Charitable collection licence
Street Collections in Chichester City Centre in 2025
The deadline for Chichester City Centre 2025 Street Collection applications is Thursday 30 November 2024. Please note that applications received after this date will be refused. Please note that we are unable to accept any further applications for the Chichester City Centre in 2024.
Please note that it is only possible to grant a maximum of 30 permits for the Chichester City Centre in a calendar year (excluding emergency collections) and therefore applications and dates requested are allocated on a first come, first served basis in consultation with the General Licensing Committee.
Charitable collections are an important source of income for both local and national charities, assisting these organisations in their endeavours to help others in our community who require medical, social or emotional support.
There are two authorisations which enable persons to collect or raise funds for a charity. These are a Street Collection Permit and a House to House Collection Licence. Information about these permissions along with the application forms are available.
Street collections
Policy guidelines
Chichester District Council Policy Guidelines state that the maximum number of Street Collection Permits that can be issued for collections taking place in the Chichester city centre (please see 'Chichester City Centre Map') is 30 in a calendar year. All applications for collections within the city centre must be submitted by 30th November in the year preceding the year in which the collection is proposed to take place. For collections in 2025 the application must therefore be submitted by no later than the 30 November 2024 and any applications received after this date will be refused.
For collections outside of the Chichester city centre, an application must be made a minimum of one month before the proposed collection date, unless special reasons apply.
Street Collection Policy and Regulations
Street Collection Policy Guidelines (Word doc, 39 KB)
Street Collection Regulations (Word doc, 52 KB)
Applying for a Street Collection Permit
Where a collection takes place in any street or public place it will require a permit. Please note there is no requirement for a permit where the collection takes place solely on private land e.g. a supermarket forecourt or inside a shop. In this case we would however strongly advise that the consent of the landowner is obtained in writing.
Application form
Chichester City Centre Map (Word doc, 454 KB)
Street Collection Application Form (Word doc, 57 KB)
Following a collection taking place, it is a requirement that a financial return is submitted to the Licensing Authority within one month of the collection. Where a return is not received in respect of a collection no further permits would be granted.
Return form
Street Collections Returns Form (Word doc, 66 KB)
House to house collections
Policy for the Chichester district
On the 27 February 2019 the General Licensing Committee considered and determined to approve with immediate effect the council's first ever House to House Collections Policy for the entire Chichester district. Having had the experience of implementing the policy for a year, it was felt necessary to make some minor changes. A revised policy was subsequently presented to the General Licensing Committee on 12 February 2020 and this was formally approved. The revised policy will have effect for the period 2020-2025 inclusive.
The intention of the policy is to:
- Provide a clear and fair framework for those wishing to undertake collections;
- Enable equity amongst charities in terms of the numbers of collections undertaken in a calendar year;
- Avoid areas of the district becoming saturated by regular and repeated collections;
- Protect residents from unlicensed collections so far as reasonably practicable and to ensure that anyone donating money or clothing can be sure that a significant percentage of the collection proceeds will go to the charity; and
- Ensure that charities receive an appropriate percentage of the proceeds from a collection.
A copy of the current policy is available below and includes the various steps or requirements which those submitting an application must consider. All applications will be considered in accordance with the policy and where necessary applications will be refused. We would therefore strongly recommend that the policy is read prior to submitting an application.
Whilst the following is not an exhaustive list of all requirements, they are the specific limits which have been set in relation to collections:
Only one collection permitted take place in any area on any day;
Only two collections permitted per charity per calendar year;
Each collection is restricted to a maximum of 14 consecutive days except for the month of December when 21 consecutive days are permitted; and
Ordinarily a minimum of 70% of the proceeds from the collection must be given to the nominated charity.
House to House Collections Policy and Regulations
House to House Collections Policy 2020-2025 (12.02.2020) (Word doc, 50 KB)
House to House Regulations (v2) (Word doc, 58 KB)
Applying for a House to House Collection Licence
House to house collections are governed by the House to House Collections Act 1939 and the House to House Collections Regulations 1947, as amended. A House to House Collection Licence enables the holder to undertake door to door collections of money (including direct debits), unwanted property (e.g. clothing) and the sale of goods where any part of the proceeds may go to charity.
Applications must be received no later than the first day of the month preceding the month during which the proposed collection would commence e.g. for a collection taking place on the 23 April, a complete and correct application must be received by the 1 March.
Upon receipt of an application, it will be carefully considered in accordance with the statutory requirements and our local policy and a determination made.
If you are not a member of the charity on whose behalf you are proposing to collect, then you must include a letter of authority from the charity consenting to undertake a collection on their behalf.
In addition it is necessary to submit a basic criminal conviction certificate issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service relating to either the applicant (i.e. promoter) or where the applicant is a company, the Director responsible for overseeing the collection. The certificate must be received within 12 months of issue.
Where a licence is granted, it will be necessary to obtain Badges and Certificates of Authority for each person participating in the collection. These can be obtained from:
- The Stationery Office (TSO) Limited, Post Cash Department, P.O. Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN.
You will need to provide TSO with a copy of the granted licence. Please be aware that the person to whom the licence is granted is responsible for promoting the collection in accordance with the statutory requirements.
Application form
House to House Application Form (Word doc, 89 KB)
Following a collection taking place, it is a requirement that a financial return is submitted to the Licensing Authority within one month of the collection. Where a return is not received in respect of a collection no further licences would be granted. Please be aware the return form you complete depends on the type of collection undertaken.
Return forms
H3 Form of Account - Collection of money (inc. direct debits) (Word doc, 71 KB)
H5 Form of Account - Collection of property to sell (Word doc, 68 KB)
H6 Form of Account - Collection of property to give away (Word doc, 52 KB)
The only exception to the above requirement to apply for a House to House Collection licence is where the charity is a holder of a National Exemption Order (NEO). National exemption order holders are exempted under section 3(1) of the House to House Collections Act 1939 from having to apply for individual collection licences from local authorities. A full list of NEO holders can be found on the GOV.UK national exemptions order scheme (opens new window) webpage.
We are committed to reducing the use of single-use plastics and to achieving waste reduction and recycling targets set by central government. We would therefore encourage that steps are taken in order to minimise the impact of any collection on the environment.
Contact us
For further information and advice email licensing@chichester.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can phone us on 01243 534740.
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