Personal alcohol and entertainment licence

What is a Personal Alcohol Licence?

• If you apply for a Personal Alcohol Licence, it means you are allowed to supply or sell alcohol at a premises that already has a Premises Licence 
• You need it if you want to be the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) of a premises licensed to sell alcohol 

Do I need a licence?

• If your premises sells or supplies alcohol, you need at least one personal licence holder
• One licence holder must also be named as the Designated Premises Supervisor for your premises

What is a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS)?

• It is the person named on your premises licence as being responsible for the running of your premises. 
• A DPS must hold a Personal Licence  

Who can apply for a Personal Licence?

A Personal Licence holder must:

• Be aged 18 years or over
• Have not given up a personal licence within five years 
• Have not been convicted of any relevant or foreign offence
• Have (and and be able to show) an original BII Level II examination certificate or similar accredited licensing qualification

What can I use as my accredited licensing qualification?

Check your qualification is accredited.

How do I apply for a licence?

You need to apply to us for your licence.  There is lots of information below to help you.  Once we have received your form, you can expect to hear from us within 60 days. If you have not heard from us after that time, please contact us.

What do I need to complete my licence application?

• A completed Personal licence application form 
• A completed Disclosure of convictions form, available to download from the Resources section
• The appropriate fee
• You’ll also need two passport photographs.  One must be signed by a person in authority (like a solicitor, teacher, lecturer or other professional) and they must write this on the back of the photo: “This is a true likeness of (your name)”, signed with their name, date and job title.
• A basic Criminal Conviction Disclosure Certificate. Apply online at GOV.UK. 

You can get help with your application here.

How long does a licence last?

You may only hold one personal licence at a time. It lasts for ten years unless it is suspended, surrendered or revoked. 

Can someone object to my application?

• Only the Police can object.  In this case, they must notify us within 14 days. 
• Your application will then be decided by a licensing committee at a hearing
• If there are no objections and you meet all the application criteria, your licence will be approved. 

For any more information or help, please submit an Enquiry Form.

Register of Personal Licences

Our Register of Personal Licences is available to download from the Resources section by filtering by Type/Registers to access the document.