Do you have to take on a specific legal form to qualify as a social economy organisation?

You do not need to have a specific legal form to be a social enterprise.  Social economy organisations include companies limited by guarantee, industrial and provident societies and companies limited by shares. 

Community interest companies were introduced in Northern Ireland on 6 April 2007 as a new type of limited company specifically designed for social enterprises. 

Briefly, a CIC has some additional obligations, compared to an ordinary company, which are overseen by regulation and they are:

• To satisfy and continue to satisfy a community interest test – by demonstrating that the company’s activities are being carried on for the benefit of the community it was set up to serve.
• To adopt certain statutory clauses in its constitution (this includes a clause to lock in the assets to providing benefit to the community).
• To deliver an annual community interest company report about the maintenance of its asset lock, what steps were taken to involve stakeholders and the benefit provided t o the community.  
  

For more information on Community Interest Companies, visit www.cicregulator.gov.uk. To learn how to register a CIC in Northern Ireland, visit www.detini.gov.uk and click on Companies Registry.

Do you want information on setting up a social enterprise? Check out this guide