate from the board (useful if you want your community to have a formal say). Worth deciding that early, as it shapes your constitution.

The main alternative is a charitable company (limited by guarantee), registered with both Companies House and OSCR — more admin and dual filing, but sometimes preferred where funders or lenders are more comfortable with companies. One knock-on: a charitable company's directors are caught by the new Companies House ID verification rules, whereas a SCIO's trustees aren't.

Two Scotland-specific things to remember: there's no income threshold — every Scottish charity has to pass OSCR's charity test and register from the outset — and a SCIO only legally exists once OSCR registers it, so allow time for that.

Rachel Wall ACG — chartered governance professional