Which register confirms a charity is real?
The one the country runs, and it costs nothing to ask.
Five cover most donors. The United States has a federal register at the IRS and a separate one in almost every state. Britain has three, split by nation.
| Where the charity is | Register | What an entry means |
|---|---|---|
| United States, federal | Tax Exempt Organization Search | The IRS recognises it as tax-exempt and a gift is deductible. |
| United States, state | Your state charity regulator | It registered before asking that state's residents for money. |
| England and Wales | Register of Charities | The Charity Commission registered it. Trustees and finances are published. |
| Scotland | Scottish Charity Register | OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, holds its entry. |
| Northern Ireland | Charity search | The independent regulator for Northern Ireland registered it. |
None of them rates the charity. Each records that an organisation filed what the law required, which is the distinction every public record carries: the office publishes, and the reading is yours.
What does the IRS search actually confirm?
That an organisation appears on one of five lists, and nothing past that.
Tax Exempt Organization Search covers Publication 78 data, described as lists of organizations that can receive tax-deductible contributions, plus Form 990-series returns, the Form 990-N notice filed by organisations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, determination letters, and the auto-revocation list.
Each list carries its own date. Read on 4 August 2026, the Form 990 data was current to 2 June 2026, Publication 78 to 1 June, determination letters to 27 May and the revocation list to 12 May.
So the search answers a tax question. It tells you a deduction is allowed, not that the appeal in your inbox came from the organisation it names.
The revocation list in the same search box
An entry can be a warning rather than a reassurance.
The IRS states that organisations that do not file for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status. A revoked organisation is no longer exempt from federal income tax, has to file returns and pay it, and cannot receive tax-deductible contributions.
That list sits inside the same search as the approvals. The IRS updates it monthly and drops revoked names from Publication 78, while contributions made before a name appeared on the list stay deductible for the donor.
Read what the result says, then, rather than whether something came back. A body that has not filed for three years still exists; it is not one the IRS currently recognises.
A tin on a counter carries a name and a number. Both are checkable in a register that costs nothing, and almost nobody looks.
Which register covers a British charity?
One of three, depending on the nation.
The Charity Commission's register for England and Wales is searched by charity name, charity number or words in charity objects. GOV.UK says an entry shows the name and address, the trustees, the work and aims and the finances, and that charities with income below £5,000 are absent unless they registered voluntarily.
OSCR keeps a register of all charities in Scotland and says entries carry trustee names and accounts documents from 9 March 2026. Northern Ireland has its own regulator and its own search.
A fourth list answers a narrower question. The Fundraising Regulator's directory marks in green the organisations that registered with it, and in red those liable for its levy that have not paid.
The state registration most donors have never heard of
Federal recognition and state permission are different things.
The FTC puts it in one line: most states require the charity or its fundraiser to register to ask for donations. New York's Attorney General says charitable organisations operating in the state are required by law to register and file annual financial reports, and its search shows both.
California is the same shape. All charitable trustees and fundraising professionals must register and file annual financial disclosure reports with the state Registry, whose search tool returns a registrant's public filings.
Every state has such an office, and NASCO publishes the contacts for all fifty of them and the District of Columbia. That directory is the fastest route to yours, and an organisation soliciting in a state it never registered in has answered a question the appeal itself would not have raised.
What does a charity's Form 990 show?
Who runs it and where the money went, in the charity's own numbers.
The form itself is stamped Open to Public Inspection and warns filers not to enter social security numbers, as it may be made public. The IRS requires the return to be available for three years from its due date or its filing, whichever is later.
Part VII names officers, directors, trustees, key employees and the highest compensated employees, with what each was paid. Part IX splits every expense across four columns: total, program service, management and general, and fundraising.
Two limits sit on it. A charity need not disclose the name and address of any contributor, and the figures are the ones the charity filed. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer republishes the returns free.
Why does a disaster appeal need a different check?
Because it arrives before any register has heard of it.
The FTC describes the pattern in two sentences. Do not let anyone rush you into making a donation, because that is something scammers do, and some of them use names that sound a lot like the names of real charities.
The name is checkable against the registers above. So is the site, and a domain's registration date does not depend on the name at all — the domain checks are set out in full there.
