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Personal licences

A personal licence will authorise the holder to sell or supply alcohol in any premises which is licensed for the sale of alcohol (under the terms of a premises licence).

No sale or supply of alcohol can take place in any premises, if no designated premises supervisor (DPS) is specified on the premises licence, or if the DPS does not hold a personal licence. The person who is nominated as the DPS must sign a form of consent, which must be submitted with the application for the premises licence, to prove that s/he consents to taking on this extra responsibility.

All sales and supply of alcohol must be authorised by a personal licence holder. There may be several personal licence holders working at any one premises, but that is not to say that everyone who sells alcohol has to hold a personal licence. There may only be one DPS however, who will normally be the person who has been given day to day responsibility for the management of the premises, by the premises licence holder.

The personal licence will last for ten years (unless it is suspended, surrendered or forfeited), and will move with its holder from licensed premises to licensed premises, anywhere in England and Wales.

A personal licence holder is entitled to give up to 50 temporary even notices a year, which can be used to extend hours or add extra activities at a premises, which is already licensed to stage an event (including the sale of alcohol) at an unlicensed premises. There are strict limitations for these events, so please refer to the notes for further details.

The holder of a personal licence must notify a court that s/he is a personal licence holder and produce his personal licence, when s/he has been charged with a ‘relevant offence’ so that any necessary action may be taken.

The personal licence will be renewable for further periods of ten years; this should be a simple administrative procedure, unless there are any undisclosed convictions revealed on application.

What you need to do to obtain a personal licence?

To apply for a personal licence, you must:

  • Be 18 years old or over
  • Possess a licensing qualification accredited by the Secretary of State, details of accredited qualifications are available on the Department of Culture, Media and Sports website
  • You must not have forfeited a personal licence within five years of your application
  • Provide an up-to-date disclosure report from the Criminal Records Bureau or a subject access disclosure from the police.

An application must be made, in the prescribed form, to the relevant licensing authority (the authority where you are normally resident).

You will also need to provide the following:

  • Two photographs of yourself, one of which is endorsed (like a passport photo, certifying that this is a true likeness)
  • A completed disclosure of convictions and declaration form
  • The appropriate fee

Forms

Adobe PDF

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Contact us

Licensing Unit
Walsall Council
Challenge Building
Hatherton Road
Walsall
WS1 1YG

Telephone 01922 653583 / 653581  
Email licensing@walsall.gov.uk