Personal licence application

A personal licence allows an individual to be a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) at a licensed premise that sells or supplies alcohol. 

Applicants must not be under 18 years of age, and not had a personal licence forfeited within the last five years. You must also hold an accredited licensing qualification and must declare any convictions for any relevant or foreign offence.

You must have the legal right to work in the UK in order to hold a personal licence, proof of which will be required.

Personal licences are issued directly to the person applying for them, and are not transferrable. Once you have obtained one, you are free to work at any premises which are subject to a premises licence authorising the sale/supply of alcohol, anywhere in England or Wales. You may only hold one personal licence at any time, which will be valid for the whole of your lifetime, but may be revoked if you are convicted of a relevant criminal offence, have to pay an immigration penalty, or are found to have given incorrect or misleading information in your application. Licences will also lapse automatically if your right to work in the UK expires or is revoked.

Application, guidance notes or terms and conditions

This application should be made to the Local Authority in which the applicant lives, not to the Authority in which the licensed premise is located. Before making your application, check your postcode to see which council you should apply to.

Download the Personal Licence Application Pack

After submitting your application you will be need to email the following information to the licensing services team. (You will recieve an email asking you for this).

• One recent passport-style photograph
• The certificate from an accredited personal licence qualification
• A completed Disclosure of Convictions and Civil Immigration Penalties & Declaration for (MS Word, 13KB)
• A criminal record check, issued within the last month, such as a basic disclosure check. You can apply online at GOV.UK 
• Copies of documents which prove your legal right to work in the UK

We may consult the following bodies about your application:

• North Yorkshire Police, if you have any unspent convictions for relevant or foreign offences
• The Home Office, if you have been required to pay a civil immigration penalty or if your right to work in the UK is not clear

Both body may object to your application, and if they do, your application will be decided at a hearing by our Licensing Sub-Committee.

Personal licence qualifications

One of the prerequisites to obtaining a personal licence is the completion of a training course which has been accredited by the Home Office. These usually consist of a one-day course, with a multiple choice exam at the end.

A list of all accredited qualifications can be found on GOV.UK. 

For more information, and details of local training centres, please contact the providers directly.

Photographs

Applicants must supply a photograph of themselves with their application. We would generally expect this photograph to be of a similar standard to that required for applications for passports, and photos must, as a minimum, meet the following requirements:

• They must be taken against a light background so that the applicant’s features are distinguishable and contrast against the background
• They must measure 45 millimetres by 35 millimetres
• The applicant’s face must be fully uncovered in the photo, without sunglasses or any head covering (unless a head covering is worn regularly in accordance with religious beliefs)
• Both sides of the photograph must be scanned and emailed to the Licensing Team
• The photo must be endorsed by a solicitor, notary, a person of standing with the community or an individual with a professional qualification, with a statement verifying the likeness of the photograph to the applicant, such as ‘I certify that this is a true likeness of [applicant’s name]’. They must then sign and date the statement. . It is not enough just to sign and date the photograph.  It is not enough just to sign and date the photograph.

Examples of persons who may endorse photographs include:

accountant	engineer(professional)	officer of armed forces
airline pilot	financial services agent	police officer
bank/buildingsociety official	fire service official	Post Office official
barrister	funeral director	religiousminister or leader
civil servant	insurance / assurance agent	socialworker
clerk of a company	Justice of the Peace	solicitor
commissioner of oaths	legal secretary / paralegal	surveyor
councillor	local government officer	teacher or lecturer
dentist	Member of Parliament	trade union officer
director of company / charity	Merchant Navy officer	valuer or auctioneer
doctor or other healthcareprofessional	person with honours (an OBE or MBE for example)	WarrantOfficers and Chief PettyOfficers

Processing and timescales

We may consult the following bodies about your application:

• North Yorkshire Police, if you have any unspent convictions for relevant or foreign offences
• The Home Office, if you have been required to pay a civil immigration penalty or if your right to work in the UK is not clear.

Both body may object to your application, and if they do, your application will be decided at a hearing by our Licensing Sub-Committee.

If the Police/Home Office do not object to the application and the applicant fulfils the criteria, the licence will be granted.

Fees

£37.00 payable with the relevant forms.

Licencing register

View the public register

Complaints

Contact us in the first instance.