Premises licence

Premises selling alcohol, providing regulated entertainment and/or providing late night refreshment will need to be licensed under the Licensing Act 2003. Premises licences are issued by Caerphilly County Borough Council as the local licensing authority.

A premises licence authorises the premises in question to carry out licensable activities. Almost any business that does one or more of these activities (i.e. sell alcohol, provide entertainment or provide late night refreshment) will need a premises licence. A premises licence application may also be submitted for one off large scale events, for example when an event is likely to attract over 500 people which is outside of the limits set for serving a temporary event notice.

Where the sale of alcohol is one of the activities you carry out at your premises, you will also need at least one personal licence holder. A personal licence holder must be named on the premises licence as the responsible person and is known as the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS).

Condition of licence

Any of the following can apply for a premises licence:

• anyone who uses carries on a business in the premises to which the application relates
• a recognised club
• a charity
• a health service body
• a person who is registered under the Care Standards Act 2000 in relation to an independent hospital
• a chief police officer of a force in England and Wales
• anyone discharging a statutory or function under Her Majesty's prerogative
• the proprietor of an educational institute
• any other permitted person as set out in regulation

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.

Fees

Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme

Since April 2017 it has been an offence for retailers/trade buyers to buy alcohol for onward sale or supply from an unapproved UK wholesaler.

A look up service is available on GOV.UK to check that the wholesaler is approved by HMRC, details of which are referred to in the attached flyer from HM Revenue & Customs

The Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme flyer (PDF)

How to apply

You apply for your licence online via the GOV.UK website where payment (if required) can be taken electronically.

Apply for a premises licence

Apply for a provisional statement

Apply for a Designated Premises Supervisor to be disapplied

Tell us about a minor change to your premises 

Apply to vary your premises licence (See notice above)

Apply to transfer your premises licence

Notify us of an interest in premises under section 178

Tell us about a change to your existing interim authority notice

Tell us about a change to your existing consent to transfer

Notify us of your request to be removed as designated premises supervisor 

Tell us about a change to your existing consent to be designated

Tell us about a change to your existing application to vary a premises licence to specify an individual as designated premises supervisor 

Notify us of a change of name or address 

Extend or renew your annual fee payment

Downloadable forms

If you wish to apply in person or by post you can download an application pack and guidance notes.

Please contact us if you require a paper copy of the form.

How long will it take?

The time taken depends on each individual application, however the time period normally ranges from a minimum of one month up to three months, however this could be longer.

Consultation

When an application is submitted, a 28 day statutory consultation period will follow. This allows time for responsible authorities and any individual, body or business who feels that the application could undermine one or more of the licensing objectives to make a representation. Visit the Licensing Act 2003 notices section to view current applications.

Tacit consent

Tacit authorisation applies to premises licence applications only where no objections are received. This means if you have not heard from licensing services after 28 days from submission of the application, you can assume the licence is granted as applied for.

If representations are received from responsible authorities and/or any other persons, then you must wait for the council to determine the application before any licensable activities can take place. Please note that licensing services will always contact you as soon as objections are received.

Planning an event?

Find out what you will need to do to hold a public event in the Caerphilly county borough by visting our planning an event section for information on a range of support and guidance available from our Event Safety Advisory Group (ESAG).