Certificate in Charity Law and Governance

Overview

A must for anyone involved in the running of a charity, this Level 4 qualification will give you a solid grounding in all things law and governance. You'll come away with an understanding of the legal basis of your charity, the role of regulators, and how to ensure your charity meets its legal and regulatory requirements.

Open to everyone, you don’t need any previous qualifications to study the Certificate in Charity Law and Governance – just a passion for helping your charity meet its goals.

The next start date for this qualification is Monday 20th October 2025. Please make sure to complete your registration by Friday 10th October 2025.

Details

Format: Guided learning
Cost: £2,000
Duration: 8-9 Months (Next start Monday 20th October 2025)
Discount for CGIUKI members
Bursaries available
No previous qualifications needed
Affiliated membership eligible

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What you’ll learn

The structures and legal forms of charities
Compliance and regulation
Sources of income for charities
Charity law and compliance
Engaging and communicating with stakeholders
Stewardship of funds and assets

Suitable for

Anyone who has, or wants to have, governance or regulatory responsibilities in registered, exempt or excepted charities. It is also a good way to complement your knowledge if you’re studying for a charity finance qualification.

Charity Secretary or Clerk to the Board
Head of Finance or Finance Officer
Head of Governance
Company Secretary or assistant Company Secretary
Charity Director

Bursary

We’re proud to offer ten bursaries each year to cover 90% of the course fees supported by, the Chartered Secretaries’ Charitable Trust.

To apply for a bursary, your charity must:

Be registered with the Charity Commission
Have submitted its last three annual returns to the Commission on time
Have a gross annual income of less than £500,000 as an average over the last 3 years
Be able to cover the remaining 10% of the course fee.

Apply for bursary

Please submit applications by 30 June 2025. Successful applicants will be notified by 23 July 2025.

What you’ll get

Award: Level 4 Certificate, equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree
Registration, one exam and certification fees covered
Digital copies of the syllabus, materials and study text
17 live webinars
CGIUKI student membership throughout your course
MyCG access — online portal with past papers and mark schemes
Access to a community of practice with like-minded professionals via our online learning management portal
Eligible for CGIUKI affiliated membership upon completion

Content

The course is delivered through an online learning platform (LMS), where you can also ask questions and discuss topics with other students. There are live webinar events, which are recorded so you can catch up if you can’t watch them live. The course is divided into four modules, each covering different aspects of academy governance in the UK.

Modules
Module 1	Common across a number of our Level 4 certificates and covers core governance knowledge and skills. This will give students an in-depth grounding in the principles of good governance.
Module 2	Builds on the foundations from Module 1, introducing elements of legislation and governance specific to charitable organisations.
Module 3	Covers the role of the regulators including the Charity Commission and details the principles of the UK Charity Governance Code.
Module 4	Explains the different ways in which charitable organisations generate resources and funds.

Assessment

Successful completion of this course will be dependent on you passing the assessment. Your overall grade at the end of the course is made up of marks from two components:

A written assignment worth 60% of your overall result
A multiple-choice assessment worth 40% of your overall result

To pass the course and achieve the qualification, you will have to achieve a pass for the written assignment and a pass for the multiple-choice question exam.

What our past students have said

“Excellent delivery and provision of learning."

“Content was exactly what I was hoping for and has significantly aided my understanding of the sector."

“The webinars were clear and thorough. it was invaluable to listen back to them, the ones I missed and the ones I had attended."

“The webinars were very good and added 'meat to the bones' of the course material."

Apply Now

Log in or sign up for a free CGIUKI account to book your place on the Certificate in Charity Law and Governance.