# Temporary Event Notice for a pub: the £21 fee, the 10 working day deadline and the 21-day limit, with the dates worked

> A Temporary Event Notice costs £21 and must reach the council 10 clear working days before the event. The yearly limits and two worked dates.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/temporary-event-notice-pub-cost-deadline-limits/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Allergens, licensing and rates
- Published 1 October 2026
- Key fact: A Temporary Event Notice costs £21 and must reach the council at least 10 clear working days before the event, so for an event on Saturday 12 December 2026 the last working day to give it is Friday 27 November 2026; one premises may have 15 notices covering no more than 21 days in a calendar year, and an event that runs past midnight uses two of those days.
- Sources: GOV.UK, Temporary Events Notice (England and Wales); Licensing Act 2003 sections 100, 100A, 101, 107 and 193 on legislation.gov.uk; GOV.UK bank holidays for England and Wales; all read 1 October 2026.

A Temporary Event Notice costs £21, and the council must have it at least 10 clear working days before the event. The part that catches pubs out is the yearly limit, because it is counted in days as well as in notices.

This guide covers England and Wales, where the Licensing Act 2003 applies.

## When a licensed pub needs one

A premises licence lists the activities allowed, the hours and the area on the plan. A Temporary Event Notice, or TEN, covers a licensable activity that falls outside those terms. GOV.UK's own example is a wedding reception at a community centre. For a pub the usual cases are a bar in a marquee on land that is not on the licence plan, alcohol sold after the last hour on the licence, or hot food served between 11pm and 5am when the licence does not allow it.

## The limits in one table

| Limit | Figure |
|---|---|
| Fee for each notice | £21 |
| People on the premises at any one time, staff included | fewer than 500 |
| Longest single event | 168 hours (7 days) |
| Notices for one premises in a calendar year | 15 |
| Days covered at one premises in a calendar year | 21 |
| Gap between two events at the same premises | at least 24 hours |
| Notices one person can give in a year, with a personal licence | 50, of which 10 may be late |
| Notices one person can give in a year, without a personal licence | 5, of which 2 may be late |

Only an individual aged 18 or over can give a notice; a company cannot. Section 107 of the Act counts a notice given by an associate as your own, and an associate includes a spouse, a close relative and an employee. A landlord without a personal licence cannot get past the limit of five by asking the bar manager to sign the sixth.

## Why the 21 days run out first

The Act defines a day as 24 hours beginning at midnight, and it counts every day on which any part of an event falls. A party from 6pm on Saturday to 1am on Sunday uses two days.

The sum for a pub that wants a run of late nights:

- 10 events that each pass midnight: 10 × 2 = 20 days
- an 11th of the same kind: 22 days, which is over the limit of 21
- so the year holds 10 late events and one that ends before midnight, 21 days in all, from 11 notices

The limit of 15 notices is never reached. Count days, and count every notice given for the premises, including one from an outside caterer or a hirer.

## The deadline, worked for two dates

Clear working days leave out the day the council receives the notice and the day of the event. A working day under the Act is any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday.

| Event starts | Standard notice: last working day to give it | Late notice: window |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 12 December 2026 | Friday 27 November 2026 | Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December 2026 |
| Thursday 31 December 2026 | Monday 14 December 2026 | Tuesday 15 December to Monday 21 December 2026 |

For 12 December the 10 clear working days are Monday 30 November to Friday 11 December. For New Year's Eve, Christmas Day and the substitute bank holiday on Monday 28 December are not working days, so the count runs from Tuesday 15 December to Wednesday 30 December and the notice has to be in 17 days before the event, against 15 days for the December party.

A New Year's Eve event that ends on 1 January 2027 straddles two years. The Act applies the notice limits to each year separately, so it uses one of the 15 notices in 2026 and one in 2027, and one day in each year's 21.

## Standard or late

A late notice can be given no later than 5 clear working days before the event and no earlier than 9. GOV.UK gives one fee, £21, with no separate late fee. The difference is what happens after an objection. With a standard notice the council holds a hearing. With a late notice an objection from the police or environmental health ends it: the notice is not valid and the event cannot go ahead. Use the late route only when the date left no other choice.

## How to give the notice

1. Check the premises licence for the activity, the hours and the area. Write down what the event needs that the licence lacks.
2. Count the notices and the days already used at the premises this calendar year.
3. Work back 10 clear working days from the event to find the last date, then aim a week earlier.
4. Apply through your council and pay the £21 fee. If you apply online, the council sends the notice to the police and environmental health. If you apply on paper, you must send each of them a copy yourself, at least 10 working days before the event.
5. Allow 3 working days. The police and environmental health have that long to object, and only on four grounds: crime and disorder, public nuisance, public safety, or harm to children.
6. Keep the notice at the premises during the event and display a copy where it can be seen.

## If there is an objection

The council's licensing committee holds a hearing no later than 24 hours before the event, unless everyone agrees it is not needed. It can approve the notice, add conditions or reject it. An appeal goes to the magistrates' court within 21 days, and at least 5 working days before the event.

Running the event without a notice is an offence. GOV.UK gives the penalty as a fine, up to 6 months in prison, or both.

## Where it meets the booking

A function that depends on a TEN should say so in the quote. Our [function enquiry reply and quote template](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/function-enquiry-reply-quote-template-venue/) sets a final-numbers date, and the notice date belongs beside it. A late finish also changes the staffing: the 11-hour rest rule in our [pub and bar staff rota template](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/bar-staff-rota-template-rest-breaks-clopen/) decides who can open the next morning.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) can set up an AI assistant to keep the count of notices and days for a venue and draft the dates for a person to check and submit.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your council's licensing team confirms the dates for your event.

## Short answers from this page

**How much is a Temporary Event Notice and how far ahead does a pub have to apply?** A Temporary Event Notice costs £21 and must reach the council at least 10 clear working days before the event. For an event on Saturday 12 December 2026 the last working day to give it is Friday 27 November 2026. One premises may have 15 notices covering no more than 21 days in a calendar year.

**How many Temporary Event Notices can a pub use in a year, and why do the days run out before the notices?** One premises can have 15 notices covering no more than 21 days in a calendar year. A day is 24 hours from midnight, so an event that runs past midnight uses two days. Ten late-night events use 20 days and an eleventh would make 22, so the year holds ten of them and one event that ends before midnight: 11 notices, not 15.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.