You will need to apply for a premises licence if your business plans to do any of the following:
- supply alcohol
- play live or recorded music
- show or host film events
- sell hot food after 11pm and before 5am
- host boxing or wrestling entertainment
- host indoor sporting events
- put on performances of a play
If you plan to sell alcohol you will also need a personal licence for your designated premises supervisor - the person in charge of the day-to-day running of the business.
How much a premises licence costs
The cost of a premises licence is based on the rateable value of your business and can range from £100 to £635. If your premises is a school, community hall or open space and doesn't have a rateable value, it will fall into the lowest fee band.
You need to pay a fee to apply and a fee for each year that you have the licence. The annual fee will be charged after the first year. This will cover the previous year, and any arrears until you surrender your licence.
There are increased fees for exceptionally large-scale commercial events with over 4,999 people attending. Normally, if the event is ticketed and profits are not going to a registered charity then the increased fee will apply. To find out if you will need to pay it, please contact our licensing team.
A licence is valid for as long as the business lasts or until it is revoked or surrendered.
How to apply for a premises licence
We recommend you read the licensing act policy statement before you apply.
You need to submit a premises plan as part of your application. The plan is to show the area of your premises that you want to be licensed.
Find out what you need to include in your premises plan.
Once you have submitted your application we will check it and contact you to confirm the start date and end date of the consultation period. These dates must be put in your adverts.
You should not advertise your application until we have confirmed that it is complete and valid as any errors may mean extra costs and time delays.
If you need advice about your application, you can contact our business support team.
How to advertise your premises licence application
Display a pale blue site notice
You must display a site notice on pale blue paper outside your premises as soon as we confirm start and end dates with you.
It must be at least A4 size and printed clearly in black ink, with a font size of at least 16.
It must be displayed for 28 days in a place that is visible to the public from outside of the premises.
If you do not display your site notice using these instructions, your licence application could be delayed. This is because we can't legally consider it if the notice has been displayed incorrectly.
Publish a newspaper advert
This is a public notice to let residents and businesses know you've applied for a licence.
The newspaper advert must be published in a prominent local newspaper, such as the Kentish Gazette, within 10 days of the start of the consultation period.
If you don't advertise in a local newspaper during the correct time period, your application will not be valid.