Personal licence

You or a member of your staff must hold a personal licence if you sell alcohol from licensed premises, so that every sale or supply of alcohol is authorised by a personal licence holder.

A personal licence holder can act as the designated premises supervisor for any business that sells or supplies alcohol.

‘Licensed premises’ include any premises allowed to sell alcohol under a premises licence or club premises certificate. You don’t need a personal licence to sell alcohol under a temporary events notice or to be employed in a pub or other business that sells alcohol.

Who can apply

To apply for a personal licence, you must:

• be aged 18 years or over
• hold a relevant licensing qualification - for example, the BIIAB Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders or a similar accredited qualification

Before you start

You'll need to provide:

• a copy of an acceptable document proving that you have the right to work in the UK
• 2 photographs, one of which is endorsed to be a true likeness of yourself by a solicitor or notary, a person of standing in the community or an individual with a professional qualification
• an ​approved licensing qualification certificate
• basic criminal records disclosure certificate, which are available by applying through a responsible organisation, details of how to do this can be found on the DBS checks website. This needs to be received within one month of the issue date.
• fee of £37
• you must complete a declaration of  relevant or foreign offences. If you have one of these offences, the licensing authority will consult with the Police, who have an opportunity to object to you being granted a personal licence

Payment can be made by card over the phone, or by sending a cheque. 

Updating your licence

Personal licences do not need to be renewed. The licence will continue until it's either surrendered or revoked and the expiry date no longer applies.

Change of name or address

You must tell us if you change your name or address so that your personal licence can be updated. Failing to do so is an offence.

You will need to write to us with your new details, enclosing the following:

• both the paper part and the card part of your personal licence, or tell us why you are unable to do this
• fee of £10.50

Moving to another area

Your personal licence is portable throughout England and Wales. This means that you can use your personal licence to be the Designated Premises Supervisor at a premises anywhere in England and Wales. However if you do move, you must notify the council of your new address.