The FTC's disaster advice is to give to charities you know and trust, with a proven track record in dealing with disasters. A track record, read from a register, is an entry with years behind it.
An appeal that cannot wait an hour. Every register here answers in under a minute, and a real charity is still there tomorrow. Urgency is the one feature of an appeal that argues against checking it.
How should you pay a charity?
Directly, and with something a third party can reverse.
The FTC is blunt about the instrument. If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card, or by wiring money, do not do it, because that is how scammers ask to be paid. Pay by credit card or cheque instead.
The route matters as much. The FTC advises giving through a charity's own website instead of through a crowdfunding page, which also reduces the chance of fees being taken out of the donation.
A crowdfunding campaign pays its organiser, who may not be close to whoever the appeal names and who decides how the money is spent. Donations to individuals are not tax deductible, even where the collector means to pass them on.
What DetectiveCheck does not check
Charities. It reads no charity register at all.
What it checks is identifiers: an email address against 71 sources, a handle against 71 platforms, a name against 13 registers and a number against eight sources, reporting where each one exists and where it does not.
That is the person side of an appeal rather than the organisation side. A fundraiser who approached you directly, whose accounts all appeared within the same fortnight, is a contradiction worth having before you give.
For the charity itself the registers above are the answer, and they cost nothing at all. A name run against public registers is the closest thing here to the same job, and it is not a substitute for the regulator's own file on the organisation.
Common questions
How do I check a charity before donating?
Search the register for the country asking you for money. In the United States that is the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, plus your state's charity regulator. In Britain it is the Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR for Scotland or the Northern Ireland regulator. All of them are free and return an answer in seconds.
Is the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search free?
Yes, and it needs no account. It searches five IRS databases at once: Publication 78 data on organisations that can receive tax-deductible contributions, Form 990-series returns, Form 990-N notices from small organisations, determination letters, and the auto-revocation list. Each database carries its own last-updated date on the page.
What does it mean if a charity is on the auto-revocation list?
It failed to file for three consecutive years and the IRS automatically revoked its tax-exempt status. It is no longer exempt from federal income tax, must file returns and pay tax, and cannot receive tax-deductible contributions. The IRS updates the list monthly. Gifts made before the name appeared remain deductible for the donor.
How do I check a UK charity's registration number?
Search the Charity Commission's register for England and Wales by name, number or words in the charity's objects. Scottish charities are on OSCR's register and Northern Irish ones on that regulator's search. An England and Wales entry shows the name and address, the trustees, the work and aims and the finances.
Do charities have to register in my US state?
Usually. The FTC states that most states require the charity or its fundraiser to register in order to ask for donations, which is separate from IRS recognition. New York requires registration and annual financial reports; California requires the same of charitable trustees and fundraising professionals. NASCO lists the office for every state.
Can I see a charity's accounts?
Yes, in both countries. A US charity's Form 990 is stamped Open to Public Inspection and must be available for three years from its due date or filing. The Charity Commission publishes finances on the register for England and Wales, and OSCR says its entries carry accounts documents from 9 March 2026.
What does a Form 990 tell me about a charity?
Part VII names the officers, directors, trustees, key employees and highest compensated employees, with what each was paid. Part IX splits every expense into four columns: total, program service, management and general, and fundraising. The charity need not disclose contributors' names, and the figures are the ones it filed.
How can I spot a fake disaster appeal?
Three things travel together: pressure to give immediately, a name one word away from a real charity, and a domain registered days ago. The FTC warns against being rushed and notes that scammers use names resembling real charities. Check the name in a register and the domain's creation date before paying anything.
Is it safe to donate through a crowdfunding page?
It carries risks a direct donation does not. The money goes to the campaign organiser, who may not be close to the person named and who controls how it is spent, and donations to individuals are not tax deductible. The FTC advises giving through a charity's own website instead, which also reduces fees.
Does DetectiveCheck verify charities?
No. It reads no charity register and makes no judgement about any organisation. It checks identifiers: an email address against 71 sources, a username against 71 platforms, a name against 13 registers and a phone number against eight. That is useful on the fundraiser who contacted you, not on the charity itself.
