Ask the Expert: Personal Licensing

A personal licence holder is licensed to sell alcohol or authorise others to sell alcohol in licensed premises.

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

We are accredited trainers of the BII NCPLH course and our expert Solicitors who deliver each course have maintained an enviable 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 another accredited qualification. A criminal bureau check can be applied for at any time however it is only valid for 28 days from the date it is issued.

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.

If you need any further information regarding the costs of the application and how we can assist you please contact our training administrator, Laura Mateer.

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

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

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 usually deemed "spent" after 5 years and does not need to be disclosed.

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

You are still entitled to apply, even with a relevant conviction, 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 convicted for drink driving are irresponsible with alcohol and in many instances object to the grant of a personal licence.

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 Police object the matter will be considered by the local Licensing Committee. The Licensing Committee will consider the Police's objection and any comments 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.

A caution is not a conviction (i.e. you have not be charged and convicted at Court) therefore you do not need to disclose this as part of your Personal Licence application. Your application should therefore be able to proceed without any restrictions.

Each case must be considered on its own merits, If you would like any further assistance or specific advise regarding your own circumstances please feel free to contact us and we will explain the application procedure to you as well as costs details and how we may be able to assist you further.

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. 

Some convictions have a period of time after which they are ‘spent'. This means that under the law they are no longer counted against the offender. The period of time for each conviction is laid down by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The time after which a conviction becomes spent depends on the length of sentence given for that offence. Certain offences are never spent.  A general guide to these periods is:

-       Fines - 5 years

-       Most community service penalties – spent after 5 years

-       Up to 6 months imprisonment - spent after 7 years

-       6 months to 2.5 years imprisonment - spent after 10 years

-       More than 2.5 years imprisonment - Never spent

A one year custodial sentence for assault it is a relevant offence and should be disclosed as part of a Personal Licence application. As highlighted above it will take 10 years for such a conviction to become spent.

This does not mean that an application for a personal licence will be refused. The Licensing Authority will have to notify the Chief Officer of Police who may object (within 14 days of receiving notice) if they do not object within this time period your application will be successful.

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

For any criminal conviction to potentially cause an issue for a personal licence application it must be both relevant (as defined by the Licensing Act 2003) and unspent (i.e. still on the applicant's criminal record).

Causing death by careless driving is not a relevant offence unless it was under the influence of drink and/or drugs.

If the conviction was under the influence of drink and drugs then the next step is to determine whether it is spent or unspent, which depends on the date of conviction and sentence imposed.

The lengths of time a conviction will appear on a person's criminal record will be as follows:

Should the conviction be both relevant and unspent then the application will not be automatically rejected. In this case, the Police have the discretion to object to the application. If the Police object then a hearing would be held to at which the Council's Licensing Committee would decide, on considering the evidence, whether or not to grant the licence.

The court may order the suspension or forfeiture of a personal licence if the holder is convicted of a relevant offence.  The Licensing Act and Secretary of State’s Guidance provide details of all relevant offences which includes driving with excess alcohol in one’s body.

The suspension or forfeiture may be ordered with immediate effect.  Where a personal licence is suspended the maximum period for suspension is 6 months.  Further, when considering the suspension or forfeiture of a personal licence, the court may take into account previous convictions.

In terms of the court case a personal licence holder who is charged with a relevant offence must notify the court dealing with that offence that he or she is a personal licence holder.  This must be done no later than at the time of their first court appearance.

Also, please be aware that the sentencing court also has a duty to inform the licensing authority of the conviction and sentence imposed.

If you require any further advice on this matter or require representation at your hearing please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your e-mail.

I confirm that Personal Licence holders have a number of legal duties.  

One of these duties is to keep your name and address up to date on your licence.

Accordingly, if you have changed residential address from that appearing on your Personal Licence, you must return both parts of your licence (paper part and photo card) to the issuing Licensing Authority.  A covering letter will suffice as there is no formal application form for this.

As well as enclosing your Personal Licence, the notification should also supply the Council with a cheque for £10.50, being the Licensing Authority's fee for administrating the change, and details of your new address.

You should ensure your licence is updated with the issuing Authority as soon as is reasonably practicable.  Failure to do so results in a criminal offence being committed which could result in a fine of up to £500.

The duty to keep your licence up to date exits whether you are within the trade or not.  If you are adamant you never make use of your Personal Licence until such time that it expires, you may wish to surrender it with the issuing Licensing Authority.  This would mean your licence is no longer in existence and you would no longer have a duty to let the Council know every time you change address.  Alternatively, you may decide to keep your licence even if you do not make full use of it but you must be mindful of the associated legal duties of a Personal Licence holder.

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 for further advice as to whether the offence you committed is relevant and / or spent.

If you lose your personal licence, or if it is stolen, 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, unless you have a reasonable excuse for not doing so.  Continuing to work while awaiting a replacement licence would is usually considered to be a “reasonable excuse” on the proviso that the application for a replacement licence was promptly submitted.

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 the licence also lasts 10 year however 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.