Personal licences

Apply for a Personal Licence

A personal licence is required for individuals who wish to sell or supply alcohol or authorise the sale or supply of alcohol under the terms of a premises licence.

A designated premises supervisor must have a personal licence and every premises where alcohol is sold under the terms of a premises licence must have at least one personal licence holder.

An applicant for a personal licence must apply to the licensing authority where they ordinarily live. A licence will last for a period of 10 years unless it is surrendered or forfeited before the expiry date. There is an option to renew the licence for a further 10 years upon expiry.

Download the application form

Completed applications should be sent to

City of London Licensing Team
PO box 270
Guildhall
London EC2P 2EJ

Eligibility criteria

​In order to be able to apply for a personal licence, a person must:

• Be aged 18 or over;
• Hold an accredited licensing qualification unless they are a member of the Company of the Master, Warden and Commonality of Vintners of the City of London;
• Not have forfeited a personal licence within five years of their application;
• Not have any unspent convictions for any relevant offences* in England or Wales or for any foreign offences

*Relevant offence refers to the offences listed in the Act that could, on conviction, rule out the grant or renewal of a personal licence to the applicant concerned. The statutory list of relevant offences can be viewed on the government's legislation website. View the list of relevant offences.

Regulation summary

​A summary of the regulations relating to this licence are available on GOV.UK

Application evaluation process

Applications must be in a specific format and be submitted to the licensing authority where the applicant ordinarily lives, together with the disclosure of convictions declaration and be accompanied by:

• the required fee;
• the original certificate of an approved licensing qualification;
• two photographs of the applicant, one of which must be endorsed by a solicitor, notary, person of standing in the community or any professionally qualified person, with a statement verifying that the photograph is a true likeness of the applicant;
• a basic criminal conviction certificate which must be under one month old upon the date that the application is received by the licensing authority.

If an application is submitted without a fee or one of the required documents, it will be considered incomplete and returned to the applicant.

Determining the application

If the applicant meets all four eligibility criteria, the personal licence must be granted.

If the applicant fails to meet the age, qualification or forfeiture of licence criteria, the licensing authority must reject the application.

If the applicant fails to meet the relevant offences criteria, the licensing authority must notify the police responsible authority for its area. The police have 14 days to consider whether, having had regard to the nature of the offence, the grant of the personal licence would undermine the crime prevention licensing objective. If the police issue an objection notice during the 14 day period, the licensing authority must hold a hearing to consider the notice. If a hearing is held, the licence can be granted or refused.

Download the City of London's procedure for public hearings

Processing timelines

All applications are subject to a statutory consultation period and the consultation period commences when a complete and valid application is received by the Licensing Authority.

If there are no relevant offences to consider, the application will be deemed granted and a licence consistent with the application will be issued within 10 working days.

If there are relevant offence to consider an objection notice is made during the 14 day consultation period a public hearing must be held to determine the application within 20 working days of the last date for representation (unless agreement is reached for this period to be extended).

Will tacit consent apply?

​No. It is in the public interest that the licensing authority must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from the licensing authority within a reasonable period, please contact the licensing team by phone on 020 7332 3406 or by email the Licensing Team.

Appeal process

​Applicant / licence holder

Where the licensing authority rejects an application for a new licence or renewal of licence, the applicant may appeal against that decision. Appeals are made to City of London Magistrates Court, 1 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4N 4XY, within 21 days of receiving notification of the decision.

Police responsible authority

Where the licensing authority grants an application for a new licence or renewal of licence following an objection notice being served by the police, the police responsible authority may appeal against that decision. Appeals are made to City of London Magistrates Court, 1 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4N 4XY, within 21 days of receiving notification of the decision.

Consumer complaint

​Any person who has concerns about an individual who is selling or authorising the sale of alcohol under the terms of a premises licence, should contact the Licensing team by phone on 020 7332 3406 or by email the Licensing team.