Charitable Street Collection Permits

To carry out street collections for charitable purposes in the district, you need a licence from the Council.

Licence Summary

A permit is needed if a street collection is being carried out on public land and the proceeds are being donated to a charity or for a charitable purpose. The definition of 'street' is wide and includes any highway, public bridge, road, lane, footway, square, court, alley or passage.

You must give at least 28 days' notice of any collection. Applications which do not give the required period of notice will be rejected.

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).

Refer to the attached Guidance notes for full details of the requirements.

How can I apply?

We operate a diary booking system for collections and you must contact us at licensing@swdevon.gov.uk or 01803 861234 to check that your required date(s) are available.
To apply, please download and complete the application form. You will need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7 or above - you can get this for free here.
Right-click the Application Form (PDF) [268KB] and choose "save link as." Save the form to your device or computer before completing it.

We assess all applications to make sure collections are being made legitimately for a genuine good cause.

The target completion date is 28 days after receipt of your completed application (including all associated supporting documents, if required).

Will Tacit Consent Apply?

Yes. This means that if you have not heard from us within the target completion period of 28 days you will be able to act as though your application is granted. Please note this period will not commence until a complete application has been submitted.

We would always recommend that you contact us for a copy of your permission as you are required to have this when making collections.

Fee

There is no fee payable for a street collection permit. However, you must comply with certain regulations.