Apply for a street collection permit

If you want to collect money or goods house to house, or pub to pub, then you must apply for a house to house collection permit.

If you want to collect money inside a building, such as a shopping centre, then you don't need a permit, but you will need permission of the owner.

The street collection permit is free.

You should apply at least 28 days before your collection.

Permit restrictions

Number of collections

Each charity can only collect on one day once in the same part of the city every six months. 

In December these limitations don't apply.

Collecting in Broadmead

There are restrictions for collecting in Broadmead:

• Only registered charities can collect in Broadmead
• You can only collect in Broadmead on Saturdays or Sundays
• Only three collectors are allowed in Broadmead: our pdf street collection map (258 KB)  shows where they must be stand
• You can't use stands, tables or other equipment as part of a collection 

Additional permissions

For some collection areas you'll need extra permissions for your application.

College Green

You must have permission from Bristol Cathedral if you want to collect on College Green. 

You should call Bristol Cathedral on 0117 926 4879, or write to:

Chapter Clerk, Bristol Cathedral, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5JT 

Private property

You must have the manager or owner's written permission if you want to collect on private property such as supermarket car parks or shopping centres before you apply for the permit.

Parades and marches 

You must get permission, or agree the route, from the police to collect from parades, marches or walks that go through the central Bristol area.

For permission contact the Avon and Somerset Police.

Supporting information for the application 

For your street collection you:

• may need a letter of authority, giving your permission, from the charity you're collecting for
• will need to return a financial statement declaring how much money was collected and other financial details
• may need additional permission if collecting on College Green, private property or from a parade

Letters of authority 

If you work or volunteer for a charity, you'll need a letter of authority from a member of your charity such as the secretary or chairperson

If you want to collect for a charity that you don't belong to, then you should contact them first and ask for a letter of authority.

If you're collecting for a charitable purpose and not a charity, such as a collection for an injured child in your community, you must contact us before you apply. Email the details of your collection to us at licensing@bristol.gov.uk

Apply for a street collection permit 

You must read the pdf street collection regulations (92 KB)  before you apply.

Apply for permit (GOV.UK)

You can upload a scanned copy or a photo of your letter of permission.

If you don't have a scanned copy or photo of your letter of permission then you'll be instructed on how to submit this on the GOV.UK page.

After you apply for the permit

If you've not heard from us after 28 days then you can assume you have been given permission to do your collection. 

Contact us to get a copy of your permit via licensing@bristol.gov.uk

You must have a copy of the permit when making the collection, and follow the street collection regulations.

After the collection

Financial statement 

You'll have to return a financial statement within 28 days of the collection taking place.

A financial statement includes details such as:

• costs of the collection
• how much money was collected 

Complete and return your financial statement (GOV.UK)