Do we need a licence to collect money in the street or door to door?

England and Wales: This page sets out the position in full — two separate regimes, one for streets and one for houses. Scotland: covered, and simpler — one permission covers both, with a fixed notice period and two kinds of collection outside it altogether. Northern Ireland: covered — the same street law as England and Wales, but a different house-to-house Act and the police, not the council, as the licensing body; local fees, and the exact modern legal basis for the police role in street collections, are not established.

Does a public collections certificate exist?

No. A great deal of training material describes a public collections certificate issued by the Charity Commission. No such certificate exists anywhere in the UK, and a street collection licence still comes from older Acts. This regime does not exist.

A collection is often run alongside an event. The event itself is covered when you run a fundraising event lawfully; this page covers the tins, buckets and door-knocking.

Here is why. Part 3 of the Charities Act 2006 (England and Wales) set up a modern, unified system for public charitable collections. It was never brought into force.

Sections 48 and 49 — the actual restriction and the offence — still carry legislation.gov.uk’s “Prospective” banner, which means they have never come into force. Only the definitions were switched on, and only for limited purposes.

A second, independent trace confirms the same fact. The outstanding-effects list for the 1916 street collections law in England and Wales, section 5 of the Police, Factories, &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916, still shows the amendments the 2006 Act (England and Wales) would have made as “yet to be applied”.

The same is true in the other two nations:

• Scotland. Part 2 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 is marked Prospective. The repeal of the old Scottish law that was meant to go with it was never brought into force either. This regime does not exist.
• Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities says of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, verbatim, that it “contains provision for a new regulatory regime for public charitable collections, though no date has been set for bringing the new regulatory regime into operation.” This regime does not exist.

So every UK charity collecting in public is working under statutes from 1916, 1939, 1952 and 1982. That is true, verifiable, and surprising — and it is why the answer to this page’s question is different in every nation.

Are the old collections Acts still enforced?

Yes, and assuming otherwise is a mistake. The House to House Collections Act 1939 (England and Wales) was amended as recently as 29 June 2026, when section 2(3)(c) was repealed. Parliament is still maintaining it. Treat it as live law, because it is.

Collection licences, nation by nation

The table shows what each kind of collection needs in each nation.

Activity	England and Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Door to door	A licence from the local authority (in the Metropolitan Police District, the Commissioner of Police), or an exemption, under the House to House Collections Act 1939	The single public charitable collection permission from the local authority, under s.119 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982	A licence from the local police station, or a Department for Communities exemption order, under the House to House Charitable Collections Act (Northern Ireland) 1952
Street collection	Whatever the local authority’s regulations require, under s.5 of the 1916 Act	The same s.119 permission — one regime for both	A police permit under the same s.5 of the 1916 Act, through the Collections in Streets and Public Places Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1963
A static tin in a fixed place	Depends on the local regulations	Outside the permission regime entirely, under s.119(2)	Depends on the 1963 Regulations
A public collections certificate	Does not exist	Does not exist	Does not exist
Signing people up to direct debits	No statutory permit regime was identified; site agreements are voluntary	Not part of the licensing regime, in OSCR’s words	Not established
Private land, such as a shopping centre	No public licence identified; you need the owner’s consent	The same	The same

The private-land row is weaker than the others. It rests on what the statutes do not cover, not on a rule that says so.

England and Wales: two regimes, two routes

The most common assumption is that England and Wales has one permission, as Scotland does. It has two, from different laws. A street collection is one made in a street or other public place; a house-to-house collection is one made by going from door to door.

Door to door. Under the House to House Collections Act 1939 (England and Wales), a collection for a charitable purpose needs a licence. It comes from the district council (s.2(1A)). In the City of London it comes from the Common Council, and in the Metropolitan Police District from the Commissioner of Police.

Two routes avoid a licence. The chief officer of police can certify a collection that is local in character and likely to be finished within a short time (s.1(4)). The badge and name rules still apply. And the Secretary of State can exempt a charity that collects throughout England or a substantial part of it by order (s.3).

“Charitable purpose” is wider than charity law. Section 11(1) of the 1939 Act (England and Wales) defines it as any charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purpose. The purpose need not be charitable in law. And “house” includes a place of business. So going round offices and shops counts.

In the street. Section 5 of the Police, Factories, &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 (England and Wales) lets the local authority make regulations for collections in the street. In the Metropolitan Police District the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime makes them. The offence is not “collecting without a licence”. It is acting in breach of the local authority’s regulations.

So what you need depends on what your council’s regulations say, and you must read them. The Act itself makes one carve-out. The regulations do not apply to ordinary trade sales made for a living, where nobody says the money will go to charity.

