Alcohol Premises Licence

A premises licence lets you use a premises for a range of licensable activities. These include:

Selling alcohol
Supplying alcohol to (or on behalf of) a club
Providing regulated entertainment (including live and recorded music, plays, films, dancing, indoor sporting events, boxing and wrestling)
Providing late night refreshment (the supply of hot food or drink to the public between 23:00 and 05:00)

Applying for a premises licence

An application for a premises licence has to be made to the relevant licensing authority along with:

A completed Premises Licence Appl Form [docx] 81KB - please also see our guidance on completing Part 3 Section M [pdf] 524KB of the application form.
A completed notice of an application for the grant of a premises licence [pdf] 547KB which must be displayed at the premises (on blue paper)
If the application includes alcohol, the designated premises supervisor (DPS) Consent [pdf] 12KB
The relevant Licensing Act 2003 Licensing Fee.
Right to work document – see guidance notes on application form
Plans to Accompany Premises Licence/Club Premises Certificate Applications
Premises licence guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please make sure that copies of the application are submitted to the Licensing Authority & Responsible Authorities and the Advertisement of Applications, both at the premises and in the local press.

Minor variation of a premises licence

A minor variation application can be used for the following:

Minor changes to the structure or layout of a premises
Small adjustments to licensing hours (but this does not cover increasing the hours alcohol is sold)
Removing of out of date, irrelevant or unenforceable conditions
Adding certain licensable activities, including live music

Download application for a minor variation to a premises licence [pdf] 595KB
Download minor variation of a premises licence notice [pdf] 522KB

Exclusions

Some of the exclusions for a minor variation are:

To extend the period for which the licence has effect
To authorise the sale of alcohol at any time between 23:00 and 07:00
To increase the amount of time during which alcohol can be sold

Further information

Email the licensing team for more information on whether your proposed changes can be made as a minor variation.

Fee

The current fee is £89.00.

Varying a premises licence

If your application falls outside the scope for a minor variation you will need to submit a full variation:

You must ensure that copies of the application are submitted to the Licensing Authority & Responsible Authorities and follow the Advertisement of Applications.

The application to vary a premises licence to specify an individual as designated premises supervisor under the Licensing Act 2003 asks the licensee to give a copy of the form to the existing premises supervisor. The completed form contains personal information about the proposed new DPS and sharing this information would be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. It is sufficient for the licensee to inform the DPS that the application has been made, without the need to share the specific details of the application. A full copy of the application form must still be sent to police. The form will be amended via regulations as soon as possible to make this clear.

Please visit the government website for more information.

Transferring a premises licence to a new licence holder

If you purchase or lease a venue that already has a premises licence then you’ll need to immediately apply to have the licence transferred over. You can do this by following the steps below:

Premises Licence Transfer [docx] 147KB – to be completed by the new owner with a fee of £23.00
Consent To Transfer [docx] 17KB – to be completed by the outgoing licence holder
View our Transfer of a Premises Licence Application to the Police page

Interim authority notice

Please email Licensing if you would like to apply for an interim authority notice following the death of the licence holder, the licence holder becoming insolvent, or is no longer entitled to work in the UK.

Changing the designated premises supervisor (DPS)

You can change the DPS by using the Application To Vary A Prem Licence To Specify An Individual As DPS Under LA 2003 [pdf] 221KB . Please ensure that you also submit a completed Consent Of Individual To Being Specified As Premises Supervisor [pdf] 125KB as part of the online application. The fee is £23.00.

Following your submission a copy will be shared with our Licensing team. A further copy will also be sent to Kent Police via email to licensing.east.division@kent.pnn.police.uk.

Applying for a community premises licence without a DPS

Please email Licensing if you would like to apply for community premises licence without a DPS.

Removing yourself as a DPS from a premises

You can request to be removed as designated premises supervisor [pdf] 543KB, if you hold that position and then leave a premises. This will ensure that you are no longer responsible for the alcohol sales at that premises.

The application to vary the licence to name a new DPS by the new licence holder will prevent this action being necessary. But if that isn’t filled out then you will need to remove yourself.