Street Collections

To carry out street collections for charitable purposes in England and Wales, you will need a licence from the local authority. Any organisation carrying out a street collection must abide by the code of fundraising practice and its associated rule book published by the Institute of Fundraising (IoF). Further Information can be found on the IoF website by clicking on the links to the right of this page.

Eligibility Criteria

If you wish to collect for a charitable purpose in a street or public place, you will need to apply to the Council for a permit. 'Charitable purpose' means any charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic purpose (i.e. 'good cause').

The definition of 'street' is wide and includes any highway, public bridge, road, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage.

You must be a 'fit and proper' person.

There is no fee payable for a street collection permit. However, you must comply with certain regulations (see download on right).

Target completion period: we will aim to issue your licence within 6 working days from determination of your application.

Regulation Summary

A Summary of the relevant legislation for this licence

Application Evaluation Process

We assess all applications to ensure that collections are being made legitimately for a bona-fide good cause.

We operate a diary booking system for collections and the Council has a policy of allowing only one collection within the same town on the same day. We strongly recommend that you contact us before submitting an application to check that the requested date(s) are available.

You must give as least 28 days' notice of any collection. Applications which do not give the required period of notice will be rejected. We will aim to issue your permit within 7 working days of receipt of a valid application.

Within one month of the date of any collection the applicant must submit to the Council a financial return showing how much money was collected, any expenses and what happened to the remainder. The financial return has to be signed by the applicant and certified by an accountant (or other independent responsible person who has previously been accepted by the Council).

Will Tacit Consent Apply?

Yes. This means that you will be able to act as though your application is granted if you have not heard from us by the end of the target completion period.

Apply

Apply now
on Customer Self Service

If you don't want to apply online, you can download an application form (PDF) [201KB] to complete, and send it back to us.

Applicant Appeal

You have the right to appeal to the Minister for the Cabinet Office if your application is refused.

Appeals must be lodged within 14 days of the refusal.

Licence Holder Appeal

You have the right to appeal to the Minister for the Cabinet Office if your application is refused.

Appeals must be lodged within 14 days of the decision.

Customer Complaint

If you have a complaint about a street collection, please try to resolve this direct with the collecting organisation in the first instance. If you are unable to resolve the situation, please put your complaint in writing to the Licensing Team. Alternatively, you may wish to contact the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association direct.

Other Redress

Please contact us in the first instance so that we can direct your complaint to the appropriate person or organisation.

Trade Assoications

None.

Contact Details for Licensing Team

Email: licensing@torridge.gov.uk

Telephone: 01237 428700