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Personal licence

If you supervise the sale of alcohol you will need a personal licence. You should apply to the council covering the area where you live.

The licence you receive will cover you across the country and is not linked to premises. This is under the Licensing Act 2003.

To hold a personal licence a person must:

  • be over 18 years old
  • hold an accredited Personal Licensing Qualification
  • have a recent DBS check (within one month of application)
  • have results from a subject access search through the Police National Computer (within one month of application)
  • able to provide a declaration about convictions of relevant offences, or foreign offences
  • legally able to work in the UK.

Before applying

Criminality checks

You will need to have a DBS check and results from a subject access search, both of which have been carried out within one month of your application.

Apply for a DBS check

You can apply for a subject access search through the police once you have a DBS check.

How does the Licensing Act 2003 affect me?

The law provides a system for the granting of personal licences to individuals to sell, or to authorise the sale of alcohol. A personal licence is separate from the licence to be used for the sale or supply of alcohol (the premises licence).

The law therefore introduced “split licensing” with a personal licence which is portable for the Licensee, and a separate premises licence which will be granted for the venue that sells or supplies alcohol.

Why would I want a personal licence?

A personal licence only allows the holder to sell alcohol from establishments with a premises licence that authorises the sale of alcohol.

An individual is permitted to only hold one personal licence at a time, but it will be possible for the holder of a personal licence to be named as the designated premises supervisor on a premises licence.

More than one individual at licensed premises may hold a personal licence, but it will not be necessary for all staff who actually serve alcohol to hold a personal licence.

Do I need any qualifications before I apply for a personal licence?

You will need to have acquired one of the following recognised qualifications in order to then apply for the Personal Licence itself:

  • BIIAB Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • CIEH Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • HABC Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • IQ Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • LASER Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • NCFE Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • Pearson Education Ltd Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • SQA Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders
  • Training Qualifications UK Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders

You will find the contact details of the training providers for the qualifications, who can inform you of the courses, costs and availability in your area:

How to apply for a personal licence

Once you have carried out the pre-application activities you will need to download the application form from this page and return it with the following supporting documents:

  • The completed disclosure of convictions declaration form
  • 2 passport photographs (one of which must be endorsed by a professional person)
  • proof of your licensing qualification (original not a photocopy)
  • results of your DBS and criminality check (original Basic DBS Disclosure)
  • the correct payment (£37).

You can return your completed application by post to:

Licensing Team
Ashfield District Council
Council Offices
Urban Road
Kirkby in Ashfield
Nottinghamshire
NG17 8DA

How much does it cost?

A personal licence costs £37 and has no expiry date.

You can pay by debit or credit card through our online system.

Pay for a Personal licence

Change of details or address

If you need to change the address on your licence or other details let us know by completing an application form showing the changes. You'll also need to return your current licence to us - both the paper and photo card parts.

A new licence costs £10.50 and you can pay this through our online payment system using a debit or credit card.

Lost or stolen licences

You should report a lost or stolen licence to us as soon as possible. If it was stolen we will ask you to provide the crime reference number from the police or if lost for details of when and where you lost it.

A replacement licence is £10.50 and you can pay this through our online payment system using a debit or credit card.

Other ways to contact us about a personal licence

If you have questions about the licence or applying you can contact us by:

The Licensing Team at Nottinghamshire Police are also able to help. You can call them:

  • telephone: 01623 483938.

Related links:

Related documents: