Ask the Expert: Personal Licensing

A personal licence holder is licensed to authorise the sale of alcohol in licensed premises.

The first step to obtaining a personal licence is to sit and pass the accredited qualification, which is the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH).

We are accredited trainers of the BII NCPLH course and our expert trainers have maintained a consistently high pass rate. If you need to sit the NCPLH course then please see our training section or call 0114 266 8664 and ask to speak to our training administrator, Laura Mateer.

Alternatively, email training@john-gaunt.co.uk.

If you have already successfully passed the NCPLH then the next step is to submit an application to the Licensing Authority where you are ordinarily resident. The application consists of a number of forms, certified passport sized photographs, a criminal records check and your NCPLH.

We have processed thousands of personal licence applications since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force. If you decide to use our services, we can send you the necessary pack of documents with detailed instructions of how to complete the forms accurately.

Once you return the pack we will arrange your criminal records check and submit your application to your Licensing Authority.

Your qualification remains valid so long as it was the NCPLH or equivalent. In relation to the caution, on the basis that you were not charged and convicted, it is not a relevant offence which has to be disclosed as part of your Personal Licence application. It would therefore appear that there are no restrictions to your application proceeding-may I suggest you contact me-Michelle Hazlewood and I will explain the costs of the application and how we can assist you.

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding personal licences.

To be eligible to apply for a personal licence a prospective candidate must meet the following 3 criteria:

• You must be at least 18 years old,
• You must hold an accredited qualification, the BIIAB's NCPLH course is an example of an accredited course and
• You must not have forfeited a personal licence in the past 5 years.

If you meet all 3 of these criteria you are eligible to apply; if you fail any of the 3 your application will automatically be refused.

The effect of criminal convictions is that if you have an unspent conviction for a relevant offence the Police are able to oppose your application, if you have no unspent convictions for relevant offences they cannot object.

You must disclose any unspent convictions for relevant offences in your application form. Failure to disclose the convictions may lead to a £5000 fine and the automatic forfeiture of any personal licence issued to you.

A relevant offence means an offence listed in Schedule 4 of the Licensing Act 2003. Not all offences are "relevant" however drink driving is a relevant offence.

The term "unspent conviction" refers to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Depending on the penalty you receive from the Court the conviction is deemed "spent" in many cases after a prescribed period of time. If the offence was non-custodial i.e. you did not go to prison; the conviction is deemed "spent" after 5 years and does not need to be disclosed.

In your case the conviction was in Nov 2009 therefore it will not be deemed "spent" until after the 5th anniversary of the conviction date (Nov 2009). You must therefore disclose the conviction in your application.

You are entitled to apply however the Police may object to your application if they feel the granting of a licence to you would undermine the Crime & Disorder Objective. The Police often consider that those people who have been stopped for drink driving are irresponsible with alcohol and in many instances object to the grant. The Police have 14 days to object to your application after it is served upon them by the Licensing Authority. If they do not object in this period the Police are deemed not to oppose your application and the personal licence will be automatically granted. If the object, as they often will, the matter will be considered by the Licensing Committee. The Licensing Committee will consider the Police's objection and any representations you wish to make and then decide to grant or refuse the licence.

If you would like any assistance with your application, including having a solicitor speak to the Police prior to submitting your application, or representing you at a hearing if you proceed and the Police object, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding personal licences.

To be eligible to apply for a personal licence a person must:

• Be 18 years of age or above,
• Possess an accredited licensing qualification,
• Not have forfeited a personal licence in the past 5 year period.
• Declare any convictions for any relevant offences.

In relation to your caution this year for the possession of cannabis and coke, on the basis that you were not charged and convicted, it is not a relevant offence which has to be disclosed as part of your Personal Licence application. Your application should therefore be able to proceed without any restrictions.

Please note though that when submitting your personal licence application one of the standard documents which is required to be submitted is a Criminal Record Bureau Certificate of which there are different levels including basic, standard and enhanced. Be aware that only the basic certificate will not show up cautions and warnings.

If you would like any further assistance please feel free to contact me and I will explain the application procedure to you as well as costs details and how we may be able to assist you further.

If you have a criminal conviction this does not automatically mean that you cannot obtain a personal licence.

The Police can only object to your personal licence application if you have been convicted of a relevant offence and that conviction is not spent and they believe that the grant of your licence will undermine the crime prevention objective.

Relevant convictions include convictions such as drink driving or offences involving violence. Whether or not a conviction is ‘spent' is determined by how long ago you were convicted and the sentence you received.

If you have a conviction, the best course of action is to contact our offices and we will offer discreet advice as to whether the offence you committed is relevant and / or spent.

If you lose your personal licence, or if it is stolen, then you can obtain a duplicate from the Licensing Authority that issued your personal licence in the first instance. This involves obtaining a lost property number or crime reference number from your local Police and a paying a fee to the Licensing Authority.

If you work on licensed premises then you must be able to produce your personal licence to an authorised officer when on duty.

We can assist in this process for you. Please get in touch.

No - a Personal Licence has a life of 10 years from the date of grant and to ensure continuity, an application must be made to renew the same to your home Authority not more than 3 nor less than 1 month before the expiry date. It is unlikely that you will receive a reminder in respect of this.

In Scotland, there is an additional requirement to undertake refresher training at least every 5 years and evidence of such re-training should be supplied to your home Licensing Authority no later than 3 months after the expiry of each 5 year period. Failure to comply results in the revocation of your Personal Licence. Be aware.

If you change address from that appearing on your personal licence then you are under a duty to update your details with the Licensing Authority who issued your personal licence in the first instance.

This includes returning your personal licence for amendment and paying a fee.

Failure to do this within a reasonable time is a criminal offence!

Please contact the personal licence department on 0114 2668664 or email personals@john-gaunt.co.uk for more information.