Personal licences to sell alcohol

What are personal licences?

Personal licences permit a person to authorise the supply of alcohol at premises licensed for that purpose. Every premises where alcohol is sold (except under a temporary event notice) must also have a "designated premises supervisor" (DPS), who must be the holder of a personal licence. A person giving a temporary event notice may authorise the sale of alcohol under their notice, if the sale of alcohol is one of the authorised activities they do not need to hold a personal licence

In exceptional circumstances, a DPS may not be required if a premises licence permits the sale of alcohol at a village hall or church hall. Please contact the licensing team for further information.

There is no limit to the number of personal licence holders who may work at any one premises, although each individual may only hold one personal licence.

Who do I apply to?

An application for a personal licence must be made to the licensing authority where the applicant for the personal licence usually lives, which may not be the licensing authority for the area where they work. If you are not sure whether you live in Southampton City Council's area, please see the city map.

When do personal licences expire?

Personal licences last for 10 years from the date of grant and are renewable. The fee is £37.00 per licence, set by central government.

What are the criteria?

Section 120 of the Licensing Act 2003 requires every applicant to hold an accredited licensing qualification and produce an original basic criminal record check dated no more than one month before the day on which the application is made. The only valid qualification after 1st May 2011 is the Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders (APLH), although the Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) obtained before that date will continue to be valid.

No other qualification is acceptable; in particular, licensing qualifications obtained before the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 are no longer valid. Please see the Home Office web site (links below) for the latest information on acceptable qualifications.

Unfortunately, the Criminal Records Bureau in England and Wales does not provide basic disclosures of criminal records. This service is, however, provided online by Disclosure Scotland - follow the link below. A fee is payable.

If you have a very recent (no more than one month old) standard or enhanced criminal record disclosure from the CRB, this will be acceptable in support of your application.

Although the legislation mentions a third method for obtaining a suitable certificate, the Police advise that subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1998 cannot be used for this purpose.

Who sets the forms and fees?

Both the forms and the fees are prescribed by central government. The city council has no discretion over the format of the application forms or the amount of the fee.

How do I apply?

Links to forms and guidance appear below - your must send each of the the following to us:

• the completed licence application form
• the completed criminal record declaration
• two passport sized photographs, one endorsed (please see guidance notes)
• the fee of £37.00
• the original criminal record disclosure (from the CRB or Disclosure Scotland) - no more than one month old, and
• the original qualification certificate (Level Two Award for Personal Licence Holders) - this will be returned to you.

It is important that you check that each of these documents is completed and enclosed with your application to us. We will not be able to process your application until all the required documents have been received. If the documents are posted to us, please ensure that the correct postage is prepaid - we are unable to accept post with outstanding charges. See the Royal Mail web site for further information.

You may also apply, submit your criminal record declaration and pay electronically - please see the Online Licensing Application link above - but you will still need to submit your original criminal record disclosure , qualification certificate and endorsed photographs before your application can be processed.

Please note that the licensing authority may be required by law to disclose to the appropriate authorities, from time to time, further information relating to applications and licences for the purposes of law enforcement and the prevention of fraud.

If you need to contact us by email, 'phone or post, please do so using the details below.

Opening hours

Members of the Licensing Team are normally available on weekdays at the Civic Centre from 09:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 16:00 to assist personal callers. We may be available at other times by prior appointment.