Overview
Sell alcohol lawfully, confidently and responsibly
Alcohol is the only product on your shelves or behind your bar that comes with its own Act of Parliament, its own police officers and its own criminal offences for the person who hands it over. In England and Wales the Licensing Act 2003 places duties not just on the premises licence holder and the designated premises supervisor but on every member of staff who makes a sale. Sell to someone under 18, sell to someone who is drunk, or let a promotion get out of hand and it is your name on the fixed penalty notice or the court summons, and the premises licence that ends up under review.
This short course is written for the people who actually make the sales: bar staff, waiting staff, hotel and events staff, off-licence and convenience store staff, supermarket checkout operators and delivery drivers. You will cover the four licensing objectives and the three types of licence, the offences and who is liable for them, the mandatory conditions on every premises licence and the promotions they ban, Challenge 25 and the forms of ID you can accept, how to refuse a sale politely and record it, alcohol units and how to recognise when someone has had enough, and the records and habits that keep you and the premises on the right side of the law every shift.
The course is fully online and self paced. Most learners complete it in two to three hours, and you keep access for twelve months from enrolment. Pass the closing assessment and your CPD certified certificate is generated straight away, dated and named, ready to download and print.
What you’ll learn
What you’ll be able to do
By the end of this course you will be able to:
Explain the four licensing objectives and how the premises licence, the personal licence and the DPS fit together.
Name the main offences under the Licensing Act 2003 and understand who is liable, including you personally.
Apply the mandatory licence conditions on promotions, free water, smaller measures and age verification.
Run Challenge 25 properly, check ID for the three things it must carry, and spot fake ID and proxy sales.
Refuse a sale politely and firmly, keep yourself safe, and record it in a way that gives you a due diligence defence.
Work out the units in a drink and recognise the signs that a customer is drunk or vulnerable.
Respond to drunkenness, drink spiking concerns, drugs and disorder in line with the licensing objectives.
Keep the refusals log, incident record and training records that police and trading standards expect to see.
Course content
Six modules to work through
Each module builds on the last and ends with the material you need for the final assessment. Work at your own pace and return to any module during your twelve month access window.
1Alcohol, the Law and the Four Licensing ObjectivesWhy alcohol is regulated, the Licensing Act 2003, and the licences that let a sale happen.⌄
- Why alcohol has its own law and who enforces it
- The four licensing objectives and what each one means at the till or the bar
- Premises licence, personal licence and the designated premises supervisor
- Who can authorise a sale and why that matters to you
- Temporary event notices, and how Scotland and Northern Ireland differ
2The Offences and Who Is LiableThe offences you can commit personally, what they cost, and the due diligence defence.⌄
- Selling alcohol to a person under 18 and allowing it to happen
- Persistent underage sales, closure notices and licence suspension
- Proxy purchases, delivering alcohol to children and children on the premises
- Selling to a person who is drunk and allowing disorderly conduct
- Fixed penalty notices, prosecution, test purchasing and the due diligence defence
3Mandatory Conditions and Responsible PromotionsThe conditions on every premises licence and the promotions that are banned outright.⌄
- The mandatory conditions and where to find the premises licence summary
- Irresponsible promotions: drinking games, all you can drink, dispensing into the mouth
- Free tap water, smaller measures and the permitted price
- The age verification policy every premises must have
- Minimum unit pricing in Scotland and Wales, and off-trade promotions
4Challenge 25: Checking Age and Refusing Underage SalesThe Challenge 25 process from first look to refusals log, and the ID you can accept.⌄
- Why Challenge 25 rather than Challenge 18
- Acceptable ID: passport, photocard driving licence, PASS cards and digital proof of age
- Checking ID in your hand: photo, date of birth, security feature, tampering
- Spotting proxy sales and group purchases
- Refusing without a confrontation and recording every refusal
5Drunkenness, Units and Keeping Customers SafeUnits, the effects of alcohol, recognising intoxication, and refusing a drunk customer safely.⌄
- Working out units and how quickly the body deals with them
- The short and long term effects of alcohol and the weekly guideline
- Signs of intoxication and why there is no legal definition of drunk
- Refusing a drunk customer, de-escalation and duty of care when they leave
- Drink spiking, vulnerable customers, Ask for Angela and drugs on the premises
6Your Role Every Shift: Authorisation, Records and Good PracticeAuthorisation, under 18 staff, the records that protect you, and working with the police.⌄
- Being authorised to sell, and the rule for staff under 18
- Licensed hours, licence conditions and the premises licence summary
- The refusals log, incident record and training records
- Police, licensing officers, trading standards and test purchases
- Pubwatch, Best Bar None, Community Alcohol Partnerships and a start of shift routine
Who it’s for
Is this course a good fit?
This course is written for anyone who sells, serves or delivers alcohol in England and Wales. If you hand alcohol to a customer, the law places duties on you personally, and this is the level of knowledge it expects.
Bar & pub staff
Anyone who pours a drink or takes an order across the bar.
Restaurant, hotel & events staff
Waiting and function staff who serve alcohol with food or at events.
Off-licence & convenience store staff
Counter staff in shops where alcohol sits alongside everything else.
Supermarket checkout & self-scan staff
Operators who authorise alcohol at the till and at self-service checkouts.
Delivery drivers & online order staff
Those who hand over alcohol at the door for online and app orders.
Supervisors & new managers
Team leaders who train and authorise staff and want a solid grounding before the APLH.
Assessment
How it’s assessed
The course is assessed by a single online multiple choice test taken after the modules. It can be retaken as many times as you need at no extra cost.
End-of-course assessment
Study details
You can pause and resume at any point, and your progress is saved automatically. There is no time limit on the assessment itself.
Certification
Your CPD-certified certificate
Responsible Alcohol Retail Awareness, CPD Certified
On passing the assessment, your CPD certified digital certificate is available to download and print immediately, with your name, the course title and the completion date. For a licensed premises, each certificate is dated, named evidence that staff have been trained in the law before they sell alcohol, the kind of record that police licensing officers, trading standards and the licensing authority expect to see, and that supports a due diligence defence if a sale is ever challenged. We recommend refresher training at least annually and whenever the law or your premises licence changes.
FAQs
