Personal licence

A Personal licence allows the holder to sell alcohol on behalf of any business that has a premises licence or a club premises certificate.  The personal licence is designed to ensure that anybody running or managing a business that sells or supplies alcohol will do so in a professional manner.

A personal licence holder can act as the designated premises supervisor (DPS) for any business that sells or supplies alcohol.

 

Eligibility criteria

Applicants for a personal licence:

  • must be aged 18 or over;
  • must possess an accredited licensing qualification, or is a person of prescribed description; (Download the full list of accredited personal licence qualification providers.)
  • must not have forfeited a personal licence within 5 years before making the application;
  • not been convicted of any relevant or foreign offence.

 

How to apply?

Applications must be sent to the licensing authority for the area where the applicant lives, and not to the authority in which the licensed premise is located.

Download application form

  • a disclosure of convictions and declaration form
  • a criminal conviction certificate; (Basic criminal record checks can be obtained from The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)). Please note, any such criminal record check is only valid for one calendar month after the date of issue.
  • 2 photographs, one of which is endorsed as a true likeness of the applicant by a solicitor or notary, a person of standing in the community, or any individual with a professional qualification;
  • the original or a certified copy of your Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders; and
  • the fee of £37.00.

Applications may be submitted by post to one of the following addresses:

  • Licensing Unit, Public Protection Service, Council Offices, Shirehall Street, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
  • Licensing Unit, Public Protection Service, Dwyfor Area Office, Ffordd y Cob, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 5AA
  • Licensing Unit, Public Protection Service, Meirionnydd Area Office, Cae Penarlâg, Dolgellau, Gwynedd, LL40 2YB

Where an applicant has an unspent conviction for a relevant or foreign offence, the licensing authority will give a notice to the chief officer of police for the area.  If the police object to the application on crime prevention grounds, the applicant is entitled to a hearing before the licensing authority. If the police do not issue an objection notice and the application otherwise meets the requirements of the 2003 Act, the licensing authority must grant it.


Duration of licence

Renewals of licences are no longer necessary.

Personal licences remain valid unless surrendered, suspended, revoked or declared forfeit by the courts.

The requirement to renew a personal licence was removed from the Licensing Act 2003 by the Deregulation Act 2015.  While personal licences issued before the 2015 Act have expiry dates, these licences will remain valid and such dates no longer have an effect.

 

Fees

 

Public Register

View the public register of Gwynedd personal licences

 

Relevant legislation

Licensing Act 2003