Apply for a personal licence to sell alcohol

What you need to know

We issue personal licences which allow individuals to authorise sales of alcohol at a premises. The premises must have a valid premises licence. This includes pubs, off licences, restaurants and hotels. You must be 18 years or older and hold a licensing qualification, typically the Level 2 award for personal licence holders.

Personal licence holders can also be named on a premises licence as the Designated Premises Supervisor.

Further information and guidance (opens new window)

We offer pre-application advice on this licence.

Fees

The application fee is £37.

Apply for a personal licence

You must apply to the licensing authority for the area where you live, not the licensing authority where you work. We are the licensing authority for Guildford.

You will need to log in or create an account with the Licensing and Regulation portal. From there you can apply for a personal licence.

The following documents are needed to submit your application:

a photograph of the applicant which has been signed on the back as a true likeness of the applicant by a solicitor or a person in the community or an individual with a professional qualification. You must upload both the picture side and the signed side of the photograph
proof of a licensing qualification or proof that the applicant is a person of prescribed description information found in Section 120(8) and (9) of the Licensing Act 2003
a criminal records disclosure which is no more than 28 days (4 weeks) old. You can get this online from the Disclosure and Barring Service. You will be given a consent number and a certificate number which you will be asked to enter during the application. The Council will not accept a paper certificate using this online application
proof of the right to work in the UK

Apply for a personal licence (opens new window)

If this expiry date shown on the licence is before 1 April 2015, you will need to apply for a new licence. If it shows an expiry date on or after 1 April 2015 then the expiry date no longer applies. If you wish to update your licence to remove the expiry date, you will need to follow the same process for amending your licence as set out below.

Updating your personal licence

You will need to log in or create an account with the MyGuildford Licensing and Regulation portal. From there you can update your personal licence.

You are responsible for making sure the details on your licence are correct. You need to tell us of any changes, including name and address changes, or any relevant convictions. A relevant conviction is defined in Schedule 4 of the Licensing Act 2003. If you don't tell us about a conviction, you are committing and offence under the Licensing Act 2003.

If you have lost your licence or ID card, please use the "update your personal licence" button to request a new one. There is a £10.50 fee for the council to reissue a licence and ID card.