What qualifies as a club and how to apply for a club premises certificate
What is a club?
Clubs are organisations where members have joined together for particular social, sporting or political purposes. The club may combine to buy alcohol to supply to it's members. It may also put on entertainment and late night refreshment as part of their operation for members.
A qualifying club has general conditions it must satisfy, as follows:
- a person may not be given automatic membership. There must be at least a two day interval from the membership application and their membership being granted
- their club rules must state that those becoming a member without nomination or application cannot have membership privileges for at least two days between them becoming members and being admitted to the club
- that the club is established and conducted in good faith
- that the club has at least 25 members
- that alcohol is only supplied to members on the premises on behalf of or by the club
Additional conditions in relation to the supply of alcohol must be complied with. These conditions are:
- that alcohol purchased for and supplied by the club is done by members of the club who are over 18 years of age and are elected to do so by the members (for example, a bar steward over 18)
- that no person at the expense of the club receives any commission, percentage or other similar payment in regard to the purchase of alcohol by the club
- that there are no arrangements for anyone to receive a financial benefit from supplying alcohol, apart from any benefit to the club or to any person indirectly from the supply giving a gain from running the club.
What is a club premises certificate for?
Any qualifying club that carries out the following activities, require a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003:
- supply or alcohol to members and their guests
- regulated entertainment which may include plays, films, indoor sporting events, boxing or wrestling entertainment, live music (or anything of a similar description to live music), recorded music, performance of dance
Apply
We can only process applications where the club is located in our area.
To apply for a Club Premises Certificate you'll need to provide:
- a completed application form for a club premises licence (copies of which need to be sent by the applicant to all of the consultees on the front of the application form)
- a set of plans for the premises (to scale)
- the appropriate fee - this depends on the rateable value of the property and there is banding of fees depending on which rate you pay
If you're unsure of your current Non-Domestic Rateable Value, you should be able to confirm this on the Valuation Office website.
Each club premises certificate granted also has to pay an annual fee. This is invoiced on the anniversary of when this licence is first issued.
What's next?
You'll then need to:
- place a public notice on the premises showing the correct consultation period and keep it in place for this period of time
- place the same public notice in a local newspaper within 10 working days of submitting the application
If we issue a premises licence you can expect to receive this one month after your application. The 28 day consultation period allows consultees and members of the public time to consider your application and raise any concerns under the licencing objectives. Once the period has expired, we'll issue your licence shortly after.
A hearing must be held if any representations are made, in respect of the application. If a hearing is held, depending on the results, the licence can:
- be granted
- be granted subject to additional conditions
- have licensable activities listed in the application be excluded
- be rejected
A club premises certificate licence lasts for an unlimited time unless the licence is withdrawn (the club is disbanded or no longer qualifies for the certificate), suspended or surrendered.
Popular applications you can submit for your club premises certificate
Variation of a premises
If you need to make changes to a certificate, either small or large, you can apply for a variation. Minor variations include a change to the layout or premises. Major changes include changes relating to the supply of alcohol. To find out more and apply, please visit our variation of a premises page.
Changes to club rules and/or changes to the name of the club
If you update/or make any changes to the rules or names of the club you need to notify us of this.
Apply for changes to a Club Premises Certificate
Further information
If you have any further queries or require further information, please contact us.