Premises Licence Conditions Explained: What Every Venue Operator Needs to Know

Your premises licence is the legal document that allows you to operate. Every condition on it is enforceable, and breaching any single condition can trigger a review that puts your entire operation at risk.

Many venue operators receive their licence, file it, and never read the conditions in detail. This is a mistake. Here is what you need to understand.

What is a premises licence?

A premises licence is issued under the Licensing Act 2003 (England and Wales) or the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (Scotland). It authorises specific "licensable activities" at a specific premises:

• Sale of alcohol - on-premises, off-premises, or both
• Regulated entertainment - live music, recorded music, dancing, film screenings, indoor sporting events
• Late night refreshment - serving hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am

Each licensable activity will have permitted hours specified on the licence.

Types of conditions

Mandatory conditions

These are set by law and apply to every premises licence that authorises alcohol sales. You cannot negotiate or remove them.

Key mandatory conditions include:

• Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) - a named individual who holds a personal licence must be specified on the licence. This person has day-to-day responsibility for alcohol sales
• Authorisation of sales - every sale of alcohol must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder
• Age verification policy - you must have a policy requiring anyone who appears under a specified age (typically 25) to produce ID before being sold alcohol
• Irresponsible promotions ban - you cannot run promotions that encourage excessive drinking (unlimited drinks for a fixed price, drinking games, speed drinking, etc.)
• Free water - you must provide free drinking water to customers on request
• Minimum measures - spirits, wine, and beer must be offered in specified measures

Standard conditions

These are conditions commonly applied by licensing authorities based on the type of venue and the licensable activities. They vary by authority but typically cover:

• CCTV - installation, retention period, and police access requirements
• Door supervisors - minimum numbers, times, and SIA licence requirements
• Capacity - maximum permitted occupancy
• Noise - sound limiting devices, noise monitoring, or management plans
• Dispersal - policies for managing patrons leaving at closing time
• Smoking areas - management of external smoking areas

Specific conditions

These are conditions tailored to your particular premises, often added following representations from responsible authorities (police, fire service, environmental health, licensing authority) during the application process or at a review hearing.

Specific conditions might address:

• Restrictions on certain types of events
• Additional security requirements for specific nights
• Limitations on outdoor trading
• Requirements for staff training beyond the statutory minimum
• Restrictions on advertising or promotions

Understanding your conditions

Read every word

Pull out your premises licence and read every condition. If you do not have a copy immediately available, request one from your licensing authority. You are required to keep a copy on the premises at all times.

Check the hours

Your permitted hours may differ by activity and by day. For example:

• Alcohol sales: Monday-Thursday 11:00-00:00, Friday-Saturday 11:00-02:00
• Regulated entertainment: Monday-Thursday 11:00-00:30, Friday-Saturday 11:00-02:30
• Late night refreshment: 23:00-02:30

Operating outside these hours - even by 15 minutes - is a licence breach.

Identify the specific requirements

Many conditions include specific numbers, times, or actions. For example:

• "A minimum of 4 SIA-licensed door supervisors shall be on duty from 21:00 until 30 minutes after closing on Friday and Saturday nights"
• "CCTV recordings shall be retained for a minimum of 31 days"
• "The premises shall not exceed a maximum capacity of 350 persons including staff"

Each of these is a testable, enforceable requirement. If a police officer visits at 21:15 on a Friday and you have 3 door supervisors instead of 4, you are in breach.

Common breach scenarios

Operating outside permitted hours

This includes not just serving alcohol after your cut-off time, but also allowing regulated entertainment (including recorded music) to continue beyond permitted hours.

Insufficient door supervisors

Your conditions may specify minimum numbers at specific times. Understaffing - even temporarily while someone takes a break - is a breach.

CCTV failures

Conditions typically require CCTV to be operational during all trading hours, footage to be retained for a specified period, and footage to be provided to police on request within a specified timeframe (often 24-48 hours).

If your CCTV system is not working and you continue to trade, you are breaching your conditions.

Missing or unavailable licence

You must keep a copy of your premises licence (or a certified copy) on the premises at all times. An authorised officer can request to see it, and failure to produce it is an offence.

Ignoring noise conditions

If your licence includes a condition about noise levels, sound-limiting devices, or noise management, ignoring it will eventually result in complaints from environmental health and a potential review.

What happens when you breach a condition

Police and licensing officer response

Responsible authorities regularly visit licensed premises to check compliance. If they find a breach:

• Minor or first-time breach - may result in advice and an expectation that you rectify the issue
• Serious breach - may result in a formal warning or prosecution
• Pattern of breaches - will likely trigger a review of your premises licence

Premises licence review

Any responsible authority or any other person (including local residents) can apply for a review of your premises licence. A review hearing before the licensing sub-committee can result in:

• No action - the committee is satisfied with your response
• Addition of conditions - new conditions are imposed to address the concerns
• Exclusion of activities - specific licensable activities are removed
• Removal of the DPS - the current DPS is removed from the licence
• Suspension - your licence is suspended for up to 3 months
• Revocation - your licence is permanently revoked

Revocation means your venue closes. The appeal process takes months, and you cannot trade during it.

How to stay compliant

Create a conditions checklist

Extract every condition from your licence into a checklist. Group them by frequency:

• Every trading session - door supervisor numbers, CCTV operating, licence available
• Weekly - alarm and safety tests
• Monthly - CCTV system checks, training records review
• Annually - full fire risk assessment review, training refreshers

Train your team

Every manager should know your licence conditions. Every member of staff should know the conditions relevant to their role. Door supervisors need to know the security conditions. Bar staff need to know the alcohol sales conditions.

Document compliance

If it is not recorded, it did not happen. Keep records of:

• Door supervisor deployment (names, SIA numbers, times)
• CCTV operation and any periods of downtime
• Capacity counts
• Staff training dates and content
• Incident reports
• Any communications with responsible authorities

Review regularly

Pull out your licence conditions at least quarterly and check them against your current operations. Things change - staff turnover, layout modifications, new events - and your compliance can drift without anyone noticing.

Varying your conditions

If your licence conditions are outdated, impractical, or you want to extend your hours or add activities, you can apply for a variation:

• Minor variation - small changes that have no adverse impact (cheaper, faster process)
• Full variation - significant changes including extended hours, increased capacity, or additional activities

Both require an application to your licensing authority. Full variations trigger a 28-day consultation period where responsible authorities and local residents can make representations.

Further resources

• Licensing Act 2003 - primary legislation (England and Wales)
• Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 - primary legislation (Scotland)
• Section 182 Guidance - Home Office statutory guidance

For structured compliance tracking that maps directly to your premises licence conditions, Holocron helps venues maintain the documentation licensing authorities expect. Try the compliance assessment to see where your venue stands.