Busking licence

1 What you need to know

Busking is the act of entertaining in a public place for donations. If you want to busk you will need to apply for a licence.

You can apply to us if you want to busk in:

• Chichester - East Street, North Street or The Cross
• Bognor Regis - Town centre precinct
• Littlehampton - Town centre precinct

If you want to busk in any other part of West Sussex you will need to contact the relevant district or borough council.

You will need additional licences if you plan to collect money for charity or sell goods. To find out more, contact the relevant district or borough council.

2 Apply for a licence

Applications can take up to 10 days to be processed. Once your application has been approved, we will send you a licence which is valid for 2 months.

Online application form

Application terms and conditions

1. Busking shall not be carried out within 100 metres of another busker. If another busker arrives for their booked slot, you will need to move to enable them to perform. 
2. Busking shall not be carried out for more than 30 minutes at a time at any one location after which you shall move on to another location not less than 20 metres from that location.
3. If instructed by a police officer, traffic warden, officer of West Sussex County Council, or officer from the Environmental Health Department of the district council, you shall stop busking immediately a complaint is received.
4. You shall cause no obstruction either to members of the public or to private premises.
5. You shall comply forthwith with any directions, or requests, by a police officer, traffic warden, officer of West Sussex County Council, or officer from the Environmental Health Department of the district council.
6. Any amplification shall be kept to a reasonable level and the amplification will be immediately turned off if requested by a police officer, traffic warden, officer of West Sussex County Council or officer from the Environmental Health Department of the district council.
7. No motor vehicles or structures of any size shall be permitted in the highway in connection with busking.
8. No sales of pre-recorded music tapes or CDs will be permitted.

3 Book a busking slot

Once your application has been approved and you have received your licence, you will need to phone us to book your busking slots.

• Bookings for the week ahead open on a Monday morning and slots can only be booked for that week.
• You can book a maximum of 2 slots each week. 
• You can perform for a maximum of 4 hours per slot.

Please note

• Busking in Chichester: The area outside of Marks & Spencers in East Street should be avoided due to the close proximity of businesses. Busking is not allowed in West Street or South Street for reasons of public safety due to their constant use by large vehicles (such as buses).
• Busking in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton: You are not permitted to busk along the promenade or the beach.