Personal Licence

A personal licence authorises someone to sell or supply alcohol from a licensed premises. A personal licence is not required if only conducting the other licensable activities (regulated entertainment or provision of late night entertainment) in a licensed premises.

Not every person selling alcohol at a licensed premise needs to hold a Personal Licence. Where there is the sale or supply of alcohol, this must be made by or authorised by a personal licence holder. The exception to this is where there is a Designated Premises Supervisor for a community premises, church hall or village hall. You must apply for a personal licence from the local authority where you live, which may not be where the licensed premises is.

Since 2017, a personal licence may not be issued to an individual, or an individual in a partnership, which is not a limited liability partnership who is resident in the UK who:

does not have the right to live and work in the UK, or
is subject to a condition preventing him or her from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity.

The Licensing Act 2003 (opens new window) is the act which regulates alcohol and entertainment. For further information on personal licences please refer to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport website (opens new window). If you are unable to find the information you need, please contact us.

Apply for a personal licence

A personal licence costs £37 and doesn't have an expiry date unless it is surrendered, suspended or revoked. You must be at least 18 years of age to be a personal licence holder. Please be advised for any applications completed paying by cheque is discouraged as this will delay the process.

Premises licence applicants must demonstrate that they:

have the right to work in the UK, and
are not subject to a condition preventing them from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensing activity.

When applying, you must provide copies to show proof of the above, along with your application, or by providing a 'share code' from the Home Office online right to work checking service (opens new window).

To apply for a personal licence please complete and return our personal licence application form (PDF, 96 KB), along with:

the £37 licence fee
two passport sized photographs - one must be endorsed as a true likeness by a solicitor, notary, lecturer or other professional person and complete our photograph endorsement form (PDF, 55 KB)(opens new window)
a completed Disclosure of Convictions and Declaration Certificate (PDF, 35 KB)(opens new window)
- you must complete a disclosure form which will confirm any relevant or foreign offences (PDF, 15 KB)(opens new window).
a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
- The disclosure certificate must not be issued earlier than one calendar month prior to submitting your application. Applications received where there is a conviction for a relevant or foreign offences (PDF, 15 KB)(opens new window) will be issued to the Police, who are entitled to object. If there aren't any objections from the Police, the application process can continue.
an Accredited Personal Licensing Qualification Certificate
- before applying for a personal licence you must hold the relevant qualification to ensure that you're aware of the licensing laws and the social responsibility attached to the sale of alcohol. There are also a number of personal licence qualification providers (opens new window) accredited by the Secretary of State.

Please note that the Personal Licensing Qualification Certificate and Disclosure Certificate must be originals, we do not accept photocopies.

Any application which is submitted to us that is incomplete, incorrect or missing any of the above requirements will be returned and rejected.

Personal licences and convictions

It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application for a personal licence. To do so may result in prosecution and a fine of up to £5000. You must notify us, as the Licensing Authority, immediately if you're convicted of any offence during the time between making your application and the grant of your licence.

Change a personal licence

If you're a personal licence holder and have had a change of name or address, please complete and return the relevant application form below. Along with your application to notify us of the change, please include your personal licence (both the paper counterpart and the card) and the fee of £10.50, as detailed on the application.

Renew a personal licence

Since April 2015, personal licences no longer have an expiry date - even if your current licence shows an expiry date. If you want to update your personal licence with a card that shows no expiry date, please complete and return our personal licence expiry update application form (PDF, 176 KB)(opens new window), along with your personal licence card and the fee of £10.50.

National Fraud Initiative

We have a duty to protect the public funds we administer and may use the information you provide for the prevention and detection of fraud. We may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes. For more information, please visit the National Fraud Initiative web page.

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