Club premises certificate

What this covers

Apply for a club premises certificate through your council if you're a social, sporting or political members club and you want to do activities that need one

It applies in England, Wales and Scotland. Other UK nations run their own regimes — check the equivalent for the nation you trade in.

Why you need it

This licence is not an administrative preference — it exists because Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Licensing Act 2003.

What the Act carries

These are the duties, penalties and exemptions our graph holds for Licensing Act 2003 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves. They show what sort of instrument you are dealing with.

Duties on businesses

87

Penalties

92

Exemptions

21

Duties on businesses under the Act

• Hold or apply for a personal licence if convicted of a relevant offence Schedule 4
• Sell or supply alcohol to a convicted habitual drunkard after notice Schedule 6
• Supply or sell alcohol to a convicted habitual drunkard Schedule 6
• Ensure alcohol is sold by or authorized by a personal licence holder s.19
• Restrict child access to film exhibitions based on age ratings s.20
• Fail to notify licence authority of name or address change s.33

… and 81 more business duties in the same Act.

What happens if you get it wrong

• Carry out licensable activity without a licence 6 months imprisonment
• Carry on licensable activity without authorisation 6 months imprisonment
• Display alcohol for sale without a licence 6 months imprisonment
• Expose alcohol for unauthorised sale 6 months imprisonment
• Hold or apply for a personal licence if convicted of a relevant offence 6 months imprisonment

… and 87 more penalties in the same Act.

Exemptions that may take you outside it

• Avoid licence suspension for late fee due to error or dispute — Failure to pay fee due to administrative error OR written dispute of fee before due date, and grace period (21 …
• Avoid licensing hearings through notice modification — Agreement between the premises user and all relevant persons (like police/local authority) to modify the notice before a hearing is …
• Due diligence defence for certain licensing offences — A business accused of one of the specified offences (s.136(1)(a), 137, or 138) can avoid conviction if it proves: (a) …
• Electronic applications exempt businesses from notifying police — Application is submitted to the licensing authority through a relevant electronic facility
• Electronic licence transfers exempt applicants from notifying police manually — Application submitted via a relevant electronic facility

… and 16 more exemptions in the same Act.

Read our full dossier on Licensing Act 2003

Who issues it

Your local council issues this, acting as the licensing authority for the area you trade in. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales, so two neighbouring authorities can reach you differently.

Where to apply

Our guidance on this

Everything below is written out in full elsewhere on Guvnor — this page points at it rather than repeating it.

Licences that often go with this one

Businesses in the same activities usually need one or more of these too.

Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.

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