Personal Licences
A personal licence allows a person to sell alcohol, or authorise the sale of alcohol, under the authority of a premises license. Anyone can apply for a personal licence to the licensing authority for the area in which they live. They need to show they have a licensing qualification and a criminal record clean of relevant offences. The local authority can only refuse such an application on police advice. The licence lasts for ten years, and on expiry the licensee should reapply to the authority that issued the original rather than the authority for the area in which they then live.
Anyone who already had a licence under the previous licensing schemes in their name - typically a pub landlord - was able to get a licence without having to have a qualification; this was known as the grandfather right.
If an applicant does not live within a local authority's area, they can apply to any authority of their choice.
Read more about this topic: Licensing Act 2003
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