Charities
The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations administers the state's charitable solicitation law. It also maintains registration and financial information on over 13,000 charities soliciting in the Commonwealth, as well as more than 450 professional solicitors and fundraising counsels.
Renew or Register
Renewal dates are based on the organization’s fiscal year end and is listed on the certificate of registration as the Expiration Date & Automatic Extension. Reminders will be emailed when a valid email is on file with the Bureau. If a valid email is not on file, a renewal reminder will be mailed to the current mailing address on file.
Organizations seeking approval of an exemption or exclusion please complete: BCO-9: Approval of Exemption/Eclusion Form (PDF)
File online:
Charitable organizations may use our new online system to expedite their renewal or registration process. Benefits include:
Reduced Time
Filing online eliminates postal delivery times and the data entry process.
Reduced Errors
The online form provides immediate feedback if there is a missing document or other process issue.
File by mail:
Charitable organizations may continue to register by mail by downloading, completing, printing, then mailing our
registration forms.
Announcements
Renewal reminders are now being emailed to charitable organizations, professional fundraising counsel and professional solicitors when a valid email is on file with the Bureau. If a valid email is not on file, a renewal reminder will be mailed to the current mailing address on file. The renewal due date is also indicated on the certificate of registration sent to the organization upon the approval of a filing. For charitable organizations, the renewal due date is listed on the certificate as the Expiration Date & Automatic Extension. Charitable organization renewal dates can be found on the "Registration Forms" page and are based on the organizations fiscal year end.
On December 22, 2017, Governor Wolf signed two bills into law.Both Acts amend the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act to affect several important Bureau processes. Both Acts become effective 60 days from the date they are signed by the Governor, which was February 20, 2018. You can review the changes made in Act 71 (HB 1420) and Act 72 (HB 1421) by clicking on the links provided, or by reviewing an updated version of the full Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act found on the resources page.
The Bureau has recently made updates to the BCO-10 Registration Statement (PDF), as well as the corresponding instructions (PDF). You can find these on the "Registration Forms" page.
Requests for extensions of time to file the Charitable Organization Registration Statement BCO-10 registrations are no longer necessary to be filed since the maximum extension of time permitted to file a renewal registration is automatically granted by the Bureau at the time a registration is approved. An extension to the 15th day of the eleventh month after the close of the following fiscal year end is automatically granted. The registration expiration date indicated on the Certificate of Registration includes this automatic extension. This expiration date is the due date for the organization's next renewal registration. This does not apply to Institutions of Purely Public Charity registrations.