Premises Licence and Club Premises Certificates

You can apply for a Premises Licence or a Club Premises Certificate online. You must consider how your activities will impact upon crime and disorder, public safety, public nuisance and protecting children from harm.

Premises Licence

Before you make an application, please ensure you are using the correct Responsible Authorities [115KB] area for your application.

Applications for a Premises Licence to be granted under the Licensing Act 2003 (for new premises licences) can now be done online via the Gov.UK website.

Applications to vary a premises licence can now be done online via the Gov.UK website.

Premises licensed to sell alcohol using a Premises Licence must name a designated premises supervisor (DPS) who holds a Personal Licence to Sell Alcohol. To apply for a Personal Licence, please see our Personal Licence to Sell Alcohol page.

If you want to make an application for a Club Premises application, please fill in our attached New Club Premises Certificate form. Club Premises Certificates do not need a DPS.

If you would like to request Word document versions of these application forms, please request via our contact us page. 

Premises Licences: Advertising Applications

 It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that applications are advertised correctly. Any delay in displaying notices or error in the content is likely to invalidate the application and the consultation will have to start again. You may also incur the cost of placing another newspaper advert.

New and variation applications

These must be advertised as follows:

  • by prominently displaying an A4, pale blue notice which can be conveniently read from the exterior of the premises (for large buildings, fields, etc., the notice must be repeated every 50m) for a period of no fewer than 28 days starting from the day after the application is submitted
  • by publishing a notice in a local newspaper within 10 working days starting from the day after the application is submitted

The notices must state the licensable activities and briefly describe the proposed variation including:

  • the name of the applicant or club
  • the address of the premises
  • the address (including website) of the licensing authority
  • the date by which an interested party or responsible authority may make representations
  • that representations shall be made in writing that it is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application and the maximum fine for which a person is liable on summary conviction for the offence

The font size must be no smaller than 16.

A specimen Blue Notice Template can be downloaded.

Minor variations

Minor variations must be advertised by displaying an A4, white notice which can be conveniently read from the exterior of the premises (additional requirements for large buildings, fields, etc. for example, notice every 50m) for a period of 10 working days starting on the working day after the minor variation application was submitted to us.

Whilst the Licensing Authority is under no obligation to check these notices Licensing Enforcement Officers regularly do check that notices have been displayed correctly to ensure compliance.

Variations, minor variations, transfers and changes of DPS

Once a licence or certificate has been granted you can apply to make changes to that permission. In addition you will need to make an application if any of the details change or become out of date. For more information about the types of applications that can be made and which details you need to keep up-to-date please go to our Changes to Existing Licences or Certificates page

Timescales

Applications must be advertised in a local newspaper and with a site notice for 28 days. Guidance Notes on advertising your application can be found below.

If objections are received then a hearing will be arranged to consider the application within 20 working days of the consultation closing.

Your application will be automatically granted if no objections are made during the consultation period.

Application fees depend on the rateable value of the premises
Rateable Value Application Fee
£0 - £4,300 £100
£4,300 - £33,000 £190
£33,001 - £87,000 £315
£87,001 - £125,000 £450*
£125,001 + £635**

* premises primarily or exclusively selling alcohol for consumption on the premises pay £900

** premises primarily or exclusively selling alcohol for consumption on the premises pay £1,905

Other Forms

Provisional statements

Provisional statements are effectively a provisional licence, which allows an operator to assess whether they will be able to obtain a full licence before they commit to the cost of developing a site. They can be obtained where the premises has not yet been constructed, extended, or altered for use for licensable activities.

Provisional statements do not in their own right allow the provision of licensable activity, however, if a statement has been granted the licensing authority is obliged to disregard any representations received against a subsequent application for a premises licence, as long as the application is substantially the same as when the application for provisional statement was received.

You can apply for a provisional statement online via the Gov.UK website

You'll need to give:

  • your details and explain your interest in the premises
  • the licensable activities the premises will be used for
  • the timings you would want to apply for - this section is optional
  • a detailed plan of the works to be done at the premises.
  • details of the steps that you will take to promote the four licensing objectives - these will be attached to your licence as conditions
  • payment of the fee of £315

You must put up public notices at the premises with details of the application.

Application for the mandatory alcohol conditions

It is now possible for community, church and village halls to apply under section 25A(6) of the Licensing Act 2003 ('the act') to remove the mandatory conditions in section 19(2) and (3) of the act to (which require a designated premises supervisor (DPS), who must be a personal licence holder, to authorise every supply of alcohol) and replace them with an alternative licence condition in under which a management committee is responsible for the supply of alcohol. This removes some of the associated burdens that the current conditions place on volunteers.

There will be no automatic disapplication of the conditions in respect of any premises. A management committee of a community, church or village hall that seeks the removal of the conditions from an existing licence, or wishes to apply for a licence that does not include them, will need to apply to their local licensing authority for the conditions to be removed and the alternative condition imposed instead.

You can apply to remove the requirement for a DPS at a community premises online via the Gov.UK website

You'll need to:

  • give a description of the premises and the committee or board responsible for managing the premises
  • explain how you will make sure alcohol sales are properly supervised
  • explain any arrangements you have in place for hiring out the premise

Notification of Interest

If you're a company, business or individual with a property interest in a premises that is licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 then you can notify us of that interest.

If you tell us that you have an interest then we'll let you know if there are any changes made to the licence for that premises. You can give your notification of interest in a premises online via the Gov.UK website. Alternatively, you can fill in the following Notification of Interest in premises under section 178

You'll need to give:

  • your details
  • the name and licence number of the premises
  • details of your interest in the premises
  • payment of the fee of £21.

Anyone with a property interest in the premises can apply. This includes:

  • the freeholder/leaseholder
  • a legal mortgage
  • a person in occupation of the property

Further Guidance

For further guidance, please see the following guidance notes

The Licensing Team can be contacted via community.protection@eastherts.gov.uk or on 01992 531503. Face-to-face meetings can be arranged using the details above, there is no facility to walk in and see a Licensing Officer without prior arrangement.