If you want to go door-to-door collecting money for charity, you need a house to house collection permit.

You will also need a permit if you plan to collect items from people's homes that you then sell for charity at a later date.

You must apply for a house to house collections permit if you are a small charity or local organisation such as the scouts, guides, cadets etc.

Some of the larger well-known charities for example, Christian Aid, Help the Aged, have a Charity Commission exemption from having to apply for a permit. 

If you don’t get a permit before starting house to house collections you could face up to 6 months in prison or a fine of up to £1,000.

Also, if you or anyone collecting on your behalf doesn’t give a police officer their name, address and signature when asked to, they could be fined up to £200.

How to apply

You can apply for a house to house collection permit online via Gov.uk, and find out about the documents we need to process your application. There is no charge for applying for a house to house collection permit. Alternatively you can complete and return the application form below direct to us.

Apply for your house to house to house collection permit online here.

You must apply 20 working days before you plan to start collecting, and you will need to provide the names of everyone that will be collecting on behalf of the charity or organisation - these are known as the 'authorised collectors'. 

After your collection has taken place

Once you have completed your collection, you need to send us a return showing how much money you collected, how much you made from selling any goods you collected, and how much you spent organising the collection (such as on advertising, printing, promotional materials etc).

You can send your return online via Gov.uk, or complete the return form below and send it back to us:

Licensing team
Chesterfield Borough Council
Town Hall
Rose Hill
Chesterfield
S40 1LP

House to House Collection Permit Application Form	(Word 107 KB)
House to House Collection Return Form	(Word 87 KB)