House-to-house collections permit

About the permit

A house-to-house collections permit is required to carry out a collection on behalf of charity, either door-to-door, or from one public house to another. It is issued under the House to House Collections Act 1939.

The permit can be granted for any period up to one year, however, in practice most are issued for periods of between one and two weeks.

Once the permit is granted, there is a requirement for the permit holder to make a return to us within one month of the expiry of the licence. The return must include information regarding the totals collected.

Eligibility criteria

You must ensure that your application form is completed in full. In particular, you should ensure that you have specified the time frames for which the permit is required.

You must be acting for a charity to hold a house-to-house collections permit.

Applicable fees

There are no fees for this permit or to submit a return.

Application evaluation process

When we receive your application we will consider whether or not to issue the permit on the basis of the information you have supplied.

Implied granting of permit ('tacit consent')

Where you have submitted your application electronically, you have a legal right (known as tacit consent) to act as though your permit has been granted if you have not heard from us by the end of the target completion period. However, we would like to ask that you contact us if you have not heard anything from us. 

Our target completion period is ten working days.

Apply online

• Apply for a house to house collection permit
• Supply a return for a house to house collection

Failed application and licence holder redress

If we refuse to issue this permit or you are an existing permit holder and have cause for complaint, you may first wish to speak to our licensing team. 

You also have the right to appeal to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. Appeals must be lodged within 14 days of the refusal.

Consumer complaint

If you are a consumer and would like to make a complaint about any matter connected with house-to-house collections, we recommend that you speak to the trader directly in the first instance. If this is not possible or is inappropriate, you should contact our licensing team

Advice can also be sought from Citizens Advice consumer service if you are based in the UK. From outside the UK, please contact the UK European Consumer Centre.