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Apply for a premises licence

How to apply for a premises alcohol licence.

You will need to apply to us for a premises licence if you intend to sell alcohol or provide 'licensable activities' from a particular venue.

Licensable activities include:

  • selling alcohol
  • serving hot food and drinks between 11pm and 5am

You'll also need a licence if you provide the following types of entertainment:

  • theatrical performance
  • showing a film
  • indoor sporting event
  • boxing or wrestling (indoor or outdoor)
  • live music
  • recorded music
  • dance
  • facilities for making music
  • dancing facilities

You still need a licence even if the activities are for charity.

You may have to pay Machine Games Duty on any gaming machines you have on your premises. Find out about Machine Games Duty on GOV.UK.

 

Exemptions

You don't need a licence for some types of entertainment, including:

  • educational or promotional films
  • films shown as part of an exhibition in a museum or gallery
  • incidental music (live or recorded)

Restrictions

You must be 18 or over to apply for a premises licence.

Conditions

You must be, or appoint, a designated premises supervisor (DPS) when you apply for a licence. A DPS must have a personal licence to sell alcohol.

There may be other conditions added to your licence, e.g. having an age-checking policy if you sell alcohol.
 

Before you start

You will need your credit or debit card to pay the fee at the end of the application.

You will need to provide other information, including:

  • a plan of the premises - you will need to upload this with your application
  • details of the designated premises supervisor (DPS)
  • an operating schedule, e.g. hours when alcohol will be sold

Licence fees

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

You can check the rateable value of the premises on GOV.UK.

If your premises doesn't have a rateable value it will fall into the lowest fee band.
 

How to apply

You can apply by downloading our application form.

① Complete an application form

Download and complete a prmises licence application form (Word doc) [66KB]

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② Pay the licence fee

Check the fee that you need to pay.

To pay for your premises licence call our Customer Service Centre on 01799 510510 and request the payment receipt.

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③ Send your application

Send the completed application form, supporting documents and your payment receipt to us by email to: licensing@uttlesford.gov.uk

 

Renew your licence

Most premises licences have an unlimited duration. You will need pay an annual fee due on the anniversary date of when your premises licence was granted.
 

Display the application

Site notice

You must display a notice of the application on the outside of the premises for 28 days starting from the day after the application was submitted.

The site notice must be:

  • on pale blue paper
  • A4 size or larger
  • font size 16 or larger

Newspaper notice

You must publish a notice in a locally circulated newspaper within 10 working days starting from the day after the application was submitted.

We will:

  • publish the application on the council's website
  • provide templates for both the site notice and newspaper notice

Please liaise with the officer processing your application to ensure your application is valid prior to advertising/displaying it.
 

What happens next

There's a 28 day representation period from the date you apply.  After this has ended if there haven't been any representations from responsible authorities or relevant persons, then well grant the licence. Well issue the licence shortly after.

If there's representation from a statutory consultee or relevant persons then the Licensing and Environmental Health Committee will need to look at your application.  

We'll arrange a hearing with the licensing committee within 20 working days from the representation period end date. If a hearing is held a licence will be granted, granted with some extra conditions or refused.

Fines and penalties

You can be fined up to £1,000 for failing to produce your licence on request.

If you carry out any licensable activities at your premises without a premises licence, you can be fined, sent to prison for up to 6 months, or both.

You can get a club premises certificate instead of a premises licence if you run a member's club.
 

Find out more about premises licences

If your application is refused

If, following a hearing, your application is refused you have the right to appeal to the Magistrates Court against the council´s decision within 21 days of being notified of the decision and the grounds for it.

Your obligations as a licence holder

Once you are a licence holder you must:

  • keep the licence (or a certified copy) on the premises at all times
  • produce your licence (or a certified copy) to any police constable or person authorised by the council
  • prominently display, at the premises, Part B (the summary)
  • notify the council and apply for a copy if your licence is lost, stolen or destroyed
  • inform the council if you wish to surrender your licence
  • notify and apply to the council any variation you wish to make to your operating hours, activities, conditions and any alteration to the premises
  • notify the council of any variation to the designated premises supervisor
  • notify the council of change of name or address
  • notify the council and apply for transfer of a licence
  • notify the council and apply for an interim authority notice following death etc of licence holder
  • pay an annual fee due on the anniversary of the grant date of your licence

 

Lost or stolen licences

If you have lost or had your personal licence stolen, you can contact our Licensing team to request a replacement. 

There is £10.50 administration charge for this. We cannot take payment until we have received your request in writing.

Change your name or address

If you need to change the name or address on your personal licence you will need to contact our Licensing team. If you change your name, you should include proof, such as a marriage certificate.

There is a £10.50 administration charge for this.

Apply for a minor variation

You can make small changes to your licence which includes:         

  • minor changes to the structure or layout of a premises
  • adjustments to the licensing hours
  • removal of out of date, irrelevant or unenforceable conditions
  • addition of licensable activities

Find how to apply for a minor variation to a premises licence.

Apply for a variation to a premises licence

You can apply to vary your premises licence to:

  • extend the hours for existing licensable activities
  • apply for extra licensable activities
  • remove conditions on an existing licence

Find how to apply to vary a premises licence.

Change the designated premises supervisor (DPS)

You can apply to change a Designated Premises Supervisor, also known as a DPS, at any time. You will need to do this, for example, when a pub landlord moves on from the premises and a new one arrives.

Find out how to change a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS).

Transfer a premises licence to another license holder

You can apply to transfer a premises license to another authorised license holder. The existing license holder and the incoming person who is taking over the premises licence will both need to complete application forms.

Find out how to transfer a premises licence to another licence holder.

Wholesale of alcohol

The wholesale of alcohol does not require a licence providing that the sale is not made to a member of the public.

Selling alcohol via the internet or mail order

If you sell alcohol via the internet or mail order the premises or warehouse where the alcohol is being dispatched will require a premises licence.

Apply for a provisional statement

A provisional statement is an assurance that a premises licence will be issued once a premises has been constructed, altered or extended. A provisional statement does not have a limited duration.

You only need to apply for a provisional statement if you are unable to supply all the required information for a premises licence. This may be that  you don't yet know the name of designated premises supervisor or the times when licensable activities are to take place.

Applying for a provisional statement is the same process as applying for a new premises licence but uses a different application form.

Find out how to apply for a provisional statement.

Tacit consent doesn't apply

Tacit consent does not apply to premises and club premises licences, provisional statements, transfers and variations. The Act requires the licensing authority to hold a hearing prior to determining an application where representation have been received from relevant authorities or others. Tacit consent would override this requirement. It is notable that during the transitional period application for a licence without variation were deemed granted after 2 months if undetermined whereas application for a variation which were not dealt with within that time scale were deemed to be refused.

Late night refreshments

Under the Licensing Act 2003, the provision of late night refreshments is a licensable activity and covers businesses selling hot food or hot drink between the hours of 11pm and 5am. The Act is mainly aimed at licensing takeaways, and late night cafes, including mobile vans.

 

Licensing Act 2003 Policy

You are strongly advised to read our  Statement of Licensing Policy 2022-2027 (PDF) [872KB]  .