Designated Premises Supervisor

• Explain the Licensing Act 2003 and its four licensing objectives
• Describe the personal licence and the duties of a licence holder
• Explain the premises licence, operating schedule and conditions
• Describe the role and responsibilities of the DPS
• Use temporary event notices correctly
• Protect children and sell alcohol responsibly

Everything from the presentation, set out so you can read it at your own pace and come back to it later.

Licensable activities and the four licensing objectives

The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005. It controls four licensable activities.

The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005 and covers England and Wales. Its reach is defined by four licensable activities: selling alcohol by retail, supplying alcohol in qualifying clubs, providing regulated entertainment, and late night refreshment, meaning hot food or hot drink supplied between 11pm and 5am. If your premises does any of these, it needs the right authorisation. Some entertainment has been deregulated in recent years, so as a DPS you should always check what your own premises actually needs rather than assuming.

Every decision under the Act must promote these objectives. They are equally important.

Everything under the Act is built around four licensing objectives, and every decision made under it must promote them. They are equally important, and there are no others: preventing crime and disorder, public safety, preventing public nuisance, and protecting children from harm. For you as a DPS, they are the yardstick for how your premises is run day to day. You will be expected to show how your premises promotes all four, not just the one that seems most pressing at the time.

Who needs one, how to apply, and your legal duties

A personal licence is about you, not the building. Like a driving licence, it goes with you and lets you sell, or authorise the sale of, alcohol at any premises that has a premises licence. That matters because every sale under a premises licence must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder, and the designated premises supervisor must hold one. Since 2015 it no longer needs renewing, but you can only hold one personal licence at a time.

Applying for a personal licence means meeting a set of requirements before you apply. You must be 18 or over, hold an accredited qualification such as a Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders, and have the right to work in the UK. You also provide a basic criminal record check and declare any relevant offences or immigration penalties, and the police may object if you have relevant offences. Your application goes to the licensing authority for the area where you live, with photographs and the fee.

Holding a personal licence brings legal duties that continue for as long as you hold it. You must keep the licensing authority informed of changes of name or address, show your licence to officers when asked while you are authorising sales, tell a court you hold one if you are charged with a relevant offence, and report any conviction for a relevant offence. Failing in these duties is an offence, usually with a fine of up to £500. The authority can also suspend your licence for up to six months, or revoke it, if you are convicted of a relevant offence.

Applications, operating schedules, conditions and the DPS role

A premises licence is granted by the licensing authority for the area where the premises is, and lasts indefinitely unless it is surrendered, revoked or lapses. The application is a package: the form, which is also copied to the police and other responsible authorities, a plan of the premises, an operating schedule, and a consent form from the proposed DPS if alcohol will be sold. A fee based on the rateable value is paid, with an annual fee afterwards. The application must also be advertised so that local people and businesses know about it.

The operating schedule is the heart of a premises licence application, because it describes how the business will actually run. It covers the licensable activities and when they take place, the opening times, whether alcohol is for consumption on or off the premises or both, and the name of the proposed DPS. Most importantly, it sets out the steps you will take to promote the four licensing objectives. Be careful what you promise, because those steps become conditions on your licence.

• The licensable activities to be carried out
• The times those activities will take place
• The times the premises will be open to the public
• Whether alcohol is for consumption on or off the premises, or both
• The name of the proposed designated premises supervisor
• The steps you will take to promote the four licensing objectives

A licence application is not automatic if people have concerns. The police, other responsible authorities, residents and businesses can make representations, but these must relate to the licensing objectives. Where relevant representations are made, a licensing sub-committee holds a hearing and can grant the licence, add conditions or refuse it. Appeals go to the magistrates’ court and must be made within 21 days of the decision. Even after a licence is granted, it can be reviewed at any time if problems arise, which can lead to new conditions, removal of the DPS, suspension for up to three months, or revocation.

Some conditions apply automatically to every premises licence that authorises the sale of alcohol, whatever the operating schedule says. These mandatory conditions cover responsible trading and customer welfare: no irresponsible drinks promotions, free tap water on request, small measures available, an age verification policy that is followed, and no sale below the cost of duty plus VAT. Every sale must also be made or authorised by a personal licence holder, which is why the DPS role matters so much in practice.

• No irresponsible drinks promotions
• Free tap water must be available on request
• Small measures must be available: half pints, 125ml wine, and 25ml or 35ml spirits
• An age verification policy must be in place and followed
• Every sale of alcohol must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder
• No alcohol sold below the cost of duty plus VAT

The DPS is the person with day-to-day responsibility for alcohol sales and is named on the premises licence. They must hold a personal licence and are nominated by the premises licence holder, with their written consent. Each premises has one DPS, though one person can act for more than one premises. As DPS you are the first point of contact for the police and the licensing authority, so while you need not be on site all the time, you should be contactable. Members’ clubs with a club premises certificate do not need a DPS.

As DPS, your role is practical and continuing. Day to day you make sure the licence conditions are followed, authorise and train staff who sell alcohol, keep refusals and incident records, and make sure risk assessments are done. Staff without a personal licence can sell alcohol if a personal licence holder authorises them, and best practice is to make that authorisation written, specific and backed by training. If you leave, tell the licensing authority, because without a DPS alcohol cannot legally be sold and the licence holder must nominate a new one quickly.

