How long does it take to transfer a premises licence when you buy a pub? Same-day effect, the 14-day police window and the 28 days after a lapse

A premises licence transfer can take effect on the day the council receives the application, if the form asks for immediate effect and the current holder consents. The police then have 14 days to object, and if they do not, the council must transfer the licence. The fee is £23.

The Licensing Act 2003 sets no number of days for the council to send out the amended licence. This guide covers England and Wales.

The clocks

During interim effect the licence works as if the buyer already held it.

What the application needs

• The transfer form and the £23 fee.
• The premises licence itself, or a statement of why it cannot be sent.
• The current holder's consent. GOV.UK's alcohol licensing page lists a consent form beside the transfer form.
• An applicant who could apply for a premises licence in the first place. An individual must be 18 or over and, where the licence covers alcohol, entitled to work in the United Kingdom.
• Notice to the police. The council gives it if the application came through its online service. Otherwise the applicant does. For a licence that covers alcohol, the Home Office is notified in the same way and has the same 14 days.

The police can object only where exceptional circumstances mean the transfer would undermine the crime prevention objective.

If the seller will not sign, the council must waive the consent where the buyer shows two things: all reasonable steps were taken to get it, and the buyer would be in a position to use the premises for what the licence allows.

The dates, worked for one purchase

A buyer completes on a village pub on Monday 2 November 2026 and applies that day through the council's online service, with the seller's signed consent and a request for immediate effect.

Working days under the Act leave out weekends and bank holidays. No bank holiday falls in that period, so the 20 working days are four full weeks from Monday 16 November.

If the council rejects the application after a hearing, interim effect ends when the buyer is notified.

The supervisor is a separate application

A transfer changes the holder. It does not change the designated premises supervisor named on the licence, and the seller is often that person.

• If the supervisor is staying on, the buyer must tell them of the application straight away, and again when it is granted. Failing to do so without reasonable excuse is an offence with a fine.
• If the supervisor is leaving, apply on the same day to vary the licence to name a new one. That costs another £23, so £46 for the two. It can also have immediate effect, and the police have their own 14 days on it.

The new supervisor must hold a personal licence. Our guide to how long a personal licence takes shows why that cannot be left to completion week.

What happens if the licence has already lapsed

A premises licence lapses if its holder dies, loses the mental capacity to hold it, becomes insolvent or, as a company, is dissolved. For a company, insolvency includes the appointment of an administrator and going into liquidation.

There are two ways back:

1. A transfer application. The buyer applies for a transfer with immediate effect no later than 28 days after the day the licence lapsed. No consent is needed. The licence is reinstated when the council receives the application.
2. An interim authority notice. The insolvency practitioner, a personal representative, an attorney or someone with a prescribed interest in the premises gives the council a notice, also £23, within 28 days beginning the day after the lapse. The licence is reinstated for up to three months, and lapses again unless a transfer application is made in that time. This route is not open where a company has been dissolved.

Worked: administrators are appointed on Friday 9 October 2026 and the licence lapses that day. The last day for either step is Friday 6 November 2026.

After that the licence is gone and a new one has to be applied for. GOV.UK puts the application fee at £100 to £1,905 by fee band, and the notice of the application must be displayed at the premises for 28 days. Our premises licence fees guide has the bands.

What a transfer does not change

The annual fee stays due each year on the anniversary of the date the licence was granted, not the date of the transfer. Ask the council whether the last one was paid. The buyer's bill for the building is in our business rates guide for 2026/27.

A list for the sale contract

1. Check the holder's name on the licence against the seller. A licence held by a company that has since been dissolved has lapsed.
2. Make the signed consent form a completion document.
3. Lodge the transfer on completion day, with the request for immediate effect.
4. Lodge the supervisor variation the same day if the seller's supervisor is going.
5. Diary the 14th day, and the anniversary of the grant.
6. Check the licence's hours before booking a late event. Our Temporary Event Notice guide covers going past them.

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. A sale of licensed premises needs a solicitor, and the council's licensing team confirms what it has received.