What is a Premises Licence?

What Is a premises licence?

A premises licence is granted by a licensing authority to permit one or more licensable activities to take place on the premises. The licensable activities are:

  • Sale of alcohol by retail
  • Supply of alcohol in club premises (under the terms of a club premises certificate)
  • Provision of regulated entertainment
  • Provision of late-night refreshment

The premises do not have to be a physical building and a premises licence can be granted for:

  • Moveable structures such as beer tents and burger vans.
  • Open spaces such as fields for festivals.
  • Vessels such as river/canal boats.

Once granted, a premises licence is valid indefinitely until such time as:

  • The licence is revoked.
  • The premises licence holder dies or becomes incapacitated or is made bankrupt.
  • The licence is formally surrendered to the licensing authority.

Who can apply for a premises licence?

A premises licence can be applied for by an individual who is 18 or over, a company that operates the business or an organisation such as a charity or educational institution.

Once granted, the individual, company or organisation becomes the licence holder with responsibility for the legal operation of the premises.

Most sales of alcohol are sales of alcohol by retail, regardless of the amount of alcohol purchased, and all sales will therefore require a premises licence and a designated premises supervisor (who is the holder of a personal licence).

How to apply for a premises licence

An application for a premises licence is made to the Licensing Authority in the area where the premises are situated.  The application itself consists of:

  • Application form (sent either by post or electronically)
  • Operating Schedule
  • DPS details and a signed consent form (if application is for sale of alcohol by retail)
  • Plan of the premises in a specific format
  • Document showing the applicant is entitled to work in the UK
  • Application fee

The premises licence application will then need to be advertised:

  • In the local newspaper and
  • An A4-size notice displayed on or outside the premises

Inn Confidence premises licence application service

Inn Confidence provides a fixed-fee service for premises licence applications for the:

  • Grant of a new premises licence (£785 ex vat)

(Prices exclude vat and licensing disbursements)
Click ‘here’ to instruct us for your premises licence application

What does this cover?

  • Risk Assessment by an experienced consultant
  • Liaison with the applicant and the responsible authorities
  • Preparation, completion & submission of all forms of application including the Operating Schedule
  • Preparation and the posting of notices for the premises and in the local press
  • Negotiation with any concerned parties throughout the 28 days consultation period

What would be extra?

  • The cost of suitable layout plans to accompany the application (which we can arrange for you)
  • The newspaper notice fee (usually around £200-£300)
  • The licensing application fee (grant or full variation is usually £100 or £190)
  • Representation at a licensing hearing (if there are stubborn objections that cannot be negotiated away).

The premises licence application fee is based on the non-domestic rateable value of your premises, whether the premises are used ‘exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises’ and whether you host any events with more than 5,000 attendees at time.

Why choose Inn Confidence?

  • Highly regarded and experienced licensing consultants
  • National coverage
  • Fixed-fee on all applications
  • Fully managed from consultation to completion

What next?

call 0151 558 1783 or complete the form below

Premises Licence FAQ’s?

A premises licence is granted by a licensing authority to permit one or more licensable activities to take place on the premises.  The licensable activities are:

  • Sale of alcohol by retail
  • Supply of alcohol in club premises (under the terms of a Club Premises certificate)
  • Provision of regulated entertainment
  • Provision of late-night refreshment

A premises licence can be applied for by an individual who is 18 or over, a company that operates the business or an organisation such as a charity or educational institution.
Once granted, the individual, company or organisation becomes the licence holder with responsibility for the legal operation of the premises.

Most sales of alcohol are sales of alcohol by retail. A sale by retail is a sale of alcohol in any quantity to a member of the public. This requires a premises licence and a designated premises supervisor (who must be the holder of a personal licence).

The consultation period is 28 days from receipt of a valid application.  If no representations are received the licence shall be granted the day after the end of that consultation period.

If relevant representations are made against the application, a hearing will be held within 20 working days following the end of the consultation period, where the matter will be decided by the Licensing Sub-Committee

You’ll be charged a fee that’s based on the rateable value of the property.

Application fees range from £100 to £1,905, depending on the fee band of your venue.
If your premises doesn’t have a rateable value it will fall into the lowest fee band.

You can view the fee schedule above.

When the application is made the responsible authorities or any other person are permitted to make representations (objections) to the application. However, these representations must be relevant to the licensing objectives and must not be either frivolous or vexatious.

Not to make the application. However, there must be a personal licence holder nominated to be the designated premises supervisor (DPS) when the licence includes the sale of alcohol by retail is granted, and you are ready to operate under the premises licence.

Once a premises licence has been granted the licensing authority will issue the following:

  • The main premises licence.
  • A premises licence summary.

It is a requirement that the premises licence summary or a certified copy is displayed at the premises and the main premises licence should also be kept in a safe place at the premises

No – a personal licence holder does not need to be on the premises. Although each and every sale of alcohol must be authorised by a personal licence holder, unless there is a specific condition on your premises licence saying so, then a personal licence holder does not need to be on the premises when alcohol sales are taking place. However, the staff working at the premises must be aware that they have been authorised to sell alcohol and to know the name of the DPS that has authorised them to make the sale.

Premises licences will be granted for the life of the business. A licence may be revoked, suspended or surrendered. An annual fee must also be paid to maintain the licence.

You will be charged a fee that’s based on the rateable value of your property. Application fees range from £100 to £1,905, depending on the fee band of your venue. If your premises doesn’t have a rateable value it will fall into the lowest fee band, such as residential properties. Please see the rates table ‘here’

Holders of premises licences must pay an annual fee set by the Government. This fee is due each year on the anniversary of the date of the grant of the licence and paid to the licensing authority that granted the licence. If this is not paid, the licence can be suspended.

There are four licensable activities created within the Licensing Act 2003. A premises licence, club premises certificate or temporary event notice can authorise one or more of the licensable activities.

There are four licensable activities created within the Licensing Act 2003. A premises licence, club premises certificate or temporary event notice can authorise one or more of the licensable activities.

  • Retail sale of alcohol.
  • Supply of alcohol in clubs.
  • Regulated entertainment.
  • Late night refreshment.

Regulated entertainment comprises providing certain entertainment for an audience or spectators. The following activities are classed as entertainment:

Performance of a play
Exhibition of a film
Performance of live or recorded music
Performance of dance
Indoor sports

Please read our guide on regulated entertainment ‘here’

Late night refreshment is defined as the provision of hot food or hot drink for consumption on or off the premises between the hours of 11pm and 5am. This is a licensable activity

The fundamental principles of licensing law are known as the licensing objectives.

They are as follows:

  • Prevention of crime and disorder
  • Public safety
  • Prevention of public nuisance
  • Protection of children from harm

Please read our guide on the licensing objectives ‘here’

If the licensing authority do not receive any representations after the 28 day consultation period, the licence will be granted.

If there is a relevant representation from a responsible authority or interested party, then the application will be presented to the Licensing Sub-Committee for their determination. The hearing for the sub-committee will be arranged within 28 days following the initial 28 day consultation period.

You can check the ‘rateable value’ of your property ‘here’ – this is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and used by your local council to calculate your business rates bill.

The designated premises supervisor (DPS) is a personal licence holder  named on the premises licence as being in day to day control at the premises where the sale of alcohol takes place.
Any premises selling alcohol which does not have a DPS appointed to  the premises licence is in breach of licensing law.