A community interest company (CIC) is a limited company, so its website has to show the same basic company details as any other UK company: its registered name, its registered number, the part of the UK where it is registered, and its registered office address. A non-public CIC must also say that it is a limited company. Most CIC websites meet all of this with one tidy footer block, which we have written out for you below.
This is general information, not legal advice. If your situation is unusual, check with Companies House, the CIC Regulator or a solicitor.
What the law actually requires on a CIC website
Two regulations do the work here. They are in the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/17), and they apply to companies generally, CICs included.
Regulation 24: your registered name. Every company must disclose its registered name on its websites. For a CIC, the registered name is the full name on the register, ending in "Community Interest Company" or "CIC" (the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, section 33, also allows Welsh equivalents for Welsh companies).
Regulation 25: the further particulars. Every company must also show these on its websites:
- the part of the United Kingdom in which the company is registered (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland);
- the company's registered number;
- the address of its registered office; and
- for a community interest company which is not a public company, the fact that it is a limited company.
Regulation 25 has some extra items that will not apply to most CICs (for example, investment companies must say so). If your CIC shows its share capital anywhere on the site, regulation 25(3) says it must be the paid-up share capital.
Regulation 20: it must be legible. Any display or disclosure required by that part of the regulations must be in characters that can be read with the naked eye. In practice: no tiny pale grey text that vanishes on a phone.
What happens if you do not. Under regulation 28, a company that fails without reasonable excuse to comply with these requirements commits an offence, and so does every officer in default. The penalty on summary conviction is a fine (up to level 3 on the standard scale, plus a daily default fine for continued contravention). In practice most breaches are simply oversights, and the fix takes five minutes.
Where on the site to put it
The law says your website must disclose these details. It does not say which page. The widely used pattern, and the one we recommend, is the footer of every page, because then nobody can miss it and you never have to remember to add it to a new page. If your footer is crowded, put the full block on your Contact or About page and keep the registered name and company number in the footer.
Practical points:
- Use the name exactly as it appears on the register, including "CIC" or "Community Interest Company". A friendly trading name is fine alongside it, but do not replace the registered name.
- Check the registered office address on Companies House. It is the address on the public register, which may be a solicitor's, accountant's or committee member's address rather than where you meet. Copy it from the register, not from memory.
- Update the footer when something changes. If you move registered office, change the footer on the same day you file the change.
A footer block you can copy
Replace the bracketed parts with your own details from Companies House.
[Registered name] CIC is a community interest company and a limited company, registered in [England and Wales / Scotland / Northern Ireland], company number [8 digits]. Registered office: [full registered office address].
If your name ends "Community Interest Company" rather than "CIC", write it that way. If you are a public CIC (rare for community groups), the "limited company" statement works differently, so check regulation 25 and Companies House guidance before copying this.
What you do not have to put on the website
People often over-worry here, so it is worth being clear.
- The CIC34 report. Directors of a CIC must prepare an annual community interest report (form CIC34) and file it with the company's accounts, and the 2004 Act requires it to be delivered to the registrar. We found no rule saying it must be on your own website. Linking to it is good practice if you want to show your community benefit.
- The asset lock or community interest statement. The asset lock is compulsory for every CIC and cannot be removed, but we found no rule that you must mention it on your website. Many CICs choose to say a sentence about their community purpose and that profits and assets are used for community benefit, because it builds trust. That is optional.
- A list of directors. The director-names rule (regulation 26) is about business letters, not websites. If you name your directors online, that is your choice, and your privacy notice should cover it.
The other things a CIC website usually needs
Company disclosure is only one layer. Two others apply to almost every CIC website that collects anything from visitors:
- A privacy notice, because the moment you have a contact form, a mailing list or a booking form you are handling personal data. We have a plain-English privacy policy template and a GDPR guide for small clubs and charities.
- Cookie consent, if your site sets anything beyond the essentials. Our guide to whether a small club or charity website needs a cookie banner explains the current rules.
There is one more question CICs ask: do we have to pay the ICO data protection fee? It depends on what personal data you handle and how, and that page walks through the exemptions and the current fees.
For a broader, budget-friendly build list, see our zero-budget checklist for charity and CIC websites.
If you are also a registered charity
A CIC is not a charity just because it serves the community. If you are genuinely registered with a charity regulator, charity law adds its own wording on top of company law, and it differs by nation:
- England and Wales: Charities Act 2011, section 39 applies to a registered charity whose gross income in its last financial year exceeded £10,000. It requires the fact that it is a registered charity to be stated in legible characters on, among other things, notices, advertisements and other documents soliciting money or property for the charity. A donations page is the obvious place to do it. Check the Charity Commission guidance for the current position, as the thresholds can change.
- Scotland: OSCR guidance says a charity on the Scottish Charity Register must show its registered name, any working name, its Scottish charity number and the fact it is a charity (if the name does not make that clear) on the home page of its website and on other external documents.
- Northern Ireland: check the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland for what it requires.
If you are not a registered charity, do not display a charity number or say "registered charity".
Where Natterio fits
Natterio sites include a footer you can edit freely, so adding the block above takes a minute, and every site has cookie consent and a contact form. The free plan is permanent (three pages, no card needed) and paid plans start at £7 a month. Natterio does not make a CIC compliant by itself: the legal details above are your company's to supply and keep up to date. If you are starting from scratch, build your CIC's website free.
Sources and last checked 30 Oct 2026
- Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015, regulations 20, 24, 25 and 28: legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/17
- Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, sections 33 and 34: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/27/section/33
- Community Interest Companies Guidance (CIC Regulator, GOV.UK, updated 4 April 2025): gov.uk CIC guidance
- Charities Act 2011, section 39: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/25/section/39
- OSCR, Publicising that you are a charity (updated 23 July 2026): oscr.org.uk