A club premises certificate is a specific type of licence, available only to members’ clubs.

Certificate activities

A certificate can authorise a club to:

• supply alcohol to club members
• sell alcohol to guests of members
• provide regulated entertainment, including plays, films, certain types of sports, music and dancing
• provide entertainment facilities.

The certificates is different to a premises licence, as you are not required to specify a designated premises supervisor. Certificates are also exempt from some of the immediate closure powers available to the police.Certificates only allow activities to be carried on for club members and their guests. They cannot be used for events which are open to the general public, nor for the hire of the club facilities to non-members for private functions.

If the club wants to run events which are open to the general public, or for the hire of the club facilities to non-members for private functions., they must either hold:

• a one-off event temporary event notice
• a regular event's premises licence

Timescale

28 calendar days 

Duration

Most club premises certificates will have no expiration date and will not be subject to a periodic renewal process.

There will be an annual fee payable every year, on the anniversary of the grant of the certificate.

Premises Licence or Club Premises Certificate basic fees

Premises licence application fees depend on the non-domestic rateable value of the premises. This value, which is also used to calculate business rates, can be found through the Valuation Office Agency.

Premises that do not have a rateable value, such as schools, church halls, open spaces or residential properties, automatically fall into the lowest fee band.

If you can not find the rateable value of your premises we will accept an interim fee as follows:

• For existing premises you should use band B.
• For new-build or premises under construction you should use band C.

Once we determine the rateable value, we will either ask you for the additional fee or refund any overpayments.

List of fees

Fee band	Non-Domestic Rateable Value (NDRV) of premises	Application Fee (Grant)	Annual Fee
A	No rateable value to £4,300	£100.00	£70.00
B	£4,301 to £33,000	£190.00	£180.00
C	£33,001 to £87,000	£315.00	£295.00
D	£87,001 to £125,000	£450.00	£320.00
	Where premises exclusively or primarily used for consumption of alcohol	£900
E	£125,001 and above	£635.00	£350.00
	Where premises exclusively or primarily used for consumption of alcohol	£1905
Any unrated building or site under construction or redevelopment		£315	£295

Additional Fees - High Capacity Premises

In addition to the basic fees, where the number of persons permitted on the premises exceeds 5,000 at any one time then these additional fees apply:

Numbers	Additional fees
5,000 - 9,999	£1,000
10,000 - 14,999	£2,000
15,000 - 19,999	£4,000
20,000 - 29,999	£8,000
30,000 - 39,999	£16,000
40,000 - 49,999	£24,000
50,000 - 59,999	£32,000
60,000 - 69,999	£40,000
70,000 - 79,999	£48,000
80,000 - 89,999	£56,000
90,000 and over	£64,000

The 'club premises certificate' is issued by Brent Council for clubs that meet the specific criteria set out in the 2003 Act for 'qualifying clubs' - giving the authority under which they may supply alcohol and conduct other 'qualifying club activities'.

In a qualifying club there is technically no sale by retail of alcohol (except to guests) as the members own part of the alcohol stock.

Qualifying clubs

General conditions for qualifying clubs:

• a person may not be given memberships or as a candidate for membership to any membership privileges without an interval of at least two days from their membership application or nomination and their membership being granted;
• that club rules state that those becoming member without nomination or application cannot have membership privileges for at least two days between them becoming members and being admitted to the club;
• that the club is established and conducted in good faith;
• that the club has at least 25 members;
• that alcohol is only supplied to members on the premises on behalf of or by the club.

Additional conditions relating to the supply of alcohol:

• that alcohol purchased for and supplied by the club is only to members of club who are over 18 years of age and are elected to do so by the members;
• that no person at the expense of the club receives any commission, percentage or other similar payment in regard to the purchase of alcohol by the club;
• that there are no arrangements for anyone to receive a financial benefit from supplying alcohol, apart from any benefit to the club or to any person indirectly from the supply giving a gain from running the club;

Criteria assessment

The criteria will first be assessed during the initial application period, and then at regular intervals after a certificate has been granted. This ensures that the club continues to meet the requirements. We have the power to withdraw a certificate if a club fails to meet all of the criteria.

