Personal alcohol licence

Under the Licensing Act 2003, a personal licence permits you to:

sell or supply alcohol under an authorised premises licence or temporary event notice
use it anywhere in England or Wales but does have some conditions for use
give 50 temporary event notices each year

You must hold a personal licence if you want to be the named designated premises supervisor on a premises licence.

You will not need a personal licence under a club premises certificate.

For prices, view our alcohol and entertainment licensing fees.

New applications

Applicants must:

be over 18
be able to prove your right to work in the United Kingdom
not have forfeited a personal licence in the previous 5 years
not already hold a personal licence issued by another authority
declare any relevant offence or foreign offence

On the application, you will need:

an accredited or certified personal license qualification
a basic disclosure and barring service (DBS) issued within the last month
a copy of your proof of entitlement to work in the UK or your 9-digit share code from the right to work service
a photograph which is endorsed as a true likeness of you by a solicitor or notary, a person of standing in the community or any individual with a professional qualification

Photographs must be:

taken against a light background so that the applicant’s features are distinguishable and contrast against the background
of your full face uncovered and without sunglasses and, unless the applicant wears a head covering due to his religious beliefs, without a head covering

To endorse the photograph the signatory must:

confirm in writing that the photograph is a true likeness of you
both print and sign their name
confirm the capacity in which they are signing - if they are signing as a person of standing in the community they must state what that position is e.g. a bank or building society official, a police officer, a civil servant or a minister of religion. If they are signing as an individual with a professional qualification they must state their qualification which we will expect to be a graduate level 6 and above professional qualification.

You cannot submit an application if you do not have the required documents.

Apply for a personal licence

Next steps

We will check your application and if it is considered valid we will consult the Police.

The Police can object to a personal licence application on grounds of crime and disorder. If there is no representation by the Police the licence will be granted. If there is a representation by the Police a hearing will be held by our licensing sub-committee.

If there is no representation to your application we will process and issue it within 28 days of the date it was deemed valid.

Appeal

Please contact us in the first instance:

email: [email protected]

You may appeal against a decision within 21 days of the date we notified you to the local Magistrates Court:

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

Phone: 01604 497000

Change your licence

You have a legal duty to notify us if you:

change your name or address
lost or had your licence stolen
need to disclose a conviction, civil immigration penalty or any other relevant offences

Change your licence

Convictions, civil immigration penalty or other relevant offences

You have a legal duty to notify us if you are convicted of a relevant offence or civil immigration penalty.

You must send details of the nature and date of the conviction and any sentence or penalty imposed to the Licensing team at: [email protected]. We will also require you to send us both parts of your licence.

Last updated 19 December 2023