Apply for a premises licence online using the payment form below.
Apply here for a premises licence
If you are an existing premises licence holder then you must pay your annual fee using the online payment form below.
You will need to apply for a premises licence if you intend to sell alcohol or provide ‘licensable activities’ from a particular venue.
Licensable activities include:
You’ll also need a licence if you provide the following types of entertainment:
You still need a licence even if the activities are for charity.
You don’t need a licence for some types of entertainment, including:
You must be 18 or over to apply for a premises licence.
Please ensure that correct planning permission is in place and that there are no restrictive planning conditions attached to the premises which conflict with your intended business activity, such as the hours that the premises may open for business. See our planning advice page for more information.
If you are selling alcohol, then you must be or appoint a designated premises supervisor (DPS) before a licence will be granted. A DPS must have a personal licence to sell alcohol.
Most premises licences have an unlimited duration but you will have to pay an annual fee.
You can be fined up to £1,000 for failing to produce your licence on request.
If you carry out any licensable activities at your premises without a premises licence, you can be fined, sent to prison for up to six months, or both.
You’ll need to provide:
Once you have submitted your application and it has been accepted, we will contact you and you must then display your ‘application notice’ at or on the premises for 28 days from the day after it was submitted, and place your notice in the local newspaper.
You must place the notice in a physical local newspaper circulating in the vicinity of the premises, for example, Manchester Evening News. The notice must be published at least once in the period of ten working days, starting the day after a complete application has been submitted to the local authority. The licensing team will notify you whether your application has been accepted as complete and we would advise you not to place the notice in a newspaper until you have received this confirmation. You will receive this confirmation by email and we will inform you of the date any representations should be submitted by, which you will need to include in the notice.
You must display a notice on the premises for a period of no less than 28 consecutive days starting on the day after the day which the application was submitted to the local authority. Once you have submitted your application, the licensing team will notify you by email whether your application has been accepted as complete and we will inform you of the date any representations should be submitted by, which you will need to include in the notice.
The other pages of the licence should be kept safely at the premises. The licence application will also be displayed on our website.
This notice must be:
Example notice for a premises licence (Microsoft Word format, 28kb)
To complete this form please refer to the guidance notes for applying for a premises licence.
Apply here for a premises licence
We will review your application and advise you when you need to place your advert and notice. As part of the application process your application must also be sent to the following responsible authorities. If you are submitting your application electronically we will distribute your application for you.
It will take at least 28 days for a licence to be granted, there must be a 28 day consultation period.
This page was last updated on 21 December 2023