A House to House and Street Collections (HHSC) licence is required (except when exempted) if you are collecting money or other property by way of appealing to the public, visiting house to house or soliciting in streets or other places or a combination of such means for money or other property.
Please note that a person intending to promote any collections should work with the beneficiaries.
A House to House and Street Collections licence is not required if you are conducting any of the following:
a. A private collection that is confined to friends or relatives
b. Making an appeal through the telephone or the media such as the internet and newspapers; or sending out appeal letters by post
c. A collection that is carried out by or for a beneficiary that is a registered or exempted charity, or the fund-raising appeal for foreign charitable purpose is by a person who has been approved by Commissioner of Charities (“COC”). However, you would need to comply with the Charities Act 1994.
The HHSC Act does not apply to collections made using unmanned collection boxes.
Therefore, no licence is required under section 4 of the HHSC Act, if there is no person using face-to-face means to actively reach out to any other person to encourage donations at such boxes.
For the avoidance of doubt, please note that nothing in this website or in any correspondence with SPF shall be construed as limiting or restricting SPF's ability to administer the HHSC Act or any other law, or exempting you from the provisions under any other laws.
You may wish to seek independent legal advice if you have any doubts.
The information on this page is a guide to apply for a new House to House and Street Collections licence.
Criteria for Grant of Licence
To be eligible for a House to House and Street Collections licence, you must generally meet the following criteria:
a. Be a fit and proper person¹. The criteria and requirements for a person to be considered fit and proper to hold a licence are (but not limited to) whether the relevant person has honesty, integrity, a good reputation, competence and capability. For more details, you may click on the following link: House to House and Street Collections Act
b. Possess a valid work permit or employment pass if you are a foreigner;
c. Represent a registered business, company, society or organisation that is promoting the collection
d. Be collecting for a charitable cause
¹Para 4(4)(d) of House to House and Street Collections Act states that applicant is not a fit and proper person if he has been convicted, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, of any offence that involved or implied a finding that he had acted fraudulently or dishonestly or any offence that would likely to be committed by the grant of a House to House and Street Collections licence.
Restrictions
You are to ensure the following:
a. No one below the age of 16 years is allowed to act as a collector unless specific approval is granted by the Commissioner of Police
b. For flag days, at least 20% of the collectors are above the age of 16 years and those below this age must be above 13 years and properly supervised
c. Costs and expenses relating to the fundraising event must not be excessive in relation to the total of the proceeds of the collection
d. Under the Charities (Fundraising Appeals) Regulations 2007 and the Charities (Institutions of a Public Character) Regulations 2007, the total amount of all donations collected by the commercial fundraiser engaged by the charity, shall be paid directly to the charity. The commercial fundraiser shall not deduct or set off any payment or expenses due to him from the donations collected
Collection Period
|
Type of Fundraising Event |
Maximum Period of Collection |
|
Placement of Donation Boxes |
1 year |
|
Sales of Merchandise (Indoor) |
6 months |
|
Sales of Merchandise (Outdoor) |
3 months |
|
Island-wide event such as Flag Day |
1 day |
|
Types of Applications |
|
NewHouse to House and Street Collections Licence Application |
|
AmendExisting House to House and Street Collections Licence Application |
|
Withdrawalof House to House and Street Collections Licence Application |
|
CancelExisting House to House and Street Collections Licence Application |
New
A House to House and Street Collections licence (HHSC) is required if one promotes a collection by way of appealing to the public, made by means of visits from house to house or of soliciting in streets or other places or by both such means, for money or other property.
You may submit a new House to House and Street Collections Licence here.
Amend Licence Details
You can make the following amendments to your existing House to House and Street Collections licence at least 14 working days before its expiration:
a. Change of beneficiary
b. Change of place of collection
c. Change of collection details e.g. collection dates, mode of collection, licensee, targeted amount or event organiser
You may submit an amendment of your Existing House to House and Street Collections Licence here.
You are required to obtain the following documents before amending your existing House to House and Street Collections licence.
|
Information to be Amended |
Requirements |
|
Change of beneficiary |
Submit the Memorandum of Agreement signed by you and the intended beneficiary containing information such as name of the beneficiary, mechanics of the fundraising, date and places of collection, targeted amount to be raised and breakdown of the projected expenditure. |
|
Change of place of collection (including open spaces) |
Obtain approvals from the relevant planning authorities or management/owner of buildings, such as URA, HDB, NEA, SLA, LTA, etc; Town Councils concerned; and/or Singapore Tourism Board. For fundraising activity in public areas and streets, please submit a map that clearly indicates and demarcates the specific areas of collection. |
Withdrawal
You can withdraw your application for a House to House and Street Collections licence any time before licence approval.
If licence has been approved and issued, you will have to submit a request to cancel licence.
