A club premises certificate permits licensable activities at the premises of a 'qualifying club'.

A qualifying club applying for a club premises certificate does not need a DPS as there is no supply of alcohol by retail taking place. Alcohol may be bought for the club by the members and the money being passed across the bar is to maintain equity between members.

Please make sure that the club rule book makes clear the policy for guests. Clubs should carefully consider whether they should apply for a club premises certificate or a premises licence. As committee members and secretaries in clubs change, please ensure the council is informed as it is an offence not to.

A club will be considered to be 'qualifying' provided that:

  • under the club rules, persons may not be admitted to membership, or be admitted as candidates for membership, to any of the privileges of membership without an interval of at least two days between their nomination or application for membership or their admission
  • under the club rules, people becoming members without nomination or prior application may not be admitted to the privileges of membership without an interval of two days between them becoming members and their admission
  • the club has a minimum of 25 members
  • the club is established and conducted in good faith

Qualifying clubs should not be confused with proprietary clubs, which are clubs run commercially by individuals, partnerships or businesses for the purposes of profit. Proprietary clubs will require a premises licence and are not eligible to be qualifying clubs.

New club premises certificate

To apply for a new club premises certificate, you will need to complete and submit the relevant application form, a plan of the premises, a completed club declaration form and a copy of the club rules, and pay the prescribed fee. 

The day after the application has been received by the Council, a statutory notice (printed on pale blue paper) must be clearly displayed at the premises for a minimum of 28 days. In the case of a premises covering an area of more than 50 metres square, a further notice must be displayed every fifty metres along the external perimeter of the premises abutting any highway.

The same notice must also be placed in the local newspaper, or if there is none, in a local newsletter, circular or similar document, circulating in the vicinity of the premises, on at least one occasion during the period of ten working days, starting on the day after the application is received in the Council offices.

Apply online:

Apply via post*:

Variation / Minor Variation

Where the club wishes to amend the club premises certificate, an application under the Licensing Act 2003 can be made.

The areas in which a certificate can be varied are:

  • Varying the hours during which a qualifying club activity is permitted;
  • Adding or removing qualifying club activities;
  • Adding or removing conditions;
  • Altering any aspect of the layout of the premises which is shown on the plan.

Where the proposed variation has the potential to adversely impact the licensing objectives, a ‘full’ variation application must be submitted. Some variations may be considered by way of a ‘minor’ variation application. To determine whether a proposed variation is 'minor' depends on whether it could impact adversely on any of the licensing objectives.

Apply online:

Apply via post*:

Provisional statement

Provisional statements are effectively provisional licences. These allow an operator to assess the likelihood of obtaining a club premises certificate before committing to the costs of developing a site. They can be obtained in situations where the premises have not yet been constructed, extended, or altered for use for licensable activities. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online.

Apply via post*: Application for provisional statement

Review of club premises certificate

A responsible authority or any other person may apply for a review of a certificate that is in force. There is no fee for this application.

Only review applications that relate to at least one of the four licensing objectives can be considered:

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

Review applications must clearly relate to the premises for which the review application is being made. The licensing authority may reject any ground for a review it considers to be frivolous, vexatious or repetitious, or if the grounds cannot be attributed to the operation of the premises concerned. Applicants calling for a review cannot apply for a review anonymously. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online.

Apply via post*:

Notification of interest

If you have a legal interest in a property you are entitled to be told of any licensing matters to do with it. Once you have notified the licensing authority, we will tell you about any changes made to the licensing register that may affect the property. A notification last 12 months. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online.

You have a legal interest in a premises if:

  • you are the freeholder or leaseholder of the property
  • you have a legal mortgage on the premises
  • you live on the premises
  • you have a designated interest in the premises

Apply via post:

* When applying for certain licences via post, you have a statutory duty to send copies of the application to the relevant responsible authorities. Failure to do so will render your application invalid.

Annual fees

Fees

The main fee levels for application fees and annual fees can be found on the GOV.UK website. Additional fees other administrative tasks, such as changing club rules, can be found on the GOV.UK website here. 

An annual fee is due for club premises certificates. The fee is due on the anniversary of the licence issue date. 

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