Club premises certificate

The Licensing Act 2003 recognises that volunteer and social clubs give rise to different issues for licensing law than commercially run premises selling direct to the public. These clubs (such as the Royal British Legion, working men’s, cricket or rugby clubs) are generally organisations where members join together for a particular social, sporting or political purpose.

Club premises certificates provide authorisation for qualifying clubs to use club premises for Licensable activities.

Definition of a qualifying club:

• there must be an interval of at least 2 days between a member’s nomination / application for membership and their admission
• there must be at least 25 members
• the club must be established and conducted in “good faith”. (This involves consideration of details such as club finances.) The club must not be run for personal or business gain.

Qualifying club activities are:

• the supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to a member for consumption on the premises
• the sale by retail of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to a guest of a member for consumption on the premises
• the provision of regulated entertainment by or on behalf of a club for its members and guests.

Application

The application must be submitted with a scale plan of the premises.

Once the application has been submitted in full, a 28 day representation period begins, and a notice must be displayed at the premises until that period finishes. Another notice must also be published in a local newspaper within 10 working days, beginning the day after the application is submitted.

If no representations are received within the 28 days, the certificate will be granted. If representations are received, the Council must hold a hearing to decide whether the application should be:

• granted in full
• granted but with changes to what was applied for, such as the activities or conditions
• rejected.

Fees and Charges

Current fees and charges can be found on our Fees and charges page.

Variation

To change the activities authorised and/or hours when they can take place, you will need to apply for a variation.

Once the application has been submitted in full, a 28 day representation period begins, and a notice must be displayed at the premises until it is finished. Another notice must also be published in a local newspaper within 10 working days, beginning the day after the application is submitted.

Minor variation

To make small changes to the certificate or layout of the premises, you may be able to apply for a minor variation. You should contact Licensing for advice before applying.

Surrender

If the certificate is no longer needed, the club can surrender it by sending us a written notice to that effect. The notice should be sent with the club premises certificate or, if that is not possible, within the notice it should be explained why it was not possible to send it.