Cancel
You are permitted to cancel your existing House to House and Street Collections licence any time before its expiration.If someone approaches you for a donation and you have doubts about the legitimacy of the collection, you may:
a. Request for the Official Letter which is issued by the promoter of the collection, from the person who is soliciting or appealing for donations in kind or cash
b. Check the validity of the licence of a fundraising activity through the following:
I. SMS verification service by sending it to 79777 using the format “FR<space><Organisation Name>”. You will then receive a SMS reply indicating whether the organisation has a valid licence or certificate.
II. Charity Portal's Fundraising Permit Search engine at https://www.charities.gov.sg/
III. Police@SG application to access the Charities and Fundraising search engine of the Charity Portal, Charities Unit.
Contact the Police at '999' for immediate assistance if you have reasons to believe that a collection is illegitimate.
|
Collection Activities |
Requirements |
|
House to house collection of recyclable items such as old electrical appliances, old clothes and old newspapers |
Submit details of the locations and schedule of the intended collection to National Environment Agency (NEA). |
|
Fundraising activity in Orchard Road |
Obtain approval from Singapore Tourism Board (STB). |
|
Fundraising activity on behalf of a beneficiary |
Submit the Memorandum of Agreement signed by you and the intended beneficiary containing information such as name of the beneficiary, mechanics of the fundraising, date and places of collection, targeted amount to be raised and breakdown of the projected expenditure. |
|
Distribution of flyers or putting up of posters in the HDB Housing Estates |
Obtain approval from the relevant Town Councils. |
|
Events involving the conduct of donation draws or lucky draws |
Ensure that the conditions under theRemote Gambling (Exempt Persons) Orderand/or theCommon Gaming Houses (Exemption) Notificationare complied with. For further enquiries, you may wish to write to the lucky draw administrator atSPF_Lucky_Draw@spf.gov.sg. |
|
Events involving Public Entertainment and supply of Liquor |
Obtain the relevant Public Entertainment, Infocom Media Development Authority (IMDA) or Liquor licences. |
|
Events involving assembly or procession of 1 or more persons in any public place |
Obtain a valid Police Permit. |
|
Use of premises (including open spaces) for the conduct of the collection |
Obtain approvals from the relevant planning authorities or management/owner of buildings, such as URA, HDB, NEA, SLA, LTA, etc |
|
Fundraising activity in public areas and streets |
Submit a map that clearly indicates and demarcates the specific areas of collection. |
|
S/N |
Licensing Conditions |
|
1. |
The licensee shall ensure that no collection is carried out at:
|
|
2. |
The licensee shall ensure that the collectors do not impede the free movement of human or vehicular traffic. |
|
3. |
The licensee shall ensure that no collection is carried out at:
without the express and written permission of the premises owners. |
|
4. |
The licensee shall ensure that no collection is carried from house to house between 2230hrs and 0700hrs. |
|
5. |
The licensee shall ensure that collectors do not act in any way which might reasonably cause annoyance to any member of the public. |
|
6. |
The licensee shall ensure that the collectors do not:
|
|
7. |
The licensee shall, prior to every collection, conduct briefings to all the collectors on strict compliance with the provisions of the House to House and Street Collections Act 1947, the regulations made thereunder, and the licensing conditions imposed. |
|
8. |
The licensee shall ensure that there is no unauthorised amendment when using any the prescribed form in the House to House and Street Collections Regulations, including the insertion of any letterhead or any change in the formatting. |
Approximately 3 weeks from the receipt of the application and if all necessary supporting documents are enclosed (if required). Any incomplete or incorrect submission will be rejected.
You will be notified of the outcome via SMS and/or Email. Alternatively, you may login to GoBusiness Licensing to view your application status.
You will be directed to GoBusiness Licensing webpage, which will require you to sign in using your SingPass
If you require assistance or guidance on the GoBusiness portal, please contact their helpdesk at (+65) 6774 1430 or email licences-helpdesk@crimsonlogic.com.sg
The process may take around 15-20 minutes to complete.
The list of approved fundraising events can be found here.
Dear Customers.
With effect from 1 August 2021, members of the public who wish to utilise counter services at the Police Licensing & Regulatory Department, Police Cantonment Complex (391 New Bridge Road) would be required to make an appointment in advance.
2. To register for an appointment, please use the following link at www.picktime.com/policelicensing or the below QR code:
3. Upon successful registration, members of the public will receive a notification with details of the scheduled appointments.
4. For enquiries, please use our online services at www.police.gov.sg/licence or email us at SPF_Licensing_Feedback@spf.gov.sg.
5. Thank you.
The information on this page shows additional information related to House to House and Street Collections Licence.
Audited Statement of Account
You are required to submit the audited statement of accounts within two months after the fundraising event.
Failure to do so is an offence under the HHSC Act.
Declaration of Loss of Donation Card
You are only required to file a declaration for loss of donation cards.
A police report is not required for the loss of donation cards. A police report is only required if the donation card is suspected to be stolen.