Apply for a house to house charity collection licence

You'll need a licence if you want to collect money or goods from someone's home for charity.

This includes collecting and redistributing canned food for charity sales.

There is no fee for the licence.

You must apply if you’re a:

• small charity
• local group, for example, scouts or girl guides

If you don’t get a licence before starting house-to-house collections you could face up to 6 months in prison or a fine of up to £1,000.

You'll need to confirm if:

• you're applying as a business or individual
• the collection will be donated to charity or not
• the benefits of the collection benefit the organisation (or another organisation)
• you've applied previously
• you or someone associated has been convicted of a crime or offence

Apply now on GOV.UK.

House to house collection licences can be valid for anything up to 1 year.

You should contact [email protected] if your licence is denied.

You must submit a returns form to us after the collection, showing:

• the amount of money collected
• a list of the collectors

If more than £400 was collected, a notice must go in the local paper.

Download and complete a charitable return form PDF,171KB

You can send the completed form by email to [email protected].

If you need any help with your application, email [email protected].