Fees are set locally and were not established here.

Scotland: one permission for both

Scotland has one regime. Section 119 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 covers street and house-to-house collections with a single permission from the local authority. The authority consults the police.

• When to apply. Section 119(3) of the 1982 Act (Scotland) requires the application, verbatim, “not later than 1 month before the date of the collection, or within such other period as the authority may fix”.
• What is outside it. Section 119(2) takes two kinds of collection out of the regime entirely. One is a collection in the course of a public meeting. The other is a collection by means of an unattended receptacle kept in a fixed position in a public place. A static tin on a shop counter needs no permission.
• If you are refused. You can appeal to the sheriff under section 119(9), within a short statutory time limit.
• Direct debits. OSCR says, verbatim: “at the current time collections of direct debits, standing orders and other promises of money are not included as part of the licensing regime.”

The exempt promoter route. A large charity collecting across Scotland can avoid applying area by area.

The exemption is a direction of the Scottish Ministers under section 119(11) of the 1982 Act (Scotland). It is not a permission granted by OSCR, although OSCR administers the route and publishes guidance on it. Section 119(12) says that an exempted promoter:

“shall, unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs, give to the local authority in whose area he intends to organise a public charitable collection 3 months notice of that intention.”

That is a longer notice period than the ordinary application needs, not the same one.

Northern Ireland: the same split, different Acts

Northern Ireland has the same two-regime shape as England and Wales, but the police issue the licence or permit for both.

Door to door. The House to House Charitable Collections Act (Northern Ireland) 1952 is fully in force. A collection needs a licence from the local PSNI station.

The alternative is a province-wide exemption order from the Department for Communities, under section 3 of the 1952 Act (Northern Ireland). It saves applying area by area. Exemption orders are held today by a handful of large charities, and their holders must file certified annual accounts with the Department.

In the street. Northern Ireland uses the same section 5 of the Police, Factories, &c. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 as England and Wales, which extended to Ireland from the start. The police issue permits under the Collections in Streets and Public Places Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1963.

The police role is confirmed by the PSNI’s own practice, the Department and CCNI. The full chain of legislation that makes the PSNI the authority under the 1916 Act in Northern Ireland was not traced.

Direct debits at the door, in Northern Ireland. Whether signing people up to a direct debit door to door counts as a collection under the 1952 Act is not established. No Northern Ireland regulator was found to have said so either way. Do not rely on the Scottish position here.

Collection checks before anyone picks up a tin

1. Name the activity and the nation. Street or door to door, and in which council or police area. Each combination is a separate question.
2. Find the local rules. In England and Wales, get the council’s street collection regulations and its house-to-house licence process. In Scotland, the council’s s.119 process. In Northern Ireland, the local PSNI station.
3. Leave enough time. In Scotland, a month before the collection unless the council fixes another period. Elsewhere, ask the licensing body how long it takes.
4. Brief the collectors. Collectors commit their own offences under both house-to-house Acts. They should know what the licence allows. What trustees take on personally is covered when you understand what you are personally taking on.
5. Record the answer. Keep the licence or permit. If you decided none was needed — a static tin in Scotland, say — write down why.

Tool: Do I need a collection permit? (planned).

If you pay a business to collect or appeal for you, the next step also applies: use a professional fundraiser or commercial participator.

Common mistake: looking for a Charity Commission public collections certificate

The Charities Act 2006 (England and Wales) created one, and a great deal of training material describes it. It does not exist.

Part 3 of the Charities Act 2006 (England and Wales) was never brought into force. Sections 48 and 49 carry legislation.gov.uk’s “Prospective” banner, meaning they have never come into force. The same is true of the Scottish and Northern Ireland equivalents.

Common mistake: assuming England and Wales has one permission, like Scotland

It would be sensible. It is not the law. England and Wales has two separate regimes, run by the local authority under different procedures. The House to House Collections Act 1939 covers doors, and section 5 of the 1916 Act covers streets.

Worked example

A charity plans a street collection in Glasgow and a door-to-door collection in Manchester in the same month.

Glasgow is in Scotland, so it needs one permission under section 119 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. It must apply at least a month ahead, and the council will consult the police. If the charity only wanted static tins in fixed places, it would need no permission at all.

Manchester is in England, so it needs a licence from the local authority under the House to House Collections Act 1939. Manchester’s street regulations under the 1916 Act (England and Wales) do not help: they are a separate regime.

Two systems, two applications, two timetables. The organiser is exposed if the Manchester collection goes ahead unlicensed, or the Glasgow one without permission. If the charity is a corporate body, officers can be reached too (s.8(7) of the 1939 Act).