Late night refreshment licence

You may need a premises licence to if you are providing of late night refreshments such as the sale of hot food and/or hot (non-alcoholic) drink whether for consumption on or off the premises between the hours of 11pm and 5am.

This mainly covers:

• takeaways
• late night cafes
• mobile vans
   

Exemptions

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

• selling immediately consumable food such as bread, milk or cold sandwiches in an all night grocers shop, unless they are selling hot food or hot drink 
• the supply of a hot drink by means of a vending machine, so long as it is operated by members of the public without the involvement of the staff on the premises
• the supply of hot food or hot drink free of charge 
• supplies by a registered charity
• supplies on vehicles, other than when they are permanently or temporarily parked

Additionally you will not need a licence if you supply refreshments to:

• anyone staying overnight in a hotel, guest house, lodging house, hostel, caravan or camping sites etc where the main purpose is providing overnight accommodation
• staff canteens
• a person engaged in a profession or vocation (e.g. tradesman carrying out work at a particular premises)
• a guest of any of the above

You won't need a personal licence if you are not supplying alcohol.
 

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, or that you must provide door supervision.
 

How to apply

Find out how to apply for a premises licence.