Charity collections permits

Raising money or selling goods for charity in the street or any other public place requires our permission. These collections (usually referred to as street collections) most commonly take the form of a collector asking members of the public to make a donation in a collecting box. A street includes any highway and any public bridge, road, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not.

Street collections are covered by regulations made under the Police, Factories etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 as amended by section 251, schedule 29 of the local government act 1972. The regulations are in Appendix A.

General principles

• Charities must be registered with the Charity Commission or be a charitable organisation based within Lichfield District or supporting residents of Lichfield District.
• Applications will normally be granted on a first come first served basis. No guarantee can be given that an organisation preferred collection date will be available or be allocated to that organisation.
• No more than three collections per charity per calendar year will be allowed in Lichfield District.
• Only one collection will be permitted at any one time.
• Collections can take place on any day of the week including public holidays.
• Only one collection will be permitted Monday to Sunday.
• We will restrict the number of people taking part in a collection to three.
• Exceptions to this policy may be made for collections such as the Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal.
• The use of tables, stalls, trailers, vehicles or other displays or advertising in collection with a street collection will not be permitted unless the collection is part of a separate promotion or activity approved by the licensing department. The use of animals will only be permitted with express consent from us and with the necessary public liability insurance in place.

Applications

An application for a street collection permit must be made to us in writing on the prescribed application form no later than one month before the proposed collection date. The application period of one month may be reduced if there are special reasons for doing so.

A street collection permit application form is available online. Copies are also available, along with a copy of the street collection regulations by email, by calling 01543 308073 or at:

The application form must be fully and correctly completed and accompanied by any required information.

The application form will need to include the location from which the organisation wishes to collect, the date & time of the collection and the number of collectors to be used.

If the location is on private land, for example the Three Spires Shopping Centre, permission off the land owner will be required.

Where the application is on behalf of a registered charity a letter of authority is required and this must accompany the application form.

Failure to provide the necessary information may result in an application being delayed or refused.

Applications will be considered on their respective merits and we will either:

• issue a permit specifying the requested date and location
• refuse to issue a permit

Within one month after the date of any collection or sale the person, society, committee or other body of persons responsible for the collection will forward to our licensing department a statement in the form set out in the schedule to the regulations.

The proceeds of statement form must be certified by the auditor of the society or by some independent responsible person.

This statement of returns must detail the amount received, the expenses incurred in connection with such collection or sale.

Where a street collection application has been refused, the applicant will be advised in writing of the reasons for refusal.

There is no formal right of appeal against any decision made by us to grant or refuse an application for a street collection permit, other than by way of judicial review. However, in the interest of fairness if an organisation is unhappy about the decision to refuse their application they can request that the decision is reviewed. They should do so by emailing licensing@lichfielddc.gov.uk 

Direct Debit collections

Direct Debit collections are where pledges are collected for direct debit donations. This type of collection does not require our permission as there are no legal provisions for these types of collections.

In an attempt to regulate the frequency and location of Direct Debit collections, we have entered into a site agreement with the Institute of fundraising (IOF).