A house to house collection involves collecting money or property from the public by visiting houses and businesses (including pubs).
To carry out this kind of collection you need a licence from us.
Collection dates
If you have a date or dates in mind for your collection(s) please contact us to make sure that the date or dates are available.
You must apply at least 28 days before your collection, but please be aware that dates get booked very quickly so we advise you to apply as far in advance as possible.
Please be aware that street collections are regulated separately.
Making an application
You can apply for a licence through this page. Where applicable, your application should include:
- Literature / information about the charity / organisation who will benefit
- Letter of authority from the charity / organisation who will benefit
- Copy of any contracts between you and the benefiting charity / organisation
- Last audited accounts of benefiting charity.
If you can not provide us with accounts, please include the reason why.
Failure to submit the relevant information could lead to a delay with your application.
We will begin processing your application on receipt, unless there is a problem, and a licence will be issued before your proposed collection date.
We inform the police of any application for a house to house collection licence and may also contact other local authorities where collections have taken place.
Will Tacit Consent apply?
Yes. If you have not heard from us before your collection, you may act as though your application has been granted. However you are advised to contact us to confirm your licence has been granted.
After the collection
Within one month following your collection you need to send us statement showing how much money has been raised and the amount used to cover any expenses.
This form must be certified by the promoter of the collection and either an accountant or an independent responsible person.
Even if no collection took place you must submit a ‘nil’ return.
Statements can be submitted online or by post.
National Exemption Order scheme
Organisations can generally get a national exemption order if they have a House to House Collection licences in at least 70 local authority licensing areas for the previous two years.
As a matter of courtesy we ask that if you have an Order of Exemption, you let us know about any planned collections in Wigan Borough. We can then put the details on our list of approved collections so that the public can be satisfied your collection is genuine.