Personal Licence Applications

Obtaining the qualification usually requires attending a 1 day course and sitting an exam at the end.  A list of all companies authorised to provide this course can be found here: accredited personal licence qualification providers

The Council does not recommend any particular provider to carry out a course and the choice is left to the applicant.

You can obtain a basic check from the gov.uk website Basic DBS

Your basic disclosure must be no more than one calendar month old at the time it is received by the Council. If it is older than 1 month at the time we receive it your application is not valid and it cannot be processed. This is the law.

You must submit 2 passport sized photographs. You should follow the standard rules for passport photographs which should show your head and face. The background should be white or at least a neutral colour.

The back of at least one of your photos should be signed by a "person of standing in the community"  such as a solicitor, local councillor, police officer, bank official, civil servant, member of parliament, teacher, or minister of religion who knows you and can confirm that the picture submitted to us is of you. The signatory must write "I certify that this photograph is a true likeness of [applicant's name]," then sign and date it. They should also print their name and profession.

Licences granted until 2015 display an expiry date (10 years from the grant of the licence). As a result of the Deregulation Act 2015 Personal licences are now granted indefinitely.

If you hold a Personal Licence which shows an expiry date and would like a new one you can request one from the Council. The fee is £10.50.

You will need to return the original licence to us.

Personal Licence holders are legally required to inform us in writing as soon as possible of any change in their name or address details. Failure to notify us of is a criminal offence. Both parts of your licence (or a statement as to why it cannot be produced) should accompany the notification together with the fee of £10.50.

If you are the DPS named on a premises licence you have the same legal duty to notify the Licensing Authority that your name has changed.

You can apply for a copy of your licence if it has been lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed. Your request should be made in writing with the fee of £10.50. Even if you no longer require your personal licence you should notify us of any loss or theft to prevent fraud.