Alcohol licences

You will need a temporary event notice (TEN) if you want to carry out a licensable activity on unlicensed premises.

Licensable activities include:

  • selling alcohol
  • supplying alcohol to members of a club
  • providing regulated entertainment, such as music or plays
  • serving hot food between 11pm and 5am

You will also need a TEN if the licensable activity you wish to carry out is not included in the terms of your existing licence, e.g. holding a wedding reception at a community centre.

Events covered by TENs must:

  • not host more than 499 people at all times – including staff running the event. For larger events, find out about premises licences.
  • last no more than 168 hours (7 days)

You must apply at least 10 clear working days before your event. This does not include the day you apply and the day of your event. A late TEN can be given in exceptional circumstances - find out more.

You need a TEN for each event you hold at the same premises. You can get up to 5 TENs a year. If you already have a personal licence to sell alcohol you can be given up to 50 TENs a year. 

A single premises can have up to 15 TENs a year as long as the total length of the events is not more than 21 days. 

If you are organising seperate but consecutive events, there must be at least a 24 hour gap between them.