Licences and permits
The permissions a business needs before it can trade, each one tied to the law that creates it and to the body that issues it. We point at GOV.UK for fees and forms, and never copy them.
12 of 426 licences for Legal services
Choose from all 48 activities
C
Consent for leaflet distribution (Northern Ireland)
You must have permission from your local council to distribute leaflets within designated litter control areas
Your council · Northern Ireland
Conveyancing licence (England and Wales)
To act as a conveyancer in England and Wales, you can register with the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)
MHCLG · England and Wales
D
Discharging effluent (Scotland)
Get permission to send liquid waste out from factories or places where sewage is dealt with and find how to contact Scottish water suppliers …
Scottish Government · Scotland
Discharging effluent or waste water (England)
You may need an environmental permit to discharge liquid effluent or waste water to surface water or the ground.
Environment Agency · England
E
L
N
P
Pavement or street display licence (England and Wales)
Get a licence to put an advertising sign on the road or pavement in England and Wales - restrictions, fines, penalties
Your council · England and Wales
Permission to distribute leaflets (England and Wales)
You may need to get permission to distribute free printed material in certain areas controlled by the local council.
Your council · England and Wales
Permission to use street or pavement space for displays (Scotland)
You must get written permission to put advertising signs or displays on the road or pavement in Scotland - fines, penalties
Your council · Scotland
Practising as a costs lawyer (England and Wales)
You must have a practising certificate from the Costs Lawyer Standards Board to work as a costs lawyer in England and Wales.
UK Government · England and Wales
S
Solicitor's practising certificate
Different issuer in each nation
Where GOV.UK lists a licence separately for each nation, it appears here once with a link to each nation's version. They are separate licences in law, often resting on different legislation.
We have not yet mapped an enabling instrument for 1 licence on this list. That is a gap in our graph, not a statement about the law, and those pages say so rather than guessing.
Checking approvals more broadly?
A licence is one of several things you may need before your first day of trading. The pre-trading quick check walks the registrations, insurances and approvals alongside it.
Not sure which of these apply to you?
Our guides on finding a licence and dealing with your local council walk through the questions that decide it.