Carrying on a licensable activity without the right authorisation is a serious offence. It covers selling alcohol without a licence, trading outside permitted hours, providing an activity your licence does not cover and breaching a licence condition, with an unlimited fine, up to six months in prison, or both. Legal stock matters too: buy only from wholesalers approved by HMRC under the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme, and check their registration number on the HMRC online checker. Buying from an unapproved source can lead to penalties and seized stock.

Temporary event notices, and where alcohol cannot be sold

A TEN lets you carry on licensable activities for a short event without a premises licence.

A temporary event notice lets you carry on licensable activities for a short event without a premises licence, or beyond what your licence allows. The limits are firm: no more than 499 people at any one time, including staff, and no more than 168 hours, which is seven days. You must give at least 10 clear working days’ notice to the licensing authority and the police. Personal licence holders can give up to 50 TENs a year and everyone else up to five, while any one premises can have up to 15 a year covering no more than 21 days in total.

If you miss the standard notice period, a late TEN may still be possible, given five to nine clear working days before the event. Personal licence holders can give up to 10 late TENs a year and others up to two, and these count towards the yearly total. The police or environmental health can object within three working days. A hearing may follow for a standard TEN, but if there is an objection to a late TEN, the event cannot go ahead. Only an individual, not a company, can give a TEN.

Not every situation needs a premises licence, and some places can never sell alcohol. Aircraft, trains and hovercraft on a journey, and vessels on an international journey, are exempt. Internet and phone order centres do not need a licence themselves, but the premises that dispatches the alcohol does. Alcohol cannot be sold at motorway service areas, at premises used mainly as a garage such as a petrol station unless the business is not primarily a garage, or from a moving vehicle. Knowing these boundaries helps you judge where your own premises stands.

Rights of entry, closure powers and reviews

Authorised officers can enter licensed premises at reasonable times to check the licence is being followed.

Expect visits. Authorised officers can enter licensed premises at reasonable times to check the licence is being followed, and each body has a different focus. The police can use reasonable force if they suspect an offence, licensing officers check the licence, conditions and records, fire and rescue check fire safety and capacity, and environmental health look at noise, food hygiene and health and safety. HMRC can inspect stock and seize alcohol and tobacco on which duty has not been paid, and trading standards run checks including underage test purchases. Obstructing an authorised officer is an offence.

The police and councils can act quickly against premises causing nuisance or disorder, under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. It starts with a closure notice for up to 24 hours, which can be extended to 48. The case then goes to the magistrates’ court, which can make a closure order for up to three months, extendable to six. After a closure, the licensing authority must review the premises licence within 28 days. Breaching a closure notice or order is a criminal offence, so a closure affects your licence as well as your trading.

Children, the effects of alcohol and good practice

The rules on children are narrower than many people assume. It is an offence to allow unaccompanied under-16s into premises used mainly for drinking alcohol while open, or into any premises selling alcohol for drinking on site between midnight and 5am. Otherwise, children’s access is a matter for the business unless your licence conditions say otherwise, perhaps by limiting hours, areas, ages or activities. There is one exception to the under-18 rule: a 16 or 17-year-old may drink beer, wine or cider with a table meal if an adult buys it and accompanies them. They can never buy it themselves.

Underage sales carry consequences for both the seller and the business. Selling alcohol to an under-18 can mean an unlimited fine or a £90 penalty notice, a criminal record, and suspension or revocation of a personal licence. Selling to children two or more times within three consecutive months is persistently selling, with a fine of up to £20,000, or closure for 48 hours up to two weeks instead of prosecution, plus a licence review. Use Challenge 25 and accept a passport, photocard driving licence, PASS card or military ID. From autumn 2026, premises may also choose to accept certified digital ID.

Understanding alcohol helps you serve responsibly. Under the Licensing Act, drinks above 0.5% count as alcohol. One UK unit is 10ml of pure alcohol, worked out as ABV % × volume in ml ÷ 1,000, and the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk guideline is 14 units a week. The body takes roughly an hour to process one unit, though this varies from person to person. Long-term harm includes liver disease, heart disease, stroke and several cancers, while short-term harm includes accidents, violence and risk-taking.

Responsible retailing protects the public, your staff and your licence. Do not sell to anyone who is drunk or to someone buying for them: knowingly selling to a drunk person is an offence with a fine of up to £1,000. Apply Challenge 25 consistently, record refusals, avoid promotions that encourage heavy drinking, and offer low and no-alcohol drinks and free tap water. Keep a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, and train your staff and keep records of their training. If your venue holds more than 200 people, remember the Martyn’s Law duties coming into force from 2027.

• Do not sell alcohol to anyone who is drunk, or to someone buying for them
• Apply Challenge 25 consistently, and record refusals
• Do not run irresponsible promotions that encourage heavy drinking
• Offer low and no-alcohol drinks and free tap water
• Keep a zero-tolerance approach to drugs
• Train staff, and keep records of their training