A:  Charitable organization is defined by the Charitable Solicitations Act to mean any person, joint venture, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, group, or other entity

1. that is or holds itself out to be:
   1. a benevolent, educational, voluntary health, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, religious or eleemosynary, social welfare or advocacy, public health, environmental or conservation, or civic organization;
   2. for the benefit of a public safety, law enforcement, or firefighter fraternal association; or
   3. established for any charitable purpose;
2. who solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for a charitable purpose; or
3. in any manner employs a charitable appeal as the basis of any solicitation or employs an appeal that reasonably suggests or implies that there is a charitable purpose to any solicitation.

A:  A charitable solicitation occurs upon the making of any request, directly or indirectly, for money, credit, property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value on the plea or representation that it will be used for a charitable purpose.  A charitable solicitation may be made in any manner.

A:  Utah Code Annotated §13-22-8 sets forth a list of organizations that are exempt from the registration requirement.  Any organization that claims an exemption based on this list is required to apply to the Division for that status.  The organization has the burden of proving its eligibility for, or the applicability of, the exemption claimed.  Please note that the exempt status applies only to the registration requirement.  Exempt organizations remain subject to all other provisions of the Charitable Solicitations Act.

A:  Yes, if you use the Online Charitable Organization Permit Application system.  If the manual forms are used, the division only accepts checks, money orders or cash.

A:  State of Utah

A:  Yes.  Click to enter the Online Charitable Organization Permit Application system. If you are renewing your permit and do not have your permit number and/or renewal ID, please contact the Division.

A:  Yes.  However, the URS application form must be accompanied by the Supplement to the URS Form that is available from the division or online.

A:  No.  You must be issued a certificate of registration by the division before you solicit any charitable contributions.  It will take us up to 20 business days to review and process your application.

A:  Yes.  Once the application has been approved, the division will send an approval letter and certificate of registration.

A:  No.  The Charitable Solicitations Act requires you to file your most recent IRS Form 990 or annual financial report.  Therefore, the Division will accept the IRS Form 990 that was submitted with last year's application.  In order to avoid this situation in the future, please contact the Division for further information prior to submitting your renewal application.

A:  If an annual financial report or IRS Form 990, 990EZ, or 990PF are not available during the first year of registration, initial applicants are required to file quarterly reports. The Division will notify your organization of the quarter report dates when the permit is issued. The Quarterly Financial Report form is available on the right side of this page under Other Forms.

A:  If your organization files an IRS 990N, 990EZ or 990PF, this form is required in addition to the 990 form. The Statement of Functional Expenses form and Instructions for completing the form are available on the right side of this page under Other Forms.