Public Subscription Permit (Flag Days／General Charitable Fund-raising Activities / Solicitation of Signed Authorisation Forms)

 

The Social Welfare Department (SWD), according to Section 4(17)(i) of Summary Offences Ordinance, Cap. 228, Laws of Hong Kong, regulates any person who organises, provides equipment for, or participates in any collection of money or sale or exchange for donation of badges, tokens or similar articles in a public place for charitable purposes. Anyone who conducts the above-said activities has to apply for a public subscription permit from the Director of SWD.

The public subscription permit covers three types of charitable fund-raising activities in public places, namely flag days, general charitable fund-raising activities and solicitation of signed authorisation forms.

The “General Guidelines on the Scope of Public Subscription Permits” has been prepared to facilitate the public and organisations to understand the circumstances required to apply for a public subscription permit. The “General Guidelines on the Scope of Public Subscription Permits” can be downloaded here.

All Permittees are required to comply with the PSP conditions. In the event of non-compliance with permit conditions, the SWD will issue written warning(s) to the organisation concerned until the organisation has taken appropriate action to rectify the non-compliance to the satisfaction of the SWD. The “Consequences of Non-compliances with Public Subscription Permit Conditions” has been prepared and can be downloaded here. List of Permittees with serious non-compliance record published under the mechanism can be downloaded here.