Free template
A constitution a committee can actually read
The constitution is the club's rulebook and the first document every funder, bank and governing body asks for. Most clubs inherit one written decades ago in language nobody enjoys. This template covers the clauses those bodies expect to see, in sentences a committee can read aloud without wincing.
What is in the document
- Name, objects and powers: what the club is for and what it may do
- Membership classes, admission, subscriptions and how membership ends
- The committee: roles, elections, terms, casual vacancies and quorum
- General meetings: AGM requirements, special meetings, notice and voting
- Finances: accounts, signatories, and what happens to money
- Amendments and dissolution: how rules change and where assets go if the club closes
Making it yours
Match your legal form
An unincorporated club, an incorporated association and a charitable club need different clauses in places. The template marks each spot, and your governing body or a local solicitor can confirm the right wording for your form.
Check your governing body's requirements
Many governing bodies require specific clauses for affiliation, commonly around safeguarding and discipline. Graft their current wording in rather than paraphrasing it.
Keep the dissolution clause honest
Funders read this clause first. Assets on dissolution should go to a body with similar aims, never to members, and grant-funded equipment often carries its own conditions.
What a club registers as in the United Kingdom
The usual answer here is Community Amateur Sports Club status, through HM Revenue and Customs.
A club registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club with HMRC can claim Gift Aid on donations and gets business rates relief. It is a tax status rather than a legal structure, so a club still has to decide separately what it is: usually an unincorporated association, sometimes a company or a charitable incorporated organisation.
This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Check the official guidance, which was correct on 28 August 2026, and take advice before you adopt anything at a general meeting.
Questions
What should a club constitution include?
The name and objects, membership rules, committee structure and elections, general meeting requirements, financial controls, and how the constitution is amended or the club dissolved. Funders and governing bodies check for all six.
Does a small club really need a constitution?
Yes. A bank account, a grant application and governing body affiliation all require one. It is also the document that settles arguments before they become splits.
Is this template free to use?
Yes. Download it, adapt it with your committee, and adopt it at a general meeting per your current rules. No signup is required.