Charity collections

The Council’s Policy on Charitable Collections is a document that the Council created to set out what we expect from people who make charity collections in our area. It also explains 

• how we decide whether or not we can licence a collection
• how we decide whether a house-to-house clothing collection is a legitimate charitable collection

• Council’s Policy on Charitable Collections ( pdf - 531.45 KB )

You can apply for the following licences online:

• Street Collection Licence
• House-to-House Collection Licence

Use the following documents to:

• Apply for a Street Collection licence ( pdf - 80.69 KB )
• Read the Regulations pdf before making your application ( pdf - 188.36 KB )
• Apply for a House-to-House Collection Licence ( pdf - 89.09 KB )
• Apply for the St Albans Charity Market Stall ( pdf - 45.53 KB )

Street collections are licensed under the Police, Factories etc (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 

House-to-house collections are licensed under the House-to-House Collections Act 1939  

A charity collection can be a street collection or a house-to-house collection and may include:

• a collection of cash for charity
• a collection of items to be sold for charity
• a sale of items for charity
• a collection of pledges to pay a regular sum by direct debit for charity

Street collections are those made in any place that is open to the public and may include:

• pavements
• parks
• supermarkets
• shopping precincts
• garden centres

These are examples and do not cover every possibility.
 

House-to-house collections take place from door-to-door and may include:

• knocking on people’s doors with a collecting tin
• posting donation envelopes through letterboxes
• going from pub to pub with collecting tins
• leaving bags for clothing donations 
   

From March 2021 there is a Charity Stall available every Wednesday on the St Albans Charter Market.

Perishables and/or food may not be sold on the stall except with the express permission of the market managers. This is partly because of unfair competition with commercial traders and for health and safety concerns.

For animal charities, collectors will be asked not to bring animals of any kind onto the market. If they do intend to bring animals, they will be asked to notify us in advance so a stall can be allocated, away from food traders.

Code of practice for Direct Debit Mandate Collectors on the street (“Chuggers”)
No direct debit fundraising companies to visit on:

• Charter Market days (Wednesdays and Saturdays) in St Albans
• or during the month of December

For further information on the Market Stall Policy, including public liability insurance requirements, see Market rules and code of conduct.
 

Each charity may apply for one street collection per year in each of the following areas -

• St Albans
• Harpenden
• Wheathampstead
• Redbourn
• Marshalswick Quadrant
• St Albans Charity Market Stall

Any other place or area including inside shops or pubs, with their permission.
 

The law does not allow the Council to regulate 'Chuggers', so they do not need a permit to visit our area. However, we do have a Voluntary Code of Practice in place.

If you have a complaint about a face-to-face fundraiser you have met on the street, please contact us.
 

• Voluntary Code of Practice ( pdf - 111.29 KB )

You may receive a plastic bag through your door asking you to donate clothing for charity. By law, the people who do these collections must hold either:

• a licence from the Council 

OR

• a National Exemption Order from the Cabinet Office  

You can see the List of Holders of National Exemption Orders here.

To check whether a clothing collection in your area is legitimate, please contact us.

If you have doubts about the legitimacy of a house-to-house collection and you are unable to contact the Council, do not donate anything.

The costs of making clothing collections are high in comparison with the amount actually donated to the charity. The Cabinet Office has decided that a donation of 6.4% of proceeds is acceptable. This means that currently up to 93.6% of the money raised by the collectors can legally be kept by them to cover their costs. 

Other methods of giving to charity include donating your goods directly to a charity shop or via a charity-owned recycling container.

There are also some fake and unauthorised collectors operating in the UK. The only way to be sure that the collection is legitimate is to check with the Council, who will have done background checks before issuing the licence.

The Charitable Collections Privacy Notice explains how St Albans City & District Council (the Data Controller) will use any personal information we collect about you when you use our services. 

We will use this information for the purposes we have set out; keep it securely; destroy it when we no longer need it; tell you the rights applicable to this personal information and how to exercise them; tell you who you can complain to.  
 

• Charitable Collections Privacy Notice ( pdf - 202.07 KB )