The Late Night Levy is an annual charge that a licensing authority can choose to introduce to help pay for policing the night-time economy. Only the full council can decide to introduce, change or end it, so check your council's licensing pages to see whether it applies to you.
Who pays
The council sets a late night supply period between midnight and 6am. You must pay the levy if your licence or certificate authorises alcohol sales during that period, even if you never trade then. A supermarket with a 24-hour licence pays whatever its actual opening hours.
Since 13 July 2023, councils can also apply the levy to late night refreshment premises, which sell hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am, and can target it at part of their area instead of the whole of it.
How much you pay
Exemptions and reductions
Your council decides which exemptions and reductions to offer, but it can choose only from the categories set out in regulations. It cannot exempt individual premises. Premises in a business improvement district that operates in the night-time economy and has a crime and disorder focus can also be exempted. You can get only one reduction, even if you qualify for more than one.
Remove the late-night hours from your licence
If you do not need to sell alcohol after midnight, you can avoid the levy by changing your licence. When a council first introduces the levy, you can make a free variation to take the late night supply period out of your licence before a date the council gives you. After that, use a minor variation to reduce your hours.
Paying the levy
The council collects the levy with your annual licence fee. If you are granted a licence during a levy year, your first payment is due 14 days after the grant. Unpaid levy can be recovered as a debt, and non-payment can lead to your premises licence or club premises certificate being suspended.
Where the money goes
Early morning alcohol restriction orders
An early morning alcohol restriction order is a separate power. It stops licences, club premises certificates and temporary event notices from authorising alcohol sales during a period the council sets between midnight and 6am. It can apply to all or part of the council's area, on every day or only some days, for a limited or unlimited time.
The council must advertise a proposed order for at least 42 days, and anyone affected can make representations during that time. An order does not apply on New Year's Eve, between midnight and 6am on 1 January, or to hotels and similar accommodation supplying alcohol to residents through mini-bars or room service.
Legal basis
Primary legislation and key regulations