Personal licences
The personal licence is separate from the licence which authorises the premises to be used for the supply of alcohol. The licensing of individuals separately from the licensing of premises permits the movement of personal licence holders from one premise to another, allowing greater flexibility. It ends the old outdated regime where publicans were tied by licence to the premises where they worked.
A personal licence authorises the holder to supply alcohol from premises with a premises licence in accordance with that licence.
Any individual may apply for a personal licence whether or not they are currently employed or has business interests associated with the use of the licence. An individual may hold only one personal licence at any one time.
A personal licence costs £37 (cheques to be made payable to Plymouth City Council)
and is valid for 10 years, unless surrendered, suspended, revoked or declared forfeit by the courts. The licence can be renewed for further periods of 10 years. The licence will be renewed if the licence holder has not been convicted of any relevant or foreign offence (full list of relevant offences available on request). If any such offences have occurred since the licence was granted or renewed, the licensing authority must notify the chief officer of police for its area who may object to the renewal.
The requirements for a personal licence are:
- Must be aged 18 or over
- Possesses an accredited licensing qualification, or is a person of prescribed description
- No personal licence held has been forfeited within the period of five years before making the application
- Has not been convicted of any relevant or foreign offence
If the applicant fulfils all these criteria, the licence will be granted. If any of the first three criteria are not met, the licensing authority must reject the application.
In order to substantiate whether or not an applicant has a conviction for an unspent relevant offence, the Secretary of State would expect that all applicants be required to produce a Criminal Record Bureau certificate to the licensing authority. Basic criminal record checks can be obtained from Disclosure Scotland, for further details call their helpline number 0870 609 6006, or visit the Disclosure Scotland website (disclosure only valid for one calendar month from date of issue).
All applicants will also be expected to make a clear statement as to whether or not they have been convicted outside England and Wales of a relevant offence or an equivalent foreign offence.
If it appears there are convictions for any relevant or foreign offences, the licensing authority will give a notice to the chief officer of police for the area. If the police make no objections within a 14 day period, the licence must be granted.
How do 'foreign offences' differ from relevant offences?
Convictions for offences (other than relevant offences) under the law of any place outside England and Wales, including other parts of the United Kingdom such as Scotland and Northern Ireland, are counted as foreign offences.
Application for the initial grant of a personal licence is usually made to the local authority for the area in which the individual is ordinarily resident at the time of the application. The local authority then becomes the relevant licensing authority for all subsequent matters relating to the personal licence including renewals, even though the individual may move out of the area or take employment elsewhere. The personal licence itself will give details of the issuing authority.
Photographs of applicant to be:
- taken against light background
- 45 millimetres by 35 millimetres
- full face uncovered and without sunglasses and, unless the applicant wears a head covering due to religious beliefs, without a head covering
- on photographic paper and endorsed by
- a solicitor or notary
- a person of standing in the community or
- any individual with a professional qualification
What is a designated premises supervisor (DPS)?
The main purpose of the DPS is to ensure that there is always one specified individual, among these personal licence holders, who can be readily identified for the premises where a personal licence is in force. That person will normally have been given day to day responsibility for running the premises by the premises licence holder.
By specifying the premises supervisor in the premises licence, it will usually be clear who is in day to day charge of the premises, so that police officers, fire officers or officers of the licensing authority can identify immediately the designated premises supervisor as a person in a position of authority at any premises selling or supplying alcohol.
Any application for a premises licence must also include a form of consent given by the individual whom the applicant wishes to have specified in the premises licence as the DPS.
Applications need to be sent to:
Licensing Department
Plymouth City Council
Civic Centre
Floor 6
Plymouth PL1 2AA
The Secretary of State has accredited the following personal licence qualification under the Licensing Act 2003:
- BIIAB Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders
- GOAL Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders
- GQAL Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders
Local course providers:
- Access Training Southwest: 01726 77600
- City College Plymouth: 01752 305890
- CRS Inc Ltd: 01752 604704
- Pubshop Training School: 01305 786639
- St Austell Brewery: 01726 72020/74444
Applications need to be countersigned by a person of suitable standing. A list of acceptable professions is available from the documents table below.
Details of personal licence qualification providers can be found below:
Authorised counter signatories [13KB]