Community Interest Statement Examples: What the Regulator Accepts

Q: What is a community interest statement?

It is the declaration, made on form CIC36, that your company will carry on its activities for the benefit of the community. It describes who your community is (Section A), what your day-to-day activities are and how each one benefits that community (Section B), how any surplus will be used, and it must be signed by every proposed director (Section D). The CIC Regulator uses it to decide whether your company passes the community interest test.

Q: What is the community interest test?

The statutory test is whether 'a reasonable person might consider that its activities are being carried on for the benefit of the community' (section 35, Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004). A 'community' can be a section of the community - people sharing a readily identifiable characteristic - but not a private circle like 'my family' or 'my friends', and not only a company's own members or employees.

Q: Who has to sign the CIC36?

Every person who will be a director of the company must sign the declarations in Section D. The form itself warns: 'If this section is not completed your application will be rejected.' The number of signatures must match the number of directors on the application.

Q: Can AI write my community interest statement?

Official guidance addresses this directly: AI can be a useful tool, but the CIC36 must contain sections A to D of the template and articles must contain all statutory clauses - 'Where these are missing, applications will be rejected and incorporation fees refunded.' Generic AI output that drops required sections or the required surplus wording is a known cause of rejection. Tools built around the actual form - like the CIC Tools wizard - keep the required structure intact.

Q: Can I change my community interest statement later?

Once registered, the statement cannot simply be edited. If your CIC changes its objects, it delivers a new community interest statement on form CIC14 as part of that change, which involves the Regulator.

Last updated: August 2026

Written by Ben Ahern, Founder of CIC Tools & Co-founder of Homeless Aid UK CIC

Quick Answer

A good community interest statement names a specific community, lists concrete day-to-day activities, and links each activity to a tangible benefit. The legal test: would a reasonable person consider your activities are carried on for the benefit of the community? Vague statements, private-circle beneficiaries, and missing sections are what fail.

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What the Statement Is (and Where It Lives)

The community interest statement is made on form CIC36, which you complete, have signed by every proposed director, and upload as a PDF when you register your CIC online. It has four sections:

Section A - who benefits. A declaration that the company will carry on its activities for the benefit of the community, plus a short description of that community.
Section B - activities and benefit. A two-column table: your day-to-day activities on the left, how each benefits the community on the right - plus how any surplus will be used.
Section C - the political declaration. That the company will not be a political party, a political campaigning organisation, or a subsidiary of either.
Section D - signatures. Every proposed director signs. The form warns: "If this section is not completed your application will be rejected."

The statement goes on the public register - the Regulator's guidance encourages you to use it to "showcase your intended activities and champion the benefits". For the full form walkthrough, see our CIC36 form guide.

The Test Your Statement Has to Pass

The statutory community interest test (section 35 of the 2004 Act) asks whether "a reasonable person might consider that its activities are being carried on for the benefit of the community". Your "community" can be broad (residents of a town) or a defined section of it (young carers, refugees, people with a particular condition) - the Regulator's guidance says any group sharing a readily identifiable characteristic can qualify.

What fails the test

• A private circle - the Regulator's own examples of groups unlikely to qualify: "my family", "my friends", or "regular drinkers of ABC beer"
• Activities that benefit only the members of a particular body or the employees of a particular employer
• Political purposes - campaigning for changes in law or policy as the main activity
• Personal gain dressed up as community benefit - explain how you differ from a commercial company selling the same thing

The Regulator's Own Published Example

The Regulator publishes a completed example CIC36 on gov.uk for a fictional company, "Premier Football Coaching Community Interest Company". It is the single best model of the expected level of detail. Its Section A reads:

"The company's activities will provide benefit to the local community with regards to providing football coaching and 6-a-side leagues to those aged 6-18 years old"

And a Section B activity row:

Activity: "Free weekly football coaching of age groups through 6-18 years. All coaches will have relevant coaching quals and be DBS cleared."
Benefit: "Consistent coaching will develop and improve the skills of those attending and will offer a free out-of-school activity to support those who cannot afford to pay for football coaching offered by for-profit companies."

Notice what the official example does: it names the age range, the frequency, the price (free), the safeguards (qualified, DBS-checked coaches), and it contrasts the offer with for-profit provision. That is what the Regulator's instruction to "provide as much detail as possible" looks like in practice. The form's own footnote suggests community descriptions like "the residents of Oldtown" or "those suffering from XYZ disease".

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Worked Example Wording (Ours, Modelled on the Official Pattern)

These are illustrations we've written following the structure of the Regulator's published example - not official text. Swap in your real details and keep the same specificity:

A community food project

Section A: "The company's activities will provide benefit to residents of the Brinnington estate, Stockport, who are experiencing food insecurity."

Section B: Activity: "A twice-weekly community pantry offering surplus supermarket food for a £3.50 membership shop, open to any resident of the estate." Benefit: "Members access around £20 of food per visit for £3.50, reducing food insecurity and food waste; the pantry also signposts members to debt and benefits advice."

A wellbeing service

Section A: "The company's activities will provide benefit to adults in Norfolk living with anxiety and depression, particularly those on NHS waiting lists for talking therapies."

Section B: Activity: "Weekly peer-support groups in Norwich and King's Lynn, facilitated by trained volunteers, free to attend." Benefit: "Participants receive structured support while waiting for NHS treatment, reducing isolation; sessions are free so income is no barrier, unlike private counselling."

The surplus clause that rejects applications

If your surplus may be donated to a charity or asset-locked body you have not nominated in your articles, the form itself warns you must include the words "with the consent of the CIC Regulator" - "otherwise your application will be rejected". The Regulator's own example uses: "...this will be reinvested in the business and/or donated to CICs and charities with similar objectives, with the consent of the CIC Regulator."

A warning about generic AI drafting

Official guidance now addresses AI directly: it can help, but where the CIC36 is missing sections A to D, or articles are missing statutory clauses, "applications will be rejected and incorporation fees refunded". If you use AI, use something built around the actual form - the CIC Tools wizard drafts your statement from your answers inside the required CIC36 structure, so the sections, signatures and surplus wording are always there.

Before You Submit - Statement Checklist

Is the community specific and identifiable (place, group, or shared characteristic)?
Does each activity name what you'll actually do, how often, and for whom?
Does each benefit follow from its activity - and differ from what a commercial provider offers?
Does the surplus wording include "with the consent of the CIC Regulator" where needed?
Does the community in Section A match the community in your articles' objects clause?
Has every proposed director signed Section D, and is the company name identical everywhere?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a community interest statement?

The declaration, made on form CIC36, that your company will carry on its activities for the benefit of the community - describing who benefits, your activities, how each benefits the community, and how surpluses are used. The Regulator uses it to decide whether you pass the community interest test.

What is the community interest test?

Whether "a reasonable person might consider that its activities are being carried on for the benefit of the community". A section of the community qualifies; a private circle ("my family", "my friends") or a company's own members/employees alone does not.

Who has to sign the CIC36?

Every proposed director, in Section D. The form warns that an incomplete Section D means rejection, and the number of signatures must match the number of directors on the application.

Can AI write my community interest statement?

It can help - but official guidance warns that applications missing required CIC36 sections or statutory clauses are rejected. Use a tool that works inside the real form structure rather than a blank chat.

Can I change my community interest statement later?

Not by simple edit. If your CIC changes its objects, you deliver a new community interest statement on form CIC14 as part of that change, which involves the Regulator.

Write a statement the Regulator will accept

The CIC Tools wizard turns your plain-English answers into a complete CIC36 - correct sections, correct surplus wording, matched to your articles - ready to sign and upload. See your documents before you pay a penny.

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