Charity collection licence

If you want to collect for charity on the street or door-to-door, you must complete the application forms on this page. All applications for a charity collection licence must be applied of online. We no longer accept paper/email applications.

Please note:

  • It is an offence to collect money – or goods for resale – without a valid permit. Anyone found collecting without a licence or the relevant permission is in contravention of section 5 of the Police, Factories etc (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 and could be liable to be prosecuted leading to a fine of up to £200. It is a further offence under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 to collect money by false representation. If convicted of this offence you may receive a custodial sentence, an unlimited fine, or both.
  • No permit will be issued if the Form of Statement has not been submitted for the previous collection.
  • We expect that all charity collectors behave appropriately while collecting money. Complaints received about a collection may lead to you/your charity being refused permission to collect in the future. Collectors must be able to produce their permit on request by an enforcement officer, the police, street/business wardens or member of the public. Please ensure you and all collectors have read the Fundraisers Code of Collect and the Street Collection Regulations.
  • We will only issue permits for registered charities. You cannot apply for a permit to collect for a CIC as a CIC is not a charity. It’s a non-profit company regulated by the CIC Regulator. An organisation cannot be a CIC and a charity.

If you are a member of the public who has concerns about whether a charity collector is legitimate or has concerns about their behaviour while collecting please email licensing@reading.gov.uk or call Thames Valley Police. You should say when and where you saw the collection taking place and details of their charity/clothing. All collectors should have a collection permit and authorisation on their person. If they refuse to show you their authorisation or you have concerns about whether they are a charity, do not donate money or give your details.

Street collections

You should contact the licensing team at least one month before your proposed collection date to check your requested date is available.

Please note for street collections we can only issue one permit for one day per 30 days. Street collection permits are restricted to Saturday or Sunday only in the town centre (Broad Street or Friar Street). The only exception will be certain organised events – please contact us before booking. You can still book for any day of the week in Caversham or Tilehurst. Applications for parks will only be granted during an authorised event.

When applying for a permit, you will need to provide us with a current letter of authority from your charity giving you permission to hold a collection for them. This authorisation will need to be signed by a Charity Trustee or equivalent, and cannot be signed by the person applying for a permit. You will be asked to attach this information when applying. No permit will be issued without this permission.

If you are collecting in the town centre and you intend to have tables for your charity information, free-standing publicity materials or music performances, then you will need to contact REDA (formerly Reading CIC) to book a promotional space. Please be aware that a street collection permit only gives you permission for a bucket collection and this does not include tables or free-standing publicity material.

House to house collections

When applying for a permit you will need to provide us with a current letter of authority from your charity giving you permission to hold a collection for them. This authorisation will need to be signed by a Charity Trustee or equivalent, and cannot be signed by the person applying for a permit. You will be asked to attach this information when applying. No permit will be issued without this permission.

All house to house collections for charities without an exemption order need a collection permit. We ask that all organisations collecting for charities with an exemption order notify us by email to licensing@reading.gov.uk. Please include a current letter of authority/copy of your agreement with the charity and a copy of the charity’s exemption order.

Application forms

If you want to collect for charity on the street or door-to-door, you must complete our online house-to-house collections application form or street collection application form. If you are notifying us about an exempt house-to-house collection, please email us at licensing@reading.gov.uk.

We now require you to create an account to apply for a permit.

Please ensure you and your collectors have read our regulation documents:

Last updated on 10/04/2025