Club premises certificates

On this page:

1. What is a club premises certificate?
2. Apply for a club premises certificate
3. Application fees
4. Variations to a club premises certificate licence

What is a club premises certificate?

Clubs are organisations where members have joined together for particular social, sporting, or political purposes. They may then combine to buy alcohol in bulk as members of the organisation to supply in the club.

Only ‘qualifying’ clubs may hold club premises certificates. In order to be a qualifying club, a club must have at least 25 members and not be for commercial gain.

The grant of a club premises certificate means that a qualifying club is entitled to certain benefits.

These include: 

• the authority to supply alcohol to members and sell it to guests on the premises to which the certificate relates without the need for any member or employee to hold a personal licence; 
• the authority to provide late night refreshment to members of the club without requiring additional authorisation;  
• more limited rights of entry for the police and authorised persons because the premises are considered private and not generally open to the public; and 
• exemption from orders of the magistrates’ court for the closure of all licensed premises in an area when disorder is happening or expected.

Qualifying clubs should not be confused with proprietary clubs, which are clubs run commercially by individuals, partnerships or businesses for profit. These require a premises licence and are not qualifying clubs.

Apply for a club premises certificate

Please contact us to request an application pack. The application includes the submission of:

• an application form and details about the operating schedule
• a plan of the premises
• Club declaration form
• Copy of the Club’s rules
• the relevant fee

An operating schedule contains information about which licensable activities will take place on the premises, and during which days and times. You will also need to explain how you intend to promote the four licensing objectives of the Licensing Act 2003, which are:

• the prevention of crime and disorder
• the prevention of public nuisance
• public safety
• the protection of children from harm

The day after you submit your application, you will need to display a public notice, that’s clearly visible, on the premises. The notice will need to be displayed for at least 28 consecutive days.

You will also need to publish this notice in a local newspaper, at least once, within ten working days after the day your application was submitted.

After you apply

Once we receive your application, we will acknowledge it within three working days. A 28-day consultation will be held, so that members of the public may comment on the licence application.

We may need to carry out a site visit – there may be more than one.

How long it takes for a decision to be made will depend on whether we receive any representations (comments) about your application.

Please allow two months from the date you apply, until the date we give you notice of our decision about your application.

Application fees

The fee that you pay when you apply, will depend on the rateable value of your premises.

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The Club also need to pay an annual fee, which is due every year on the anniversary of the date the licence was granted. The sum this fee amounts to will also depend on the premises’ rateable value.

The application fee for premises with a rateable value of £87,001 to £125,000 is £900 if the premises is primarily, or only, selling alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The application fee for premises with a rateable value of £125,001 and over is £1905 if the premises is primarily, or only, selling alcohol for consumption on the premises.

If you will not be selling alcohol or providing late night refreshment you will not need to pay an annual fee but the initial fee is still required.

Variations to club premises certificate licences

If you need to make a change to an existing Club premises certificate, you can apply to ‘vary’ its conditions.

There are two types of variations:

1. A full variation (sometimes known as a ‘major variation’)
2. A minor variation

The variation you need to apply for, will depend on the change(s) you want to make. Please contact us if you would like guidance about the variation you need to apply for.

Make a full variation to a club premises certificate

If the change you want to make is likely to impact on one or more of the four licensing objectives, you will need to apply for a full variation.

Examples of these changes include:

• extending the opening hours
• increasing the number of hours that alcohol can be sold on any day

The fee will depend on the rateable value of the premises and will cost the same as the original application fee.

The application process to apply for a full variation to a Club premises certificate, is also the same as the original application process for the certificate. For example, we will hold a 28-day consultation, so that members of the public may comment on the proposed variation.

Please contact us to request an application pack.

Make a minor variation to a club premises certificate

If the change you want to make will have no potential impact on the four licensing objectives, you can apply for a minor variation.

Examples of these changes include:

• small changes to licensing hours (exclusions (some changes that relate to alcohol) do apply)
• revisions, removals or additions of some licence conditions

The fee for a minor variation is £89.