Licensing Law

We are required to provide price information to businesses in relation to applying for new premises licences or variations to allow those premises to be used for one or more licensable activities.  This means that rules are limited to two types of applications - applications for a premises licence under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003 and applications to vary a premises licence under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.  

Our fees will depend on whether the application is simple, of medium complexity or of high complexity.  The factors which will determine the type of application submitted, i.e. whether it is simple, medium or high, are: whether or not the application relates to premises in a cumulative impact policy area; the type and size of the premises; whether the area is a residential area; whether our firm has experience of applications in the area.

Simple Applications

Fixed fee of £600 (including VAT but excluding disbursements)

This fee is made up of:

• Legal fees £500
• VAT on legal fees £100

Medium Complexity Applications

Fees of between £750 and £2,000 (including VAT but excluding disbursements)

High Complexity Applications

Fees of between £2,000 and £4,000 (including VAT but excluding disbursements)

Fee includes:

• Taking your instructions and advising you as to how you can promote the licensing objectives within your application
• Advising you as the type of plans you are required to submit with your application.
• Completing the application form for a new premises licence (including the operating schedule) in accordance with your instructions and submitting this to the local licensing authority alongside suitable plans. You must provide suitable plans.
• Providing guidance on the fee levels payable to the licensing authority.
• Preparing copies of the premises licence application for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application on the responsible authorities.
• Drafting the notices advertising the premises licence application and submitting the notice to the local newspaper.
• Arranging with you for you to display the notice(s) advertising the premises licence application and advising as to where and how this should be done by you in order to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003.
• Providing a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) consent form for signature by a personal licence holder proposed by yourself.
• Checking the licence once granted and correcting any errors with the licensing authority.

The fee does not include:

• obtaining suitable plans
• attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities, nor their fee for this meeting.
• dealing with or advising you in relation to queries or representations received from either the responsible authorities or other interested parties
• advising on varying the licence
• attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority. If representations are received and attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee is required then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work which will be charged at an hourly rate.

VAT IS CURRENTRLY CHARGED AT 20%

* Fees are correct as of September 2024

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the application fee. We will pay the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

• Application fee (payable to licensing authority) £100 to £1,905*
• Advertising fee £100 to £250*

*These fees vary depending on the individual premises and where it is located. The fees can on occasion be higher than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure for each item as soon as we are able to do so.

Matters usually take 5 to 16 weeks from receipt of full instructions from you. This is on the basis of the application being relatively straightforward and you being able to provide all the necessary documents promptly. If your matter is more complex, for example, if there is substantial opposition from interested parties, or if there is a delay in receiving the documents we need, it may take longer.

The Licensing work is undertaken by Daven Naghen a partner in this firm who has experience of representing both Applicants and Local Authorities.  He has over 15 years experience of dealing with Licensing applications.