What does "annulled" mean on the CRA list?

The CRA has decided the organization should never have been registered, usually because it was not charitable at law. It is different from revocation, which ends a registration that was valid.

Can a charity be on the list and still be a bad choice?

Yes. The list confirms registration and shows the filings. It does not assess quality, and the CRA does not publish audit findings.

How current is the list?

Status changes are posted when the CRA processes them. Annual returns appear after processing, which can be months after the charity files.

Where is the business number?

On every official donation receipt, and usually in the footer of the charity's website. It is nine digits followed by RR0001.

How do you check if a charity is registered with the CRA?

The short answer

Search the CRA's List of charities by name or by business number. The record shows whether the charity is registered, revoked, annulled or suspended, the date that status took effect, its designation, and its annual returns going back several years. It takes a minute, and it is the first thing to do before any money moves.

Last reviewed September 20261 min read

The List of charities is the CRA's public register of every organization that can issue an official donation receipt. It is free, it is current to the CRA's own processing, and nothing else in Canada is authoritative on the question of registration.

How to search. Use the business number if you have it, the nine digits followed by RR0001. Names are unreliable. Charities rename themselves, several can share a name, and a donor who searches "Kids Help" will get a list. The business number is on every donation receipt and usually in the website footer.

What the record tells you.

Status, and the date it took effect. Registered means it can issue receipts today. Revoked, annulled or suspended means it cannot, and the record says why in broad terms.
Designation. Charitable organization, public foundation or private foundation. It tells you whether the organization mostly does the work or mostly funds it.
The returns. The T3010 for each recent year, with a summary view: revenue, expenses, what it says its programs are, the directors, and compensation in bands. What can a T3010 tell you covers how to read one.
The purposes. The description on file with the CRA. Compare it to the website. A gap is worth a question.

What the record does not tell you. Whether the charity is any good. Whether the CRA has audited it, or what it found. Whether its corporation still exists, which is a separate one-minute search on Corporations Canada or the provincial registry. Registration is a legal threshold, not a judgment.

Questions people also ask

What does "annulled" mean on the CRA list?: The CRA has decided the organization should never have been registered, usually because it was not charitable at law. It is different from revocation, which ends a registration that was valid.
Can a charity be on the list and still be a bad choice?: Yes. The list confirms registration and shows the filings. It does not assess quality, and the CRA does not publish audit findings.
How current is the list?: Status changes are posted when the CRA processes them. Annual returns appear after processing, which can be months after the charity files.
Where is the business number?: On every official donation receipt, and usually in the footer of the charity's website. It is nine digits followed by RR0001.

Sources: CRA, List of charities and other qualified doneesCRA, Information available to the public from a registered charity's T3010 returnCRA, Confidentiality and public information