Guidance notes for applicants - The Licensing Act 2003
A personal licence is a licence granted by the licensing authority to an individual that will authorise that person to sell or supply alcohol by retail or to supply alcohol in accordance with a premises licence.
A personal licence is not required for the provision of late night refreshment, regulated entertainment, or where alcohol is supplied at premises operating under a club premises certificate (previously a registered club).
Not every person retailing alcohol at premises licenced for that purpose needs to hold a personal licence, but every sale or supply must be authorised by a personal licence holder. Premises may have a number of personal licence holders.
Applications
Applications for a personal licence must be made;
- on the correct form and
- accompanied by the correct fee.
Application should be made to the Council where the applicant normally resides. Individuals applying to Cambridge City Council must therefore be ordinarily resident within the area covered by Cambridge City Council. (If you live in South Cambridgeshire District Council, but trade in the City, for example, then you need to apply to South Cambridgeshire District Council). Where the applicant is not normally resident in England or Wales, the application can be sent to any licensing authority.
The applicant must meet the following criteria:
- be aged 18 or over;
- possess a licensing qualification accredited by the Secretary of State;
- not have forfeited a personal licence within 5 years of the application;
- not have been convicted of any relevant or foreign offence. Please see Appendix 2 for details.
The application must also be accompanied by the following documents:
a) two photographs of the applicant, which must be:
(i) taken against a light background so that features are distinguishable and contrast against the background;
(ii) 45millimetres by 35 millimetres
(iii) full face uncovered and without sunglasses and, unless the applicant wears a head covering due to religious beliefs, without a headcovering;
(iv) on photographic paper;
One must be endorsed with a statement verifying the likeness of the photograph to the applicant by one of the following:
(i) the chief executive of the licensing justices for Cambridge City;
(ii) a solicitor or notary;
(iii) a person of standing in the community (includes bank or building society official, a police officer, a civil servant or a minister of religion),
or an individual with a professional qualification.b) either:
- a criminal conviction certificate issued under section 112 of the Police Act 1997,
- a criminal record certificate issued under section 113A of the Police Act 1997 or
- the results of a subject access search under the Data Protection Act 1998 of the Police National Computer by the National Identification Service and
in any case such certificate or search results shall be issued within one month of submitting the application to the licensing authority, andc) a declaration from the applicant, in the required form, stating that you have not been convicted of a relevant offence or a foreign offence, or that you have been convicted of a relevant offence or a foreign offence accompanied by details of the nature and date of the conviction and any sentence imposed in respect of it.
An individual is only permitted to hold one personal licence. No connection with any licenced premises is needed to apply for a personal licence.
A licence lasts for ten years beginning on the date it is granted and it can be renewed for further periods of ten years at a time. It can be revoked, declared forfeit or suspended in certain circumstances.
Renewal
An application to renew a personal licence must be made to the licensing authority, which granted the original personal licence. Cambridge City Council can only accept renewal applications if the original application for the grant of the personal licence was made by it.
An application to renew can only be made during the period of two months beginning three months before the date on which the licence would expire. If an application for renewal is not correctly made, then it will be returned to the applicant unprocessed.
The renewal application must be submitted in the correct form and accompanied by the appropriate fee and current personal licence, or if not practicable, by a statement of the reasons for failing to provide the licence. Applicants are also required to comply with provisions a-c given above, in the same way as for an initial application.
Surrender
A personal licence issued by the licensing authority may be surrendered upon notice to the same, provided the notice is accompanied by the licence or if not practicable, a statement of the reasons for failing to provide the licence. The personal licence will lapse upon receipt of the notice by the authority.
Theft, Loss etc
In the event of a personal licence being lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed, a personal licence holder can apply to the licensing authority for a copy, provided it is the authority that issued the original licence. You must satisfy the licensing authority that the licence has been lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed and that where lost or stolen, the holder has reported such to the Police. Applications for a replacement should also be accompanied by the correct fee and photographs, in the correct form and endorsed as in a) above.
Change of Name/Address
The holder of a personal licence has a duty to inform the licensing authority, as soon as reasonably practicable, of any change of name or address as stated in the personal licence. The personal licence and the correct fee should accompany this. Any person failing to do this will be committing an offence.
Convictions
The holder of a personal licence has a duty to notify the licensing authority of any convictions for relevant offences, or for any conviction for a foreign offence as soon as reasonably practicable following conviction.
Similarly the courts are required to inform the licensing authority of convictions, whether or not they have ordered the suspension of forfeiture of the licence.
If a licence is suspended or declared forfeit, then the licensing authority will contact the personal licence holder, requesting the licence. Any licence declared forfeit will be retained by the licensing authority.
Records
The licensing authority will maintain accessible records of licences held. It will also provide a service that will enable the Police in any area and other licensing authorities to be advised of details on personal licence holders. A national database containing the details of all personal licence holders is likely to be developed in due course.
For further help or advice please contact the Licensing Officer on 01223 457879 or e-mail licensing@cambridge.gov.uk
Environmental Services
Cambridge City Council
PO Box 700
Cambridge
CB1 OJHNormal office hours are 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Thursday and 9.00am - 4.30pm on Fridays.
