Apply for a personal alcohol licence

Overview

Every sale or supply of alcohol within a licensed premises must be authorised by a personal licence holder. This means you, or a member of your staff, must hold a personal licence to do this.

A personal licence holder can act as the designated premises supervisor for any business that sells or supplies alcohol.

‘Licensed premises’ include any premises allowed to sell alcohol under a premises licence or club premises certificate. You don’t need a personal licence to sell alcohol under a temporary events notice or to be employed in a pub or other business that sells alcohol.

Who can apply

To apply for a personal licence, you must:

be aged 18 years or over
hold a relevant licensing qualification - like the BIIAB Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders or a similar accredited qualification

Breakdown of fees

Application or notice	Fee
Application for grant of new personal licence	£37
Theft or loss of a personal licence	£10.50
Change of name or address to a personal licence	£10.50
Right of freeholder etc to be notified of licensing matters	£21

How to apply

Please note we have recently moved to a new system. This means any existing accounts used to apply for personal licences are now discontinued and you will need to register for a new account before you can apply again.

You will need the following to complete this application:

a copy of an acceptable document proving that you have the right to work in the UK
2 photographs, one of these needs to be endorsed to be a true likeness of yourself by a solicitor, a person of standing in the community or an individual with a professional qualification
an approved licensing qualification certificate
a basic criminal records disclosure certificate. Details of how to do this can be found on the DBS checks website
a declaration of relevant or foreign offences. If you have one of these offences, the licensing authority will consult with the Police, who have an opportunity to object to you being granted a personal licence

Apply now

Updating your licence

Personal licences do not need to be renewed. The licence will continue until it's either surrendered or revoked and the expiry date no longer applies.

Change of name or address

You must tell us if you change your name or address so that your personal licence can be updated. Failing to do so is an offence.

You will need to write to us with your new details, enclosing the following:

both the paper part and the card part of your personal licence, or tell us why you are unable to do this
fee of £10.50