Personal licence

You will need a personal licence if you:

• become a designated premises supervisor (DPS) of a premises that sells alcohol and/or;
• are supervising the sale of alcohol in any premises

This includes:

• pubs 
• off licences 
• restaurants 
• hotels 

Not everyone who makes an alcohol sale is required to hold a personal licence. This is as long as a personal licence holder authorises the sale. 

To apply for a personal licence, you must:  

• be at least 18 years old 
• have the right to live and work in the UK 
• have not forfeited a personal licence in the last 5 years 
• have obtained a current criminal records check 
• have obtained the relevant licensing qualification 

Right to work checks - required documents

If you are copying a passport, please provide copies of the following pages: 

• any page containing the holder’s personal details including nationality 
• any page containing the holder’s photograph 
• any page containing the holder’s signature 
• any page containing the date of expiry 
• any page containing information indicating the holder has permission to enter or remain in the UK and is permitted to work 

If the document you are providing is not a passport, you should provide a copy of the whole document.  

Your right to work will be checked as part of your licensing application. This could involve us checking your immigration status with the Home Office. We may otherwise share information with the Home Office. 

Your licence application will not be determined until you have complied with this guidance. 

A personal licence costs £37. 

Please see our fees and charges booklet for further information. 

Please read and understand the requirements set out on this page before you submit an application for this licence. We cannot proceed with your application unless you give us all the information we need. 

Applications must be submitted with: 

• the application fee 
• a completed Disclosure of Convictions and Declaration form 
• a DBS check or a subject access request from the Police dated no earlier than one month before the date of your application 
• a Level 2 Award for personal licence holders 
• documents which prove your right to work in the UK 
• two passport-style photographs of you 

One of the photographs you provide must be verified as accurate by a solicitor, notary, a person of standing in the community or a person with a professional qualification (such as a doctor). 

You will need to provide us with your original DBS check and Level 2 Award certificate documents. We will return these originals to you when we send your licence. 

Applications can be submitted either by post or by email. 

Under the Deregulation Act 2015, you no longer need to renew your personal licence. Personal licences will now carry on indefinitely until they are surrendered or revoked.  

We aim to process personal licence applications within 28 days. If you have not received a response after this time, please email the licensing department for an update.