Licensing Act 2003 offences
Last Updated: 3 April 2024
This is a list of offences that can be committed under the Licensing Act 2003. Council or Police officers can prosecute persons for any of these offences. Cases can be dealt with by way of a formal caution or in the Magistrates Court. The Court may also order the forfeiture of a Personal Licence, or suspend it for up to six months. If you are convicted of an offence, the Police may also raise objections to you holding a Personal Licence, and the Council can hold a hearing to consider whether your Personal Licence should be revoked.
| Offence | Offender | Defence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Failing to notify the Council that you have changed your address |
Premises licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
|
Failing to notify the Council that the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) has changed address (unless they have already notified us themselves) |
Premises licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to give notice to a person who has or has not been replaced as a Designated Premises Supervisor | Premises licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £1000 |
| Where the DPS has said he wishes to be removed from the licence (and is also the holder of the Premises Licence), failing to give his licence to the Council or explain why he cannot do so | Premises licence holder/DPS | Reasonable excuse | £1000 |
| Failing to tell the DPS that a licence or interim authority has been granted | Premises licence holder/applicant | Reasonable excuse | £1000 |
| Failing to tell the DPS that an application has been made to transfer the Premises Licence | Premises licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £1000 |
| Failure to produce the Licence at the Council’s request within 14 days in the event of a determination notice, lapse etc. | Premises licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to keep and display a copy of the Premises Licence, or a summary of it | Premises licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Offence | Offender | Defence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failing to notify the Council of any alterations to the name, or the rules, of the Club | Secretary of the Club | No defence available | £500 |
| Failing to notify the Council of cessation of authority to use the relevant registered address | Secretary of the Club | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to give the Council the Club Premises Certificate when requiring to do so for updating etc | Secretary of the Club | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to keep the Certificate (or certified copy) on the premises in the custody of the “nominated person” | Secretary of the Club | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to ensure a summary of the Certificate (or a certified copy) AND a notice of the nominated person’s position is prominently displayed | The nominated person | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to produce the Certificate or certified copy when asked to do so by a constable or authorised person | Any person | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Obstructing an authorised person or constable wishing to enter and inspect on application for grant, variation or review | Any person | No defence available | £500 |
| Offence | Offender | Defence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obstructing an authorised officer from entering the premises to assess the impact on the crime prevention objective | Any person | Have to prove intention to commit offence | £500 |
| Failing to display the Temporary Event Notice, or keep it at the premises in the custody of the Premises User, or of his nominee (either of whom must be present) the notice of nomination must be displayed | Premises user | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to produce the Temporary Event Notice to a constable or authorised officer | Premises user or the nominee | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Offence | Offender | Defence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failing to notify the Council upon application for a grant or renewal of a relevant offence or foreign offence | Applicant | 'as soon as is reasonably practicable' reasonable excuse | £2,500 |
| Failing to notify the Council of any change in name and address | Personal licence holder | “as soon as is reasonably practicable”, reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to produce or notify the Court of the Personal Licence when being dealt with for a relevant offence | Personal licence holder | “no later than his first appearance”; reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to notify the Council that you have been convicted of a relevant offence/foreign offence where the Court has not already done so | Personal licence holder |
“as soon as reasonably practicable after the conviction”; reasonable excuse |
£500 |
| Failing to produce licence for updated to Council within 14 days of notice | Personal licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Failing to produce Personal Licence for inspection by a constable or authorised officer | Personal licence holder | Reasonable excuse | £500 |
| Offence | Offender | Defence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowingly allowing disorderly conduct on relevant premises | Any person working paid or unpaid who is authorised to prevent it; Premises Licence Holder; DPS; any member or officer of a club who is on the premises at the time in a capacity that enables him to prevent it; the Premises User for a Temporary Event Notice | No defence available | £1000 |
| Knowingly selling or attempting to sell or supply alcohol to, or allowing alcohol to be sold to, someone who is drunk | As for disorderly conduct above | No defence available | £1000 |
| On relevant premises, knowingly obtain alcohol for consumption on those premises for a person who is drunk | Any person | No defence available | £1000 |
| When drunk or disorderly, failing to leave relevant premises when asked by a constable or other relevant person, or attempting to enter or re-enter having been asked not to | Person who is “drunk or disorderly” | Reasonable excuse | £200 |
| Knowingly keeping or allowing to be kept, any goods on which duty has not been paid, or any other illegally imported goods, on relevant premises | As for disorderly conduct above | No defence available | £1000 plus forfeiture etc. |
| Sale of alcohol by retail on or from a vehicle that is not permanently or temporarily parked | Any person | Mistake, reliance on information given to him, act or omission of another, other cause beyond his control; took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence | 3 months in prison and/or unlimited fine |
| Knowingly selling or attempting to sell alcohol in contravention of a Magistrates Court order prohibiting the sale of alcohol on trains (this order can only be made on the application of a senior Police officer, and only if necessary to prevent disorder) | Any person | No defence available | 3 months in prison and/or unlimited fine |
| Knowingly or recklessly making a false statement in, or in connection with, a licensing application | Any person | £5000 | |
| Allowing premises to be open where a review has been made and the licence has been revoked; until the time limit for appeal, or the appeal has been dealt with | Any person | Reasonable excuse | 3 months in prison and/or unlimited fine |
| Intentionally obstructing an authorised person wishing to enter the premises to see if a licensable activity is being carried on | Any person | No defence available | £1000 |
| Knowingly keeping, or allowing to be kept open, premises subject to an “identified area” closure order. A constable may use “such force as may be necessary for the purpose of closing the premises.” | Any manager, Premises Licence Holder, Designated Premises Supervisor or Premises User under a Temporary Event Notice | No defence available | £1000 |
| Permitting relevant premises to be open in contravention of a closure order on identified premises | Any person | Reasonable excuse | 3 months in prison and/or unlimited fine |
| Permitting relevant premises to be open in contravention of a Magistrates Court closure order | Any person | Reasonable excuse | 3 months in prison and/or unlimited fine |
| Carrying on, knowingly allowing the carrying on, of any licensable activities without a licence or Temporary Event Notice | Any person | Due diligence | Six months in prison and/or unlimited fine |
| Unauthorised exposure of alcohol for sale by retail | Any person | Due diligence | Six months in prison and/or unlimited fine and forfeiture |
| Possession of alcohol with intent to sell by retail or supply (in a qualifying club) where that would be unauthorised | Any person | Due diligence | £500/forfeiture |
Note: A constable may use such force as may be necessary to close premises so they comply with a Closure Order, but they will not be liable for damages for act or omission, unless you can prove bad faith or a breach of section 6 (1) of the Human Rights Act.
| Offence | Offender | Defence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowingly allow an unaccompanied child to be on premises used primarily or exclusively for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises | Any person working paid or unpaid who is authorised to prevent it; Premises Licence Holder; DPS; any member or officer of a club who is on the premises at the time in a capacity that enables him to prevent it; the Premises User for a Temporary Event Notice |
Child was passing to/from another place where there is no means of access or egress; due to due diligence if due to the act or default of another | £1000 |
| Allowing unaccompanied child on relevant premises between midnight and 05:00 when the premises are being used for the purpose of supplying alcohol for consumption thereon | Any person working paid or unpaid who is authorised to prevent it; Premises Licence Holder; DPS; any member or officer of a club who is on the premises at the time in a capacity that enables him to prevent it; the Premises User for a Temporary Event Notice | Child was passing to/from another place where there is no means of access or egress; due to due diligence if due to the act or default of another | £1000 |
| Sell alcohol to a person aged under 18 | Any person who sells or supplies alcohol to an individual aged under 18, or, by a club if alcohol is supplied by it or on its behalf to an individual aged under 18 |
(a) he believed that the individual was aged 18 or over, and either (i) he had taken all reasonable steps to establish the individual’s age, or (ii) nobody could reasonably have suspected from the individual’s appearance that he was aged under 18 Or; By showing due diligence by reason of the act or default of some other person |
£5000 |
| Knowingly allow the sale or supply of alcohol on relevant premises to a person aged under 18 | Any person working paid or unpaid who is authorised to prevent it; Premises Licence Holder; DPS; any member or officer of a club who is on the premises at the time in a capacity that enables him to prevent it; the Premises User for a Temporary Event Notice | No defence available | £5000 |
| Sale or supply of liqueur confectionery to a child under 16 | No offence | No offence | No offence |
| Attempting to buy alcohol when aged under 18 (unless sent by a constable or Trading Standards Officer) | Any person aged under 18 | No defence available | £1000 |
| Being supplied with alcohol by a Club you are a member of, by or on behalf of the Club, because of some act or default of yours, or attempting to have alcohol supplied to you or to your order by or on behalf of, the Club | Any person aged under 18 | No defence available | £1000 |
| Buying, or attempting to buy, alcohol on behalf of a person aged under 18 | Any person | No reason to suspect person was under 18 |
£5000 |
| Being a Club Member and making an arrangement for alcohol to be supplied to a person under 18, or attempting to make such arrangements | Any Club member | No reason to suspect person was under 18 | £5000 |
| Buying, or attempting to buy, alcohol for consumption on relevant premises by a person aged under 18; or having (by act or default) alcohol supplied to him or to his order, for consumption on the premises by a person aged under 18 | Any person or Club member (but see next column) | No reason to suspect person was under 18, or; Person aged 16/17 consuming table meal with beer, wine or cider on relevant premises and accompanied by person over 18 | £5000 |
| Person aged under 18 knowingly consuming alcohol on relevant premises | Any person aged under 18 | No defence available except for 16/17 year olds consuming table meal with beer, wine or cider on relevant premises and accompanied by person over 18 | £1000 |
| Knowingly allowing consumption of alcohol on the premises by a person aged under 18 | Any person who works at the premises in any capacity, whether paid or unpaid, which authorises him to prevent the supply; any member or officer of a Club who at the time was present in a capacity which enabled him to prevent it | No defence available | £5000 |
| Knowingly delivering alcohol sold or supplied on the premises to a person aged under 18 (also applies to Clubs) | Any person who works at the premises in any capacity, whether paid or unpaid | Delivering to the buyer’s home or work; where the underage person works at the premises in a capacity that involves alcohol delivery; or where the alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises | £5000 |
| Knowingly allowing someone else to deliver alcohol sold on relevant premises to a person aged under 18 | Any person who works at the premises, whether paid or unpaid, in a capacity that authorises him to prevent the delivery | Delivering to the buyer’s home or work; where the underage person works at the premises in a capacity that involves alcohol delivery; or where the alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises | £5000 |
| Knowingly allowing someone else to deliver alcohol sold on the premises to a person aged under 18 by or on behalf of a Club, or to the order of a Member | Any person who works at the premises in a capacity, paid or unpaid, which authorises him to prevent the supply, and any member or officer of the Club present at the time in a capacity that enables him to prevent it | Delivering to the buyer’s home or work; where the underage person works at the premises in a capacity that involves alcohol delivery; or where the alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises | £5000 |
| Knowingly sending a child to buy alcohol to be consumed off the relevant premises; supplying alcohol by or on behalf of a Club for the same reason (except where instructed by a constable or a Trading Standards Officer) | Any person | No defence available | £5000 |
| Knowingly allowing a person aged under 18 to sell alcohol or supply alcohol on behalf of a Club, unless the sale or supply has been specifically approved by that person – does not apply where the alcohol is sold for consumption with a table meal in premises used for the service of table meals (or a part of the premises used for this), and where the premises are not used for the sale and supply of alcohol except to persons having table meals as an ancillary to eating it | Premises Licence Holder; Designated Premises Supervisor; person aged over 18 authorised by a Premises Licence Holