🔎 UK Charity Eligibility Lookup — Charity Commission register

Is this charity number real, still registered, and how big is it? One charity_check row per England & Wales charity number you supply, answered from the Charity Commission's own register data: registered name, status (registered / removed / not on the register), date registered and date removed, latest income and expenditure with the financial year end, charity type, reporting status, company number, CIO / insolvency / administration / Gift Aid flags, website and postcode, and the link to the register page. Built for grant-makers, corporate donation teams, payroll-giving and matching programmes, auditors and anyone who must check a charity number before money moves.

Three sources, one register. The actor reads the Charity Commission's daily register extract first (the Commission's own published file of every registered and removed charity), so every number in a batch is answered from one download and the run does not depend on the register website being up. When a number is absent from the extract, or the extract itself cannot be read, the actor tries the live register website, then the open-data mirror findthatcharity.uk. Every row says which source answered (source) and, for the extract, the extract date (as_of).

Why this changed. On 2026-09-17/18 the register website answered 502 for a day; the previous version of this actor could only read that website, so it failed every run. The extract lives on a separate address that kept answering, and it carries more fields than the web page.

Output is one charity_check row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one completed eligibility check (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.05 per completed eligibility check). Source: ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, findthatcharity.uk.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run INPvvUIyAfpGjvff4 on build 0.1.12 (2026-09-18), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

registered_name	status	total_income_gbp	total_expenditure_gbp	financial_year_end	date_registered
CANCER RESEARCH UK	registered	734753802	714723789	2025-03-31	2001-11-23
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF WELLINGTON ALL SAINTS WITH EYTON (ST.C	registered	307783	301902	2025-12-31	2011-03-07
OXFAM	registered	339366903	362636196	2025-03-31	1965-09-07

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: 3 checked (0 unavailable, 0 unparseable) of 3 | sources: charity_commission_extract | extract as of 2026-09-18 | charity-check billable=3 | charity-check charged=3

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string) — e.g. charity_check
• input (string/null) — e.g. 1089464
• charity_number (string/null) — e.g. 1089464
• on_register (boolean/null) — e.g. True
• registered_name (string/null) — e.g. CANCER RESEARCH UK
• status (string/null) — e.g. registered
• total_income_gbp (integer/null) — e.g. 734753802
• total_expenditure_gbp (integer/null) — e.g. 714723789
• financial_year_end (string/null) — e.g. 2025-03-31
• date_registered (string/null) — e.g. 2001-11-23
• date_removed (string/null) — null in every sample row
• charity_type (string/null) — e.g. Charitable company
• reporting_status (string/null) — e.g. Submission Received
• company_number (string/null) — e.g. 04325234
• is_cio (boolean/null) — e.g. False
• insolvent (boolean/null) — e.g. False
• in_administration (boolean/null) — e.g. False
• gift_aid (boolean/null) — e.g. True
• website (string/null) — e.g. www.cancerresearchuk.org
• postcode (string/null) — e.g. E20 1JQ
• org_id (string/null) — e.g. 3987102
• detail_url (string/null) — e.g. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/chari
• source (string/null) — e.g. charity_commission_extract
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net/data/txt/publicextract.cha
• as_of (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18
• unavailable_reason (string/null) — null in every sample row

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "charityNumbers": [
    "1089464",
    "1140711",
    "202918"
  ]
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 3 × $0.05 charity-check = $0.17 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed.

2. A number that is not on the register

{
  "charityNumbers": ["1089464", "9999999"]
}

9999999 is on neither the extract nor the live sources, so its row comes back on_register: false, status: not_registered — a completed, billed check (that is the answer). Checked live 2026-09-18: the extract had no row and findthatcharity answered 404.

3. A batch with untidy inputs

{
  "charityNumbers": ["1089464-0", " 202918 ", "not a number"]
}

Sub-numbers and spaces are stripped (1089464-0 → 1089464); an input with no digits is delivered as charity_unavailable with unavailable_reason: unparseable_charity_number and is not billed. Up to 200 numbers per run.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run INPvvUIyAfpGjvff4, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "charity_check",
  "input": "1089464",
  "charity_number": "1089464",
  "on_register": true,
  "registered_name": "CANCER RESEARCH UK",
  "status": "registered",
  "total_income_gbp": 734753802,
  "total_expenditure_gbp": 714723789,
  "financial_year_end": "2025-03-31",
  "date_registered": "2001-11-23",
  "date_removed": null,
  "charity_type": "Charitable company",
  "reporting_status": "Submission Received",
  "company_number": "04325234",
  "is_cio": false,
  "insolvent": false,
  "in_administration": false,
  "gift_aid": true,
  "website": "www.cancerresearchuk.org",
  "postcode": "E20 1JQ",
  "org_id": "3987102",
  "detail_url": "https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3987102",
  "source": "charity_commission_extract",
  "source_url": "https://ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net/data/txt/publicextract.charity.zip",
  "as_of": "2026-09-18",
  "unavailable_reason": null
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, findthatcharity.uk — endpoints: https://ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net/data/txt/publicextract.charity.zip, https://findthatcharity.uk/orgid/GB-CHC-, https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search, https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/register/full-register-download. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent. Pacing: RATE_PER_SEC=1.5.

Charging. Each completed eligibility check is charged at the moment it is pushed (charity-check); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

Source 1 — the register extract. https://ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net/data/txt/publicextract.charity.zip, the Charity Commission's daily full-register download (linked from https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/register/full-register-download, Open Government Licence). About 45 MB, ~400,000 rows, Registered and Removed charities both included; the actor downloads it once per run and keeps only the main rows (linked charities excluded) for the numbers you asked about. A number absent from the extract was not on the register as of the extract date.

Source 2 — the live register website. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search search then the charity's full-print detail page, paced at 1.5 requests per second with a contact User-Agent, three attempts on a 5xx. Used when the extract cannot be read, and to confirm a number the extract does not list (a charity registered since the extract date shows here).

Source 3 — findthatcharity.uk. https://findthatcharity.uk/orgid/GB-CHC-<number>.json, an open-data mirror of the same Commission data refreshed daily; a 404 there means the number is not on the register. Used only when the first two do not answer.

What counts as a completed check. A number that resolves to a charity (registered or removed) is a check. A number that is provably not on the register is a check — that is the answer. A number no source could answer is delivered as charity_unavailable with unavailable_reason and is never charged. An unparseable input (no digits) is delivered unbilled. A run in which no number could be checked fails loud and charges nothing.

Batch size. Up to 200 numbers per run; the extract answers them all from one download, so a batch of 200 costs the same download as a batch of 1.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Completed eligibility check (charity-check)	$0.05	$0.04	$0.04	$0.03

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 3 completed eligibility checks: $0.02 start + 3 × $0.05 = $0.17
• 25 completed eligibility checks: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.05 = $1.27
• 100 completed eligibility checks: $0.02 start + 100 × $0.05 = $5.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 1024 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: 3 checked (0 unavailable, 0 unparseable) of 3 | sources: charity_commission_extract | extract as of 2026-09-18 | charity-check billable=3 | charity-check charged=3.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, findthatcharity.uk. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, findthatcharity.uk) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows or fail?
A: Read the run's status message. A run fails loud when no number could be checked by any of the three sources (an outage everywhere) or when no input contained a charity number; either way no charity-check is billed and only the start fee applies. A charity_unavailable row inside an otherwise normal run names the reason in unavailable_reason and is not billed.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run downloads the Charity Commission's register extract at run time; nothing is cached between runs. The extract is the Commission's daily file, so a registration or removal made today can lag by up to a day — each row carries as_of, the extract date. A number the extract does not list is confirmed on the live register or findthatcharity.uk when they answer, so a charity registered since the extract date still resolves.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other company registry checks actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net, register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk, findthatcharity.uk. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source (RATE_PER_SEC=1.5); there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Fewer rows than expected → the source had fewer items in scope → widen the input.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

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