Premises licence and club premises certificate

Apply for a premises licence or club premises certificate

You need a premises licence or club premises certificate to provide certain activities, such as selling alcohol, providing regulated entertainment or supplying late-night refreshments.

A premises licence or club premises certificate authorises you to offer certain ‘licensable activities’ from a particular venue. Licensable activities include:

• sale or supply of alcohol
• providing certain types of entertainment (e.g. theatrical performances, showing films, indoor sports, music and dancing)
• serving late-night food and drinks between 11pm and 5am

You will also need to apply for a premises licence for a one-off event if the capacity for the event exceeds 500 people and you intend to provide any of the above activities.

Exemptions

You do not need a licence to offer some types of entertainment, including:

• educational or promotional films
• films shown as part of an exhibition in a museum or gallery
• incidental music, such as film scores or soundtracks

Apply for a premises licence or club premises certificate

To apply for a premises licence or club premises certificate, you will need to supply the following information:

• a completed premises licence application form
• a detailed plan of the premises
• an operating schedule (e.g. details of when alcohol will be sold)

When applying for a premises licence you will also be required to submit:

• a consent form for a designated premises supervisor (DPS)

You will also need to provide proof of immigration status/entitlement to work if you are applying as an individual.

For more information, see the Home Office’s premises licence guidance.

You will be charged an application fee that is based on the rateable value of the property.

You must advertise in a local newspaper and display a notice on or at the premises printed on blue paper for a 28-day period after submitting it. The advert and notice should outline the licensing activities or qualifying club activities that will be conducted at the premises, as well as your name, the address or location of the premises, information about the licensing authority and the date by which any representations must be submitted. You can download a template premises licence application notice (docx).