Charitable collections

Charitable collections

You must apply for a licence to collect money or donations or sell items for charitable purposes either door-to-door or on the street.

A house to house collection licence permits you to collect money door-to-door, while a street collection licence allows you to collect money or sell items for charity on the street and in public places – for example, a shop doorway or carpark.

The purpose of these licences is to prevent fraud and ensure that genuine charities benefit from such collections.

Please email licensing.team@threerivers.gov.uk to confirm if a charity has been granted a collections licence in our district. 

House to house collection licence

Promoters of charitable collections which take place from door to door in the three Rivers District area (whether at residential properties or businesses) must obtain a house to house collection licence from us, under the House to House Collections Act 1939, (unless exempt).

You can apply for a house to house collection licence to collect money or donations door-to-door if you are a charity or local group (e.g. scouts).

You must submit your licence application 30 working days before the date of the collection.

You will need to provide copies of:

• a letter of authority
• a contract between the organiser and the benefiting charity

You may also wish to provide the last audited accounts of benefiting charity, though this is optional.

We aim to get back to you within 28 days of you submitting your application. If you have not heard from us within this timeframe, do not assume your application has been successful. Instead, contact us at licensing.team@threerivers.gov.uk. It is a criminal offence to carry out unlicensed activities, and you could be given a £1,000 fine and up to six months’ imprisonment.

If your application is refused, you can appeal to the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office within 14 days of our decision.

Your collection

If your application is successful, you will be granted a licence. The licence will include the date and location of any licensed collections. You must not collect money or donations on any dates or in any locations not named in the licence.

All collections must be carried out in accordance with the House to House Collections Regulations 1947.

After your collection

After your collection is complete, you will need to submit a statement of accounts, called a return, showing how much money you raised, any deductions, and how the proceeds were dispersed. You must submit your return within one month of the expiry of the licence.

National exemptions for collections in multiple areas

Charities carrying out door-to-door collections in multiple areas can apply to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport for a national exemption order.

Exempt charities do not need to apply for a house to house collection licence with us to conduct charity collections in Three Rivers District.

Concerns and complaints

If you are concerned that an unlicensed door-to-door collection may have taken place, please contact us at licensing.team@threerivers.gov.uk so that we can investigate.

If you have a complaint about a door-to-door collection, contact the organiser of the collection in the first instance. You can contact the Fundraising Standards Board if you feel the charity did not deal with your complaint adequately.

If you have concerns about whether a charity is genuine or operating in accordance with charities law, please contact the Charity Commission.

Street collection licence

A street collection is a means of collecting money from members of the public or selling goods for the benefit of charitable or other similar purposes. In order to be able to carry out a street collection in our area you will need to make an application to us for a permit.

Three Rivers District Council has made Regulations under the Police, Factories, etc (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916, to regulate charitable collections of this type.

You must submit your licence application 30 days before the date of the collection. Please supply some alternative collection dates on your licence application in case your first choice is unavailable (Saturdays are often oversubscribed).

We aim to ensure that only one group is collecting in any area on any day, to ensure that charities get the maximum benefit from their collections.

We aim to get back to you within 28 days of you submitting your application. If you have not heard from us within this timeframe, do not assume your application has been successful. Instead, contact us at licensing.team@threerivers.gov.uk. If you collect money for charity without a licence, you could be given a £200 fine.

Read the full regulations governing street collections in Three Rivers District (PDF).

Your collection

If your application is successful, you will be granted a licence. The licence will include the date and location of any licensed collections. You must not collect money or donations on any dates or in any locations not named in the licence.

All collections must be carried out in accordance with the regulations made by us.

After your collection

After your collection is complete, you will need to submit a statement of accounts, called a return, showing how much money you raised and how the proceeds were distributed. You must submit your return within one month of the collection date. 

You are also required, as per Regulation 16 (2) to publish full details of the collection in a local publication. Please contact the licensing team direclty via email to arrange publishing in the TRDC street collection publication.This must be done within 30 days of the collection.

Concerns and complaints

If you are concerned that an unlicensed street collection may have taken place, please contact us at licensing.team@threerivers.gov.uk so that we can investigate.

If you have a complaint about a street collection, contact the organiser of the collection in the first instance. You can contact the Fundraising Standards Board if you feel the charity did not deal with your complaint adequately.

If you have concerns about whether a charity is genuine or operating in accordance with charities law, please contact the Charity Commission.