The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a resolution that launches an experimental mechanism for online registration of public organizations based on a model charter.
For the first time in Ukraine, CSOs will be able to register completely online—through the Diia portal—without a physical presence or paper documents. This is an important step not only in the field of digitalization but also in restoring the agency of civic initiatives.
The team of the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) contributed to the development and advocacy of the resolution “On the Implementation of a Pilot Project to Ensure the Possibility of Operating a Non-Governmental Organization based on a Model Charter.”
Maksym Latsyba, head of the Civil Society Development Program, and Dmytro Yaprakh, an expert on legal support for freedom of association, played an important role in promoting this initiative. They were the voice of this process - from consultations with the authorities to communication with the public. Our experts worked on creating the mechanism at all stages.
The model charter is a standardized constituent document that can be downloaded directly from the Diia portal. It contains standardized provisions on the CSO's purpose and activities, governance, rights and obligations of members, sources of funding, reporting rules, and termination of activities.
The charter does not need to be adapted or amended on its own, and changes in legislation will be made to it automatically. Thus, NGOs will be able to get a quick start.
This decision also opens up additional opportunities for activists working in difficult conditions, including in the temporarily occupied territories and frontline communities. They can legalize their activities without leaving their place of residence. In addition, this will help organizations that have lost their constituent documents to resume their activities.
According to Dmytro Yaprakh, this is not just a simplification of the procedure, but a fundamental expansion of opportunities for those working in difficult circumstances:
“We are talking about activists who fight, help, and support despite threats. This is a tool that allows them not to disappear into the “gray zone” but to act legally, openly, and transparently.”
The model charter is also in line with European approaches to managing nonprofit organizations, allowing them to focus on meaningful activities rather than paperwork. It covers more than 30 areas of statutory activity, in particular in the areas of protection of rights and freedoms, civic engagement, education, healthcare, volunteering, anti-corruption, assistance to victims of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, etc.
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine said that the project is scheduled to be launched on November 1, 2025. The project envisages the introduction of an alternative mechanism for state registration of public organizations, which allows such organizations to operate not only based on their constituent document but also based on a model charter.
Participants in the pilot project can be:
- citizens of Ukraine who have reached the age of 18 and have been assigned taxpayer registration numbers and unique record numbers in the Unified State Demographic Register
- non-governmental organizations with the status of a legal entity;
- The Ministry of Digital Transformation;
- The Ministry of Justice and its territorial bodies.
The UCIPR team continues to work to ensure that civic initiative tools are accessible, effective, and adapted to new realities.
Read also: Legislative changes for the public sector - March 2025 digest from UCIPR