Charitable collections

House to house collections

Under the House to House Collections Act 1939 you need a licence from us to carry out house to house collections for charitable purposes.

You must ensure bags being used for the collection are compliant with the latest guidance from the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP).

There is no charge for this type of licence.

Apply

You must apply no later than 1 month before your proposed collection.

You will need:

• a letter of authority from the charity that will benefit from the collection
• for a company you must provide a copy of the written fundraising agreement between your company and the charity
• your audited accounts for the past 2 years
• any other relevant financial statements

Apply to run a charitable collection

Next steps

We'll review your application following our house to house policy and will contact you if we require any further information.

If your application is approved we will issue your licence within 28 days from the date it was deemed valid. A licence may be issued for any period up to 12 months. 

If we have not contacted you within 28 days of your application submission you may act as though your licence is granted.

Appeals

Please contact [email protected] in the first instance. Any applicant who is refused a licence can appeal to the Minister for the Cabinet Office within 14 days of a decision.

Returns

You must supply us with a return for what has been collected. Returns should be made within 1 month of the expiry of the licence.

Notify us of the result of a charitable collection

Last updated 08 December 2023