Search tips for the List of Charities
Use the List of charities' search to find organizations that are or have been registered as a charity with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Some qualified donees are not included in the List of charities. They can issue official donation receipts for income tax purposes, but are not registered charities. Go to
List of charities and other qualified donees.
Simple search tips
- only use upper or lower case letters and numbers
- enter part of the charity’s name if you cannot find it using abbreviations
- don't use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard
How to use the search fields
Use as many of the following fields as you can in the advanced search to get more specific results:
- Charity name
- enter part of the name rather than the complete name
- BN/Registration number
- enter the nine-digit business number (BN)
- RR
- enter the four-digit RR reference number; it is usually 0001
- Charity status
- “Registered” is the default selection
- use the drop-down menu for other options
- Effective date of status (yyyy/mm/dd)
enter a date for a list of charities that have the selected charity status as of that date
For example, if you select “Registered” under “Charity status” and enter 2010/01/01, you will get a list of all registered charities with a registration date on or after January 1, 2010.
- Sanction
- select from three options in the drop-down menu
- City
Results will be based on the mailing address of the charity- refine your search by entering a city
- enter the first few letters of the city name if you are unsure of the exact spelling
- Province, territory, outside of Canada
Results will be based on the mailing address of the charity- refine your search by selecting a province or a territory from the drop-down menu
- select “Outside of Canada” for a list of charities whose mailing address is not in Canada
- Postal code/Zip code
Results will be based on the mailing address of the charity- enter the full postal code or zip code of the charity
- use the A#A#A# format for postal codes and ##### for zip codes (for nine-character zip codes, enter only the first five characters)
- Designation
- refine your search by selecting a charity designation from the drop-down menu
- Charity type
- refine your search by selecting a charity type from the drop-down menu
- Category
- select a category from the drop-down menu (the list of categories will vary depending on the “Charity type” you choose)
Can’t find the charity you’re looking for?
You may have trouble finding a specific charity in the List of charities because:
- you are using an abbreviation or a different name than the one registered with the CRA
- the organization has applied for registration and its application is pending
If you can’t find a specific charity in the List of charities:
- the charity may no longer be registered – try changing your selection in the “Charity status” drop-down menu
- contact the organization to get their registration number or their name as registered with the CRA, then try again
If you still can’t find the charity you are looking for, contact the Charities Directorate.