Home › Restaurants, pubs and small hotels › Allergens, licensing and rates
Allergens, licensing and rates
How long does a personal licence take, and how long does it last? The £37 fee, the papers to send and the 14-day police window
A personal licence costs £37 and lasts indefinitely. What to send the council, the one-month DBS limit and what happens if your only holder leaves.
A personal licence costs £37 and lasts indefinitely: there has been no renewal since 1 April 2015. The Licensing Act 2003 sets no number of days for the council to issue one. A complete application from someone with no relevant conviction must be granted, and the only clock in the Act is the 14 days the police have to object when there is a conviction to consider.
This guide covers England and Wales.
Who needs one
Not everyone behind the bar. The Home Office's alcohol licensing guidance on GOV.UK says you do not need a personal licence to be employed in a pub. The Act's mandatory conditions set the two points where one is required:
- the premises must have a designated premises supervisor, who holds a personal licence that is not suspended
- every supply of alcohol must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder
A holder can also give 50 Temporary Event Notices a year where anyone else can give 5, as our Temporary Event Notice guide sets out.
The conditions
Section 120 says the council must grant the licence if the applicant:
- is aged 18 or over
- is entitled to work in the United Kingdom
- holds a licensing qualification
- has not had a personal licence forfeited in the last five years
- has no conviction for a relevant offence or a foreign offence, and has not been required to pay an immigration penalty
It must reject the application if any of the first four fails. The fifth is where the police come in.
How to apply
- Pass the qualification. It is a Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders from a provider on the Home Office's accredited list, which GOV.UK last updated on 12 June 2025. BIIAB, Highfield and Qualsafe are on it.
- Request a basic DBS check on GOV.UK. It costs £21.50, and GOV.UK says processing usually takes up to 3 days before the certificate is posted.
- Get two photographs, 45 millimetres by 35. One must be endorsed as a true likeness by a solicitor, a notary, a person of standing in the community or someone with a professional qualification.
- Fill in the application form and the declaration of convictions.
- Send them with the qualification certificate and the £37 fee to the council for the area where you ordinarily live. That may not be the council that licenses the pub.
What it costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Application fee | £37.00 |
| Basic DBS check | £21.50 |
| Total before the course | £58.50 |
| Level 2 course and exam | Set by the provider; no fixed fee |
How long it takes, worked for one applicant
An assistant manager passes the course on Friday 9 October 2026.
| Step | Rule | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Requests the DBS check | Usually up to 3 days to process, then posted | Monday 12 October 2026 |
| Certificate issued, say | Thursday 15 October 2026 | |
| Last day the application can reach the council with that certificate | Issued no earlier than one calendar month before the application is given | Sunday 15 November 2026, so Friday 13 November in practice |
| Council's decision, no conviction | Must grant; the Act sets no deadline | Ask the licensing team for its usual turnaround |
| Council's decision, a conviction declared | Council notifies the police, who have 14 days to object, starting with the day they receive the notice | Notice received Monday 19 October: window ends Sunday 1 November 2026 |
If the police do not object within the 14 days, the council must grant the licence. If they do, it holds a hearing, unless everyone agrees one is not needed, and may reject the application if that is appropriate for preventing crime. The Home Office has the same 14 days to object on immigration grounds.
The date to watch is the one on the DBS certificate. An applicant who leaves the form for six weeks pays the £21.50 twice.
How long it lasts
Section 115 says a personal licence has effect indefinitely. It can still end or pause:
- the holder surrenders it
- the holder stops being entitled to work in the United Kingdom
- a court convicts the holder of a relevant offence and orders forfeiture, or suspension for up to six months
- the council learns of a conviction and suspends the licence for up to six months or revokes it, after giving the holder 28 days to make representations
Duties once you hold one
| Event | What to do | Fee or penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Change of name or address | Tell the council that issued the licence as soon as reasonably practicable, and send the licence | £10.50; failing to do it is an offence with a fine |
| Charged with a relevant offence | Produce the licence to the court at the first appearance | |
| Convicted of a relevant offence | Notify the council as soon as reasonably practicable | Failing to do it is an offence with a fine |
| Police or a council officer asks to see it while you are selling or authorising sales | Produce it | Failing without reasonable excuse is an offence with a fine |
What happens if your only holder leaves
Under section 19, no alcohol may be supplied under the premises licence at a time when there is no designated premises supervisor. A supervisor who leaves can take their own name off the licence by giving the council a notice under section 41, and must send the licence holder a copy within 48 hours. From then the bar cannot lawfully trade until a new supervisor is named.
The fix is an application to vary the licence to name a new supervisor. It costs £23, and it needs the new person's signed consent and notice to the police. Ask for immediate effect: under section 38 the licence then works as if it were already varied from the moment the council receives the application, until the application is decided.
That only works if someone on the team already holds a personal licence. On the timetable above, a new applicant needs the course, the DBS certificate and then the council's decision, and the Act puts no deadline on the last of those. A second holder costs £58.50 plus the course, and the licence never needs renewing.
Our guide to premises licence fees covers what the premises licence itself costs.
Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that keeps a venue's licence dates in its compliance diary for a manager to act on.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Short answers from this page
How long does a personal licence to sell alcohol last, and how much does it cost to get one?
In England and Wales a personal licence lasts indefinitely; renewal ended on 1 April 2015. The application fee is £37 and the basic DBS check is £21.50, so £58.50 before the Level 2 course. The DBS certificate must have been issued no more than one calendar month before the application reaches the council where you live.
Source: Licensing Act 2003, section 115; Licensing Act 2003 (Personal licences) Regulations 2005, regulation 7; GOV.UK, Request a basic DBS check
What happens if the designated premises supervisor leaves a pub?
No alcohol may be sold under the premises licence while there is no designated premises supervisor. The licence holder applies to vary the licence to name a new one, which costs £23, and can ask for immediate effect so the change works from the moment the council receives the application. The new supervisor must already hold a personal licence.
Source: Licensing Act 2003, sections 19, 37 and 38; Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations 2005, Schedule 6
Where this comes from: Licensing Act 2003 sections 19, 37, 38, 41, 115, 117, 120, 127, 129, 132, 132A and 135, the Licensing Act 2003 (Personal licences) Regulations 2005 regulation 7, and the Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations 2005 Schedule 6 (as made), all on legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK, Alcohol licensing (Home Office, updated 8 August 2025); GOV.UK, Accredited personal licence qualification providers (updated 12 June 2025); GOV.UK, Request a basic DBS check; all read 1 October 2026.
AEO Lookup editorial team
We write practical guides for people who run small UK firms, and we check every fact against its source on the date shown. Read how we review, or tell us if something has changed.
