How to check if a charity is legitimate? A complete guide for any country

A legitimate charity passes three separate checks

Checking a charity means answering three different questions: does it legally exist, does it disclose how it is run, and does its work help. Official registers answer the first, public filings and disclosures the second, and independent impact evaluators the third, for the small number of charities they review.

Most checklists stop at the first question, but a registered charity can still be badly run. To check charity legitimacy properly, run all three:

How to check if a charity is registered in its own country

Ask for the charity's exact legal name and registration number, then search that number in the official register of the country where the charity is registered, not where you live. A match on name, number, address and active status confirms that the organization legally exists, and nothing more.

How to verify a charity, in five steps:

1. Get the registration number. Genuine fundraising materials show it (Fundraising Regulator). If you cannot find it, ask.
2. Find the register that issued it, in the charity's home country. See the table below or GiveRadar's official charity registers by country.
3. Search by number, not by name. Fake fundraisers use names that sound like well-known charities (FTC).
4. Check the charity status: active, with a name, address and latest filing date that match what you were told.
5. Contact the charity through the register, not through the appeal's details (ACNC).

In the United States, also check the state charity regulator: most states require charities and their fundraisers to register (FTC).

Where to check a charity's registration, country by country

Every public charity register gives organizations an identifier you can search, such as the EIN in the United States, the charity number in England and Wales, the ABN in Australia and the RSIN in the Netherlands. The table lists the official register and the identifier to ask for in eight countries across five regions.

Sources: GiveRadar data sources and methodology.

For other countries, look for the national charity regulator, NGO bureau or tax authority, or browse charities by country.

Why a charity missing from a public register is not automatically a scam

In several countries a genuine charity can be absent from a public register: registration is optional in Australia, charities with under £5,000 in annual income do not have to register in England and Wales, and US churches are tax-exempt without applying. In other countries the register exists but publishes little or nothing.

Those rules come from the ACNC, the Charity Commission and the IRS. Among UK charities, exempt charities, such as many universities, national museums and academy trusts, cannot register at all because they answer to another regulator (CC23), and excepted charities need not register below an income limit (CC21b). For small local causes, the Charity Commission advises contacting them directly.

Registers also differ in what they show. GiveRadar's Global Charity Register Transparency Index 2026 scored the official registers of 76 countries. Six reached 100; in 13 countries scoring under 20, the public sees nothing. A selection:

• United States: 100
• United Kingdom: 92
• Netherlands: 73
• Germany: 49
• Philippines: 43
• Indonesia: 30
• Vietnam: 0

Those scores describe government data policy and say nothing about the charities themselves. Whether a charity you cannot find is still legitimate depends on the country. Where registration is mandatory and public, a missing entry is a serious warning sign: a US 501(c)(3) asking for tax-deductible gifts, other than a church, should appear in the IRS search.

What to do when a country has no public charity register

Ask the charity for its registration certificate and the name of the authority that issued it, then confirm the number with that authority using contact details you find yourself. Where that is not possible, look for evidence you can verify independently, such as an address, named staff, recent reports and partners who can confirm the work.

These steps are practical diligence rather than an official procedure, but they follow the same logic as a register check: confirm the claim at its source, never through the charity's own channels. If you cannot verify the charity directly, you can still support the cause through an established organization with local partners that you can verify.

Registers, tax status and quality seals tell you different things

A charity register confirms legal status, a tax register confirms that gifts are tax-deductible, and a quality seal shows that an independent body has reviewed the charity against its own standards. Because seals come from independent bodies and not from the law, a charity without one has not failed a legal requirement.

When you verify a charity organization, keep the three apart:

• Legal registers confirm charity status, such as the Charity Commission register or the ACNC Charity Register.
• Tax registers confirm deductibility, such as the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search or the Dutch ANBI check. The ANBI check says nothing about quality.
• Quality seals and standards include CBF-Erkend in the Netherlands, issued by the CBF, which describes itself as an independent foundation, not a government regulator. Others are BBB Wise Giving Alliance standards (AARP), Germany's DZI Spenden-Siegel (GiveRadar) and the UK Fundraising Badge, a commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice (Donate with Confidence).

A seal is useful extra evidence, but its absence says nothing on its own.

How to check a charity's transparency and governance

Look at what the charity discloses rather than what it claims: current filings, named leaders or trustees, published financial statements and working contact details. A charity that files on time and names the people in charge can be held to account, while one that discloses nothing cannot.

Run through this checklist:

• The latest filing on the register is recent. Several years without one deserves a question.
• The board, trustees or officers are named, and executive pay is disclosed where the register asks for it.
• An annual report or financial statements are published.
• The website, address, email and phone number match the register entry.
• You are not judging the charity on its overhead ratio alone.

Many guides lean on that last point. Rating sites use program-spending thresholds: according to AARP, BBB Wise Giving Alliance standards require at least 65% of the budget to go to programs, four-star Charity Navigator charities typically reach 70% or more, and CharityWatch's top-rated charities 75% or more.

Yet in 2013 the leaders of BBB Wise Giving Alliance, GuideStar and Charity Navigator wrote jointly that overhead is a poor measure of a charity's performance (Overhead Myth letter). They noted that at the extremes it can help root out fraud or poor financial management, but that many charities should spend more on overhead, such as training, planning, evaluation and internal systems. More on why the overhead ratio is a weak signal.

How to judge whether a charity's work is effective

Registration and transparency do not show whether a charity's programs work. Impact evaluators such as GiveWell assess evidence, cost-effectiveness and room for more funding, but they review a small number of programs, so for most charities you will need to ask for outcome data yourself.

GiveWell also weighs transparency, and says it does not aim to rate every charity. If you research a charity before donating and GiveWell has not reviewed it, ask three questions: what changed for the people it serves, how it measured that, and whether anyone independent checked. If a small charity has no formal evaluation, treat that as a question to ask, not a verdict. See how GiveRadar compares with GiveWell.

Red flags that a charity appeal is fake

Fake appeals usually rely on pressure, names that imitate well-known charities, and untraceable payment methods such as cash, gift cards, crypto or money transfer services. Vague emotional claims with no detail on how the money will be used are another common sign.

The FTC and the Fundraising Regulator warn about the same patterns:

• Pressure to give right now, before you can check anything.
• A name or website that imitates a well-known charity.
• Payment only by cash, gift card, crypto, a payment app or a money transfer company.
• Sentimental claims with no detail on how your donation will be used.
• A claim that you already pledged, or a guaranteed prize in return for giving.
• An unexpected text or email with a donation link.

A single red flag does not prove fraud, but it is a reason to stop and verify before you pay. The guide to the red flags of charity fraud covers each sign in more depth.

How to donate safely and report a suspicious charity

Type the charity's web address yourself or use the contact details on its register entry, and pay by card through its official website. If an appeal looks fake, report it to the fraud or consumer authority in your country and to the charity regulator where the charity claims to be registered.

A few habits keep your payment safe:

• Type the address yourself instead of clicking a link (Donate with Confidence).
• Call back on the number from the register entry (ACNC).
• Pay by card or another traceable method; the FTC calls card or check the safest.
• Ask street and doorstep collectors for ID, and in the UK for their license. Never share your card PIN or security code (Fundraising Regulator).
• Check statements for recurring donations you did not agree to (FTC).

If you already paid an appeal you now doubt, follow the FTC's guidance on what to do if you paid a scammer. Where to report depends on your country; see the FAQ.

How GiveRadar helps you check charities across 100+ countries

GiveRadar brings together records from 50+ official registries for 7.9 million+ charities in 100+ countries, and links each profile back to its source so you can confirm the registration yourself. Its integrity assessment shows how much a charity discloses, not whether its work is effective.

GiveRadar works as one website to check charity organizations across borders, and each profile names its source register or directory. The integrity assessment combines registration, financial transparency, governance, contact availability and data recency. A score from 1 to 39 shows in grey and means limited public data, not a judgment of the charity. GiveRadar does not guarantee that a charity is legitimate, screen sanctions lists or measure impact. It is free for donors, and charities cannot buy placement or scores. Read how the integrity assessment works.