Under the Licensing Act 2003, persons authorising the sale or supply of alcohol from a business holding a Premises Licence will also need to hold a Personal Licence. If you are named as a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) on a Premises Licence, you must have obtained a Personal Licence before any alcohol can be sold.

To obtain a Personal Licence, you will need to apply to the Local Authority for the area in which you are resident. We are only able to accept applications from persons who live within the East Staffordshire area.  If you are not normally resident within England or Wales, you may apply to any Licensing Authority, including East Staffordshire.

You must have the legal right to work in the UK in order to hold a Personal Licence, proof of which will be required.

Personal Licences are issued directly to the person applying for them, and are not transferable. Once you have obtained one, you are free to work at any premises which is subject to a Premises Licence authorising the sale/supply of alcohol, anywhere in England or Wales.  You may only hold one Personal Licence at any time, which will be valid for the whole of your lifetime, but may be revoked if you are convicted of a relevant Criminal Offence, have to pay an Immigration penalty, or are found to have given incorrect or misleading information in your application.  Licences will also lapse automatically if your right to work in the UK expires or is revoked.

The application must be submitted with the following items:

  • Two photographs, one of which must be endorsed as a true likeness
  • Original or certified copy of the Licensing Qualification (this will be returned to you)
  • Original or certified copy of Criminal Conviction Certificate or a Criminal Record Certificate (this will be returned to you)
  • Completed Disclosure of Convictions and Civil Immigration Penalties & Declaration form
  • The application fee, £37
  • Copies of documents which prove your legal right to work in the UK i.e. Passport or Birth Certificate

We may consult the following bodies about your Application:

  • Staffordshire Police, if you have any unspent Convictions for relevant or foreign offences
  • The Home Office, if you have been required to pay a civil immigration penalty or if your right to work in the UK is not clear.

Either body may object to your application, and if they do, your Application will be decided at a hearing by our Licensing Sub-Committee.

Personal Licence

Detection of Fraud

We, as the Licensing Authority, have a duty to protect the public funds we administer and we may use the information you have provided with your Application for the prevention and detection of fraud. We may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes

How much does it cost?

Please see our licensing fees page.

Personal Licence guidance

Apply for a Personal Licence

Please complete the application form to apply for a personal licence:

Additional Information

A Personal Licence has no expiry date and can be transferred between Regions and Premises. 

However, if we issue your Personal Licence we will remain your Local Authority and you will need to let us know of any change to your name or address as this is a legal requirement.

Change of address or name

Should you change your name and/or address you must notify the original Licensing Authority, by returning your Personal Licence Badge (card with photograph) and paper part of your licence (on cream paper) along with the change of name or address notification form.

Should you change your name, you will need to supply evidence to this effect such as Marriage Certificate, Deed poll etc. The fee for this is £10.50 and cheques can be payable to ESBC or you can provide a telephone number on the letter and once received with the necessary documents, we can take payment by credit/debit card over the telephone. 

Once this has been amended, the new licence and paper part will be sent out to you. Should you not have either or only one part of the Personal Licence badge/paper part there will be an additional charge of £10.50 for this/these losses making a total of £21 to pay.

Loss of badge and/or Paper Licence

Should you lose either the badge or paper part of your licence, there will be a charge of £10.50.  You can email us at [email protected] to report it along with your details and then we can call to take payment over the telephone by debit/credit card. Once this has been received we will issue you with a new licence/paper.

Convictions

Relevant convictions are listed on the Relevant and Foreign Offences schedule and if applicable, you must notify us within 14 days of your Conviction by completing the attached Notification of Conviction form.

Renewal

Please note that from 1 April 2015 it is no longer necessary to renew a Personal Licence. Section 115 of the Licensing Act 2003 has been amended by Section 69 of the Deregulation Act 2015, removing the requirement to renew Personal Licences.

Licensing Contact

Licensing contact information