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Club premises certificate

Private members clubs need a club premises certificate to serve alcohol.

To be classified as a club the group must:

  • be a real club with at least 25 members
  • have a membership process that takes at least 2 days between application and acceptance
  • be the only supplier of alcohol on the premises
  • purchase alcohol by a committee made up of members all of whom are at least 18 years old
  • purchase any alcohol provided legally
  • have no arrangements for any individual to receive a financial benefit from supplying alcohol other than the supplier or the club itself

Other legal restrictions for clubs operating under a club premises certificate are in the Licensing Act 2003.

Restrictions

Applicants must:

  • be 18 or over 
  • be entitled to work in the UK
  • not be subject to a condition preventing them from doing work relating to the carrying on of a licensable activity

Fee

For prices, view our licensing fees and charges.

For new applications, the cost is based on your premises' business rates. Premises that do not have a non-domestic rateable value are treated as falling into B and A for licensing fee purposes. 

An annual fee is also paid for each year you hold the licence.

Apply

You will need:

  • a plan of the premises
  • a copy of the rules of the club
  • the club operating schedule

Please contact our Licensing team for an application form at [email protected]. You should also contact us at this address if you need to make a change to your licence.

Payment

Once you have completed your application form please pay the application fee. Your application will only be processed once we are in receipt of your application and payment.

Pay your application fee

Next steps

You can act as though your application is granted as long as there have been no valid objections received within the 28 day statutory period.

If an objection is made the application will be heard by our licensing committee within 20 working days of the end of the consultation period.  Where there is a valid objection the statutory period is extended by a further 28 days to a total of 56 days.

Appeal

Please contact us in the first instance:

If an objection is made you may appeal against the decision. Appeals must be made to the local Magistrates Court within 21 days:

Clerk to the Justices
Northamptonshire Magistrates Court
85 to 87 Lady’s Lane
Northampton
NN1 3HQ

Tel: 01604 497000

Last updated 11 March 2024