You must apply for a house to house collection permit if you want to collect money or goods from people's homes for a charity or charitable purpose.
The house to house collection permit is free.
This permit also allows you to collect from pubs.
Check the government list of exempt charities to see if your charity doesn't need to a permit.
You must apply to the council that's the licensing authority for the area that you want to collect in. Check which council you will be collecting in Go to https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council (opens new window).
You should apply at least 28 days before your collection.
Supporting information for the application
For your house to house collection you:
- may need a letter of authority, giving your permission, from the charity you're collecting for
- will need to return a financial statement declaring how much money was collected and other financial details
Letters of authority
If you work or volunteer for a charity, you'll need a letter of authority from a member of your charity such as the secretary or chairperson.
If you want to collect for a charity that you don't belong to, then you should contact them first and ask for a letter of authority.
If you're collecting for a charitable purpose and not a charity, such as a collection for an injured child in your community, you must contact us before you apply. Email the details of your collection to us at licensing@bristol.gov.uk
Financial statement
You'll have to return a financial statement within 28 days of the collection taking place.
A financial statement includes details such as:
- costs of the collection
- how much money was collected or the approximate value of goods
Complete and return your financial statement (GOV.UK)
Apply for house to house collection permit
You must read the pdf house to house collection regulation (81 KB) before you apply.
You can upload a scanned copy or a photo of your letter of permission.
If you don't have a scanned copy or photo of your letter of permission then you'll be instructed on how to submit this on the GOV.UK page.
After you apply for the permit
If you've not heard from us after 28 days then you can assume you have been given permission to do your collection.
Contact us to get a copy of your permit via licensing@bristol.gov.uk
You must have a copy of the permit when making the collection.