How much is a premises licence? The five fee bands for a pub or restaurant, the annual fee and the suspension rule

A premises licence costs between £100 and £635 to apply for, and between £70 and £350 a year after that. The figure depends on the rateable value of the building. A large pub that mainly sells alcohol to drink on the premises pays more: up to £1,905 to apply and £1,050 a year.

This guide covers England and Wales, where the Licensing Act 2003 applies. The fees are set nationally by regulations, so every council charges the same.

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Premises licence annual fee dispute letter maker

Fill in the due date, the rateable value and the band on the invoice. The letter disputes the fee in writing before it falls due and works out the last day of the 21-day grace period.

Which letterLetter to postEmail Council licensing team Premises name and address Premises licence number Date the annual fee is dueThe anniversary of the date the licence was granted. That date is on the licence. The letter must be sent before it. Rateable value in the current rating listThe value in force now, after the list changed on 1 April 2026. Band on the council's invoiceABCDE Annual fee invoiced Band your rateable value givesABCDEA: none to £4,300. B: £4,301 to £33,000. C: £33,001 to £87,000. D: £87,001 to £125,000. E: £125,001 and over. Annual fee for that bandA £70, B £180, C £295, D £320, E £350. A Band D or E venue used mainly for drinking on the premises pays £640 or £1,050. Your name, role, phone and emailTom Reed, premises licence holder 01632 960000, tom@theploughinn.example

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• Send it so that it arrives before the due date. A dispute raised after that date does not get the 21 days.
• Enclose the current rating list entry for the property, with its date.
• Keep proof of the date the letter or email was sent.
• If the council confirms its own figure, pay it within the 21 days. Once they run out the council must send a suspension notice.

The rule this rests on: Licensing Act 2003, section 55A; Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations 2005, regulations 2 and 5: the annual fee follows the rateable value in force, and a dispute raised in writing before the due date gives a 21-day grace period. A draft to check and adapt, not legal advice.

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The five bands

A building with no rateable value is in Band A. A building still under construction is in Band C.

The figures are those in the 2005 Regulations as they were made. GOV.UK's fee page was last updated on 25 April 2012, and the council fee pages we read on 1 October 2026 show the same figures.

The multiplier for drinking venues

In Bands D and E a second rule applies. Where the premises are used "exclusively or primarily" for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises, the fee is multiplied.

A restaurant in Band D pays the plain £450 and £320. A wet-led pub in the same band pays £900 and £640. Whether a pub that does a lot of food counts as primarily a drinking venue is a question for the council's licensing team, and it is worth asking before the first invoice. Bands A to C have no multiplier.

Venues that allow 5,000 or more people in at once pay an additional fee. That rule is for arenas and festivals and is not covered here.

Three venues, worked

These are the three rateable values used in our business rates guide for 2026/27, with the third changed to a town-centre bar.

The band follows the current rating list

The Regulations define rateable value as the value "for the time being in force" in the local non-domestic rating list. On that wording the band follows the list as it stands today, not the list on the day the licence was granted.

The list changed on 1 April 2026. GOV.UK says the latest revaluation took effect in England and Wales on that date, based on rental values at 1 April 2024. On that reading, a pub whose rateable value rose from £31,500 to £35,000 moves from Band B to Band C, and its annual fee from £180 to £295, which is £115 more. A fall across a band edge works the other way.

Check two things on the next annual invoice: the rateable value the council has used, and the band it has put you in. If your value fell below £33,001 or £87,001 at the revaluation, tell the licensing team in writing before the fee is due.

When the annual fee is due, and what happens if it is late

The annual fee is due each year on the anniversary of the date the licence was granted. That date is on the licence.

If the fee is not paid, section 55A of the Act says the council must suspend the licence. The steps are fixed:

1. The fee falls due on the anniversary.
2. If you told the council in writing before that date that you dispute the fee, or the non-payment was an administrative error, there is a grace period of 21 days beginning the day after the due date.
3. Otherwise, or when the 21 days run out, the council sends a suspension notice. The suspension date in it must be at least two working days after the notice is given.
4. From that date the licence authorises nothing. Bristol City Council's page puts it plainly: you can no longer lawfully carry out licensable activities until the fee is paid.
5. The suspension ends on the day the council receives the payment, and the council confirms that day in writing.

The unpaid fee is also recoverable as a debt. GOV.UK gives the penalty for carrying on licensable activities without a licence as a fine, up to 6 months in prison, or both.

The smaller fixed fees

The last of these has its own deadlines and yearly limits, set out in our Temporary Event Notice guide.

What the application needs besides the fee

GOV.UK lists the rest. The applicant must be 18 or over. A venue selling alcohol must name a designated premises supervisor who holds a personal licence. The application goes to the council with a plan of the premises and an operating schedule, and a notice of it must be displayed at the premises for 28 days, starting the day after the application is given. Most premises licences then last without limit, as long as the annual fee is paid.

A five-line check for the diary

• Rateable value on the current list, and the band it gives.
• Whether the council treats the venue as primarily a drinking venue, if the band is D or E.
• The grant date on the licence, and the same date entered each year.
• The fee for that band, paid a week before, with the receipt filed.
• Any dispute raised in writing before the due date, never after.

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that keeps a compliance diary for a venue and chases each date six weeks ahead, for a person to check and pay.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your council's licensing team confirms the band and the fee for your premises.