4. Temporary event notice
What about one-off events and special occasions?
If you are holding a licensable activity that falls into one of the following categories:
- less than 500 people attending
- lasting for not more than 168 hours (seven days) with a break of at least 24 hours thereafter
You can hold your event by submitting a temporary event notice (TEN) to us.
This notice allows you to hold a licensable activity on premises that are not currently licensed, or to hold activities your existing licence does not permit. This would include for example:
- selling alcohol at a fête
- providing regulated entertainment at a pub where the current licence does not permit this
- staying open to sell hot food into the night on a special occasion (for example, New Year's Eve)
- selling alcohol after the hours your normal licence permits, e.g. for a special occasion
- an amateur dramatics group putting on a play in unlicensed premises
Are there any restrictions on TENs?
- The number of times a person (the 'premises user') may give a temporary event notice (50 times per year for a personal licence holder and five times per year for other people)
- The number of times a person (the “premises user”) may give a late temporary event notice (10 times per year for a personal licence holder and two times per year for other people)
- The number of times a temporary event notice may be given in respect of any particular premises (15 times in a calendar year).
- The length of time a temporary event may last for these purposes (168 hours – seven days)
- The maximum aggregate duration of the periods covered by temporary event notices at any individual premises (21 days per calendar year).
- The scale of the event in terms of the maximum number of people attending at any one time (a maximum of 499)
For the purposes of determining the overall limits of 50 temporary event notices per personal licence holder (in a calendar year) and of five for a non-personal licence holder (in a calendar year), temporary event notices given by an associate or a person who is in business with a premises user (and that business involves carrying on licensable activities) count towards these totals. The limits applying to late temporary event notices are included within the overall limits applying to the total number of temporary event notices.
If your event/activity falls outside these restrictions, you will need a full premises licence.
The police and and our environmental health team may intervene on the grounds of any of the four licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm) to prevent the occurrence of an event at which permitted temporary activities are to take place or to agree a modification of the arrangements for such an event. However, we will intervene of its own volition in the cases described below.
First, it will issue a counter notice if there is an objection to a late temporary event notice. Secondly, it may issue a notice in relation to its decision to impose conditions on a temporary event notice. Thirdly, it will issue a counter notice if the first, second and fourth of the restrictions listed above would be exceeded. If any of these limits are breached or if a counter notice has been issued, any licensable activities taking place would be unauthorised and the premises user would be liable to prosecution.
The contents of these pages are provided as an information guide only. They are not a full and authoritative statement of the law and do not constitute professional or legal advice. Any statements on these pages do not replace, extend, amend or alter in any way the statutory provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 or any subordinate legislation made under it or statutory guidance issued in relation to it. We accept no responsibility for any errors, omissions or misleading statements on these pages, or any site to which these pages refer. In particular, it must be noted that, although we have made every effort to ensure that the information in these pages is correct, changes in the law and the nature of implementation mean that the information in these pages cannot be guaranteed as accurate.