Charity Collections

A charity collection is defined as a collection of money or sale of articles for the benefit of charitable purposes. All charitable street collections, house-to-house collections and carol singing must be licensed by us if they are carried out in streets or public spaces within the City of London.

Some charities have a national exemption order and do not need to hold a licence. These exemption orders are issued by the Cabinet Office and the list of exempt charities can be viewed here.

Street collections

You are required to apply to us for a street collection licence if you wish to collect money on the streets or public spaces for a charity. Permits are issued for Tuesdays and Fridays and applications must be made no later than the first of the month preceding the month when the collection will be held.

You must submit a prescribed form of accounts to us within three months of the collection date. You can email the Licensing Team for further information on applying for this licence.

House to house collections

If you want to collect money or goods (and you plan to sell these goods at a later date) for charity, by going from house to house or business to business within the City of London, you must first obtain a licence from us.

You can email the Licensing Team for further information on applying for this licence.

Carol singing

You must apply for a certificate if you wish to hold a street collection in conjunction with the singing or playing of Christmas carols. Carol singing collections are only permitted to take place in the City of London between the 1st and 24th December each year. Applications must be made no later than the first day of November.

If you have not previously held a collection in the City of London, you will be required to forward literature regarding the aims and objectives of the charity or fund, together with the last accounts of a carols collection in another area (if applicable) and your organisation's current annual report.

If you are not directly employed by the benefiting Charity/Fund you also must provide an authorisation letter from the relevant organisation giving you permission to organise a carol collection on their behalf within the City of London on the nominated dates.