Charity collection licences
Street collections
If you want to collect money or sell items on the street for charity, you might need a street collection licence, depending on where you are collecting and your local council.
Contact your local council to find out if you need a licence. Find council details.
In Greater London (except the City of London) you’ll need to contact the Metropolitan Police for a licence.
House to house
You must apply to your council for a licence if you want to collect money or goods (that you plan to sell at a later date) from people’s homes for charity.
Contact your council (or if you're in London, the Metropolitan Police) to apply for the licence.
Exemption certificate
In North Yorkshire, you can apply to the police for an exemption certificate if you're collecting for a local charity and the collection is likely to be completed within a short period of time (eg carol singers collecting for two weeks).
You need to apply at least a month before the collection is due to take place.
Exemption certificates are free and you can apply online.
We'll ask you for:
- your details, including contact details
- about the charity you're collecting for, including the registration number if the charity is registered and a list of trustees registered with the charity
- how many people will be collecting
- where and when the collection will be happening
- photo ID, eg a scan of your passport or driving licence, which you'll need to upload with your application
If your application is approved you'll need to visit a police station to collect your licence. Please bring the photo ID you uploaded with your application with you; we'll contact you to arrange a time to do this. You'll also need to bring your receipt reference number with you, so please make a note of it once you've submitted your application or download a copy of your application.
Station collections
If you want to collect money on railway premises, you will need to make an application for permission, depending on where you are collecting.
For Network Rail stations, you'll find details on eligibility criteria and how to apply on their website.
For London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, LondonOverground and TfL Rail stations, you'll find information on the TfL website.