Christmas carolling is a popular way to raise money over the festive period. To make sure every charity has a fair opportunity to collect donations, and the streets aren’t overrun with Santas, the law requires that anyone planning a collection must have a local Christmas carol permit. Applying for one is quite straightforward. Find out more below.

How to apply

You can apply for a Christmas carol permit at the police station in the borough, or boroughs, where you plan to collect. You'll need to take along the following information:

  • contact details for your charity
  • the event date, time and location

 
You can find addresses for all of our police stations on our Contact us page.

Please note

We must receive your application by the first day of the month before your chosen collection date. For example, if you’re planning to collect on 15 December we need to receive your application no later than 1 November.

Activity permitted

The local street collection permit gives you permission to collect money for charity over three days in the borough where it was issued. This can involve the singing of carols or playing of prerecorded ones in an agreed location.

Due to popular demand, you may only have one local street collection permit per borough over the Christmas period.