Before you start

Applications must be sent to the licensing authority for the area where the club is located. Applications must be in the specified format and be accompanied by:

• the required fee,
• an operating schedule,
• a plan of the premises
• a copy of the rules of the club

If you do not know the rateable value of your premises we will accept an interim fee. You can find more information in the fees section.

Apply for a club certificate

What you must do next

After you have received an acknowledgement from us confirming that your application is valid, you will have to advertise your application.

Advertise your application 

For applications for new licences or variations of existing licences, you will also be required to advertise the application, both at the premises and in a local newspaper, to alert local residents and businesses.

There are two ways in which you must advertise your premises licence notice by:

• displaying a statutory notice at your premises for 28 consecutive days, starting on the day after you submitted your application - this notice must be printed on blue paper and be displayed clearly at all times
  
  Download a blue notice template (.pdf, 23.3kB)
  
  
• publishing a single public notice in a local newspaper (Wembley Observer, Kilburn Times or Willesden and Brent Times) within 10 working days of submitting your application
  
  Download a media notice template (.pdf, 68.0kB)

Failure to advertise your application in accordance with the legal requirements will invalidate your application. It could mean that you have to start the entire application process again.

There is a 28-day period during which any representations in respect of the application may be made. This is from when an application is made for a new licence, or to vary or review an existing licence. Representations may support or oppose the application.

Please do not advertise your application until you have received an acknowledgement from the LA confirming that your application is valid.

What happens next

Confirmation of a decision

We will usually be able to confirm whether an application has been granted shortly after the end of this period. However, in situations where an objection has been made, the application will usually be referred to a sub-committee hearing to be decided.

Any licence granted may be subject to several conditions, including:

• mandatory conditions which are set out within the legislation - these apply if the licence allows the supply of alcohol or exhibition of films, or if security staff are employed at the premises
• conditions consistent with any special measures set out in the application form
• any further conditions imposed by the sub-committee following a hearing

Representations

If representations are made against an application which cannot be resolved through mediation, then the application will be heard by the council's licensing committee. The hearing must be carried out within 20 working days from the end of the consultation period.

The committee will consider the application before them and the representations and evidence it hears. The committee can decide to grant the certificate as applied for, modify the conditions applied for, exclude a qualifying club activity from the certificate, reject the application, suspend the certificate for a period not exceeding three months or withdraw the certificate.

Public register

We publish a public register giving details of the premises licences that we have issued.

Applications not processed by us within the timescales

If we have not processed your application by the end of the target completion period, Tacit consent applies. This means that you will be able to act as though your application is granted, but only where no objections are received. If objections are received from responsible authorities and/or interested parties, then you must wait for the council to determine the application before any licensable activities can take place.

Tactic consent for minor variations

Tacit consent will not apply for a 'minor variation'. This means that there are:

certain time limits set down in the legislation for a 'minor variation' that enable the Local Authority (we) to test whether a proposed minor variation could impact adversely on any of the four licensing objectives, namely, the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; and the protection of children from harm.

It is in the public interest that we must process your application before we can grant a minor variation. We must wait until a ten working day period has elapsed before determining the application, but must do so at the latest within fifteen working days, beginning on the first working day after we have received the application, with the effect either that:

• the minor variation is granted; or
• the application is refused.

If we fail to respond to you within fifteen days, your application will be treated as refused and we must return your fee. If we have not contacted you by the end of the target completion period, please contact us.

You may need to make changes to the club certificate to reflect a change in circumstances.

Applications can be made to vary the licence for various things, including:

• changing the layout of the club premises
• providing further licensable activities at the club premises
• increasing the times during which licensable activities can be provided
• adding, changing or removing conditions imposed upon the certificate
• changing the name or address of the premises licence holder.

Depending on the type of change will determine which application you need to apply with. The different changes you can apply for are:

Apply for a change to a licence

Smaller changes that will not have a negative impact upon the licensing objectives

• A minor variation application

• If you need to tell us about a change to your existing details or club rules, please contact us 

Larger changes that may have a negative effect upon the licensing objectives

• A full variation application 

If the changes will completely change the nature of the business, we may instead ask you to apply for a new licence.

If you are concerned about the running of a premises you can request that its licence is reviewed.

Find out how to request a review of a licence.