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Premises licence application guidance notes

1. Describe the premises, for example the type of premises, its general situation and layout and any other information which could be relevant to the licensing objectives. Where your application includes off-supplies of alcohol and you intend to provide a place for consumption of these off-supplies, you must include a description of where the place will be and its proximity to the premises

2. In terms of specific regulated entertainments please note that:

  • Plays: no licence is required for performances between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 500
  • Films: no licence is required for ‘not-for-profit’ film exhibition held in community premises between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day provided that the audience does not exceed 500 and the organiser (a) gets consent to the screening from a person who is responsible for the premises; and (b) ensures that each such screening abides by age classification ratings
  • Indoor sporting events: no licence is required for performances between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 1000
  • Boxing or Wrestling Entertainment: no licence is required for a contest, exhibition or display of Greco-Roman wrestling, or freestyle wrestling between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 1000. Combined fighting sports – defined as a contest, exhibition or display which combines boxing or wrestling with one or more martial arts – are licensable as a boxing or wrestling entertainment rather than an indoor sporting event
  • Live music: no licence permission is required for:
    • a performance of unamplified live music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, on any premises
    • a performance of amplified live music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day on premises authorised to sell alcohol for consumption on those premises, provided that the audience does not exceed 500
    • a performance of amplified live music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, in a workplace that is not licensed to sell alcohol on those premises, provided that the audience does not exceed 500
    • a performance of amplified live music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, in a church hall, village hall, community hall, or other similar community premises, that is not licensed by a premises licence to sell alcohol, provided that (a) the audience does not exceed 500, and (b) the organiser gets consent for the performance from a person who is responsible for the premises
    • a performance of amplified live music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, at the non-residential premises of (i) a local authority, or (ii) a school, or (iii) a hospital, provided that (a) the audience does not exceed 500, and (b) the organiser gets consent for the performance on the relevant premises from: (i) the local authority concerned, or (ii) the school or (iii) the health care provider for the hospital
  • Recorded Music: no licence permission is required for:
    • any playing of recorded music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day on premises authorised to sell alcohol for consumption on those premises, provided that the audience does not exceed 500
    • any playing of recorded music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, in a church hall, village hall, community hall, or other similar community premises, that is not licensed by a premises licence to sell alcohol, provided that (a) the audience does not exceed 500, and (b) the organiser gets consent for the performance from a person who is responsible for the premises
    • any playing of recorded music between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, at the non-residential premises of (i) a local authority, or (ii) a school, or (iii) a hospital, provided that (a) the audience does not exceed 500, and (b) the organiser gets consent for the performance on the relevant premises from: (i) the local authority concerned, or (ii) the school proprietor or (iii) the health care provider for the hospital
    • Dance: no licence is required for performances between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, provided that the audience does not exceed 500. However, a performance which amounts to adult entertainment remains licensable
  • Cross activity exemptions: no licence is required between 08:00 and 23:00 on any day, with no limit on audience size for:
    • any entertainment taking place on the premises of the local authority where the entertainment is provided by or on behalf of the local authority
    • any entertainment taking place on the hospital premises of the health care provider where the entertainment is provided by or on behalf of the health care provider
    • any entertainment taking place on the premises of the school where the entertainment is provided by or on behalf of the school proprietor; and
    • any entertainment (excluding films and a boxing or wrestling entertainment) taking place at a travelling circus, provided that (a) it takes place within a moveable structure that accommodates the audience, and (b) that the travelling circus has not been located on the same site for more than 28 consecutive days

3. Where taking place in a building or other structure please tick as appropriate (indoors may include a tent).

4. For example the type of activity to be authorised, if not already stated, and give relevant further details, for example (but not exclusively) whether or not music will be amplified or unamplified.

5. For example (but not exclusively), where the activity will occur on additional days during the summer months

6. For example (but not exclusively), where you wish the activity to go on longer on a particular day eg Christmas Eve.

7. Please give timings in 24 hour clock (eg 16:00) and only give details for the days of the week when you intend the premises to be used for the activity.

8. If you wish people to be able to consume alcohol on the premises, please tick ‘on the premises’. If you wish people to be able to purchase alcohol to consume away from the premises, please tick ‘off the premises’. If you wish people to be able to do both, please tick ‘both’.

9. Please give information about anything intended to occur at the premises or ancillary to the use of the premises which may give rise to concern in respect of children, regardless of whether you intend children to have access to the premises, for example (but not exclusively) nudity or semi-nudity, films for restricted age groups or the presence of gaming machines.

10. Please list here steps you will take to promote all four licensing objectives together.

11. The application form must be signed.

12. An applicant’s agent (for example solicitor) may sign the form on their behalf provided that they have actual authority to do so.

13. Where there is more than one applicant, each of the applicants or their respective agent must sign the application form.

14. This is the address which we shall use to correspond with you about this application.

Right to work/immigration status

A 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

Any licence issued in respect of an application made on or after 6 April 2017 will become invalid if the holder ceases to be entitled to work in the UK.

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. They do this in one of two ways:

  1. by providing with this application copies or scanned copies of the documents which an applicant may provide to demonstrate their entitlement to work in the UK (which do not need to be certified) that are published on GOV.UK and in guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, or
  2. by providing their “share code” to enable the licensing authority to carry out a check using the Home Office online right to work checking service.

Home Office online right to work checking service

As an alternative to providing a copy of the documents listed above, applicants may demonstrate their right to work by allowing the Licensing Authority to carry out a check with the Home Office online right to work checking service.

To demonstrate their right to work via the Home Office online right to work checking service, applicants should include in this application their 9-digit share code (provided to them upon accessing the right to work checking service) which, along with the applicant’s date of birth (provided within this application), will allow the Licensing Authority to carry out the check.

In order to establish the applicant’s right to work, the check will need to indicate that the applicant is allowed to work in the United Kingdom and is not subject to a condition preventing them from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity.

An online check will not be possible in all circumstances because not all applicants will have an immigration status that can be checked online. The Home Office online right to work checking service sets out what information and/or documentation applicants will need in order to access the service. Applicants who are unable to obtain a share code from the service should submit coy documents as set out above.

Your right to work will be checked as part of your licensing application and this could involve us checking your immigration status with the Home Office. We may otherwise share information with the Home Office. Your licence application will not be determined until you have complied with this guidance.

Premises plan

The plan of the premises should be included with the application, and copied to the responsible authorities as part of the application. The plan of the premises needs to meet the requirements set out in the act and the Licensing Act 2003 (Premises licences and club premises certificates) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/42 to show the following:

  1. the extent of the boundary of the building, if relevant, and any external and internal walls of the building and, if different, the perimeter of the premises
  2. the location of points of access to and egress from the premises
  3. if different from (2), the location of escape routes from the premises
  4. in a case where the premises is used for more than one existing licensable activity, the area within the premises used for each activity
  5. fixed structures (including furniture) or similar objects temporarily in a fixed location (but not furniture) which may impact on the ability of individuals on the premises to use exits or escape routes without impediment
  6. in a case where the premises includes a stage or raised area, the location and height of each stage or area relative to the floor
  7. in a case where the premises includes any steps, stairs, elevators or lifts, the location of the steps, stairs, elevators or lifts
  8. in a case where the premises includes any room or rooms containing public conveniences, the location of the room or rooms
  9. the location and type of any fire safety and any other safety equipment, including if applicable, marine safety equipment
  10. the location of a kitchen, if any, on the premises

Unless you have previously agreed with the relevant licensing authority in writing that an alternative scale plan is acceptable to it, the plan should be drawn in standard scale, where 1 millimetre represents 100 millimetres. The plan may include a key of symbols to illustrate the above on the plan, but there is no requirement to do so.

Last updated 13 October 2023