Application Information
Do you want to prove your social enterprise credibility?
To stand out from the crowd, and prove your social enterprise is creating social value, you should apply for Social Enterprise Mark accreditation.
To qualify, you must meet the Social Enterprise Mark qualification criteria, which is summarised below.
Below you can review the criteria, necessary documentation and the annual licence fees for the Social Enterprise Mark.
Or does your organisation want to be the best at what it does, striving to achieve social enterprise excellence?
If your organisation is seeking enhanced accreditation, showing best practice in proof points across the following areas, then you should apply for the Social Enterprise Gold Mark.
- governance
- business ethics
- financial transparency
Qualification Criteria
Primarily be trading in support of social purposes
Social purpose (including environmental purposes) will typically be evident within the governing documents of an organisation, e.g. Articles of Association, Company Rules.
Be independently owned and/or managed
Independency means the organisation can demonstrate they are autonomous and able to manage their affairs in line with other Mark criteria, without undue control by shareholders/members who do not share similar purposes.
Generate the majority of its total annual income from trading activities*
Trading income is defined as income from fees, contracts, the sale of goods or services (this includes some income labelled as grants that have been competitively tendered for, or commissioned by other agencies).
*In response to the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have agreed a temporary relaxation of the trading income criterion – provided the trading criterion requirement was being met before the outset of the pandemic , any failure to meet it following this will not count against an organisation’s eligibility to hold the Social Enterprise Mark.
Be committed to maximising income and the majority of any profits generated to social purposes
An organisation’s governing documents should include clauses that clearly commit 51% or more of any annual profits generated to its own social purposes, or others. Annual accounts will help corroborate this and that expenditure does not compromise this commitment
*Please note it is not mandatory that your organisation makes a profit, but at least 51% of any profit made will need to be dedicated to social/environmental purposes.
On dissolution, be committed to distributing all residual assets to social purposes
An organisation’s governing documents should include clauses that clearly state that – after satisfying all debts and liabilities – any residual financial or physical assets will be dedicated to social purpose
Be able to demonstrate how social purposes are being achieved
Applicants must be able to describe and/or provide evidence of how they are fulfilling their social purposes and the social benefit they help deliver.
Register your interest
If you are interested, all you need to do is complete our short registration form and we will then be in touch to discuss the next steps.
Fee Schedule
There is an annual licence fee for the Social Enterprise Mark (payable as a single annual payment or as staged instalments*), which is calculated based on the turnover of your business. The fee tier will be assessed each year, so if turnover has increased or decreased, the licence fee payable will adjust accordingly.
*Monthly fees are all inclusive of VAT at 20%.
| Annual income | licence Fee |
|---|---|
| less than £100,000 | £275 & VAT or £27.50/month |
| £100,000 – £199,999 | £385 & VAT or £38,50/month |
| £200,000 – £499,000 | £495& VAT or £49.50/month |
| £500,000 – £999,999 | £605& VAT or £60.50/month |
| £1m – £2.99m | £759& VAT or £75.90/month |
| £3m – £5.99m | £836& VAT or £83.60/month |
| £6m – £9.99m | £1,650 & VAT or £165/month |
| £10m – £14.99m | £2,420 & VAT or £220/month |
| £15m – £29.99m | £3,630 & VAT or £363/month |
| £30m – £49.99m | £5,500 & VAT or £550/month |
| £50m – £99.99m | £6,600 & VAT or £660/month |
| £100m and above | £8,250 & VAT or £825/month |
All fees are subject to VAT – the annual licence fees shown above are exclusive of VAT, the monthly fees are inclusive of VAT.
Applicants are invoiced up front for the licence fee. In the unlikely event that an application is unsuccessful, the licence fee will be refunded, minus a 50% assessment fee (minimum of £200).
International applications will be subject to an additional non-refundable administration fee of £165. If the application is unsuccessful this fee is retained.
Please note – all fees are subject to regular review.
Next Steps
What’s involved?
You can find out more about what’s involved in applying for accreditation in our full application and assessment process – from start to finish in 6 simple steps.
Register your interest
If you are interested, all you need to do is complete our short registration form and we will then be in touch to discuss the next steps.
If you don’t yet meet the criteria for the Social Enterprise Mark, you may be able to apply for the Aspiring Social Enterprise accreditation.
This entry-level accreditation has been developed specifically to support aspiring social enterprises to get started on the pathway to social enterprise good practice.
Group Applications
Part of a group of companies?
If you’re the parent company or a subsidiary of a parent company, you could apply for the Social Enterprise Mark for the whole group at the same time. Why not all benefit from the status of being an accredited social enterprise and demonstrate that your entire company operates to the same ethos of ‘Trading for People and Planet’.
For example, The Big Issue Group, comprising The Big Issue, Big Issue Invest and Big Issue Scotland, holds a group licence for the Social Enterprise Mark.
By submitting a group application, it is likely that you will benefit from a considerably reduced licence fee. For group applicants, the group’s combined turnover will formulate what their Social Enterprise Mark license fee will be, instead of each individual company applying for the Mark separately with separate tiered fees.
To find out more about submitting a group application, please get in touch with Rachel on 07790908829 or rachelf@socialenterprisemark.org.uk and she will answer your questions and could start your application for you today!
Criteria Checklist
Do you have access to the most recent company accounts and governing documents (your company constitution i.e. articles of association) for your organisation?
You will need to answer questions referring to relevant details from these documents, therefore it is important that you have access to the information they contain.
Is your organisation independent, with its own constitution and governance?
You will need to confirm that no other public or Government agency, or other private corporate bodies hold decision making control of the organisation.
Does your organisation earn at least 50% of income from trading?*
You will need to prove that at least 50% of your income comes from trading. Trading income is defined as income from sales, fees, contracts, service level agreements but NOT pure grant awards, investment income, donations and loans. This information can be found in your company annual accounts.
*In response to the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have agreed a temporary relaxation of the trading income criterion – provided the trading criterion requirement was being met before the outset of the pandemic , any failure to meet it following this will not count against an organisation’s eligibility to hold the Social Enterprise Mark.
Has your organisation been operating for at least 1 year?
If your organisation has been operating for less than a year, you will need to provide evidence that the organisation has started trading, e.g. business bank statement, VAT return, contracts in place. You will also need to pledge to earn at least 50% of income from trading within 18 months of achieving the Mark.
Does your organisation have social and/or environmental aims, and are you committed to investing at least 51% of any annual profits in such purposes, as well as any residual assets should the business dissolve?
Your constitution should ideally define your social objectives, but at the very least confirm that you are trading in support of a clear social and/or environmental purpose, and that a principal proportion (51% or more) of any profit made* by the business is dedicated to such purposes, as well as any remaining assets, if your organisation was to close.
*Please note it is not mandatory that your organisation makes a profit, but at least 50% of any profit made will need to be dedicated to social/environmental purposes.
Can you demonstrate that social and/or environmental objectives are being achieved?
You must confirm how you have strived to fulfil your social purpose over the previous year. This involves answering a set of questions designed to explore this.
Ready to apply?
If you are still unsure about whether to apply, please review the key benefits for your organisation.
How the application process works:
- Please start the application by completing the registration form – you will then be directed to the main application form
- After your application is submitted, we will start the assessment process to check you meet the criteria
- If your application meets the criteria, you will be given provisional approval, at which point you will be invoiced for the annual licence fee
- Once the invoice is paid, you will be granted full approval and sent a Welcome Pack within 2 weeks of approval
- You will be able to use the Social Enterprise Mark logo immediately to promote your status as an accredited social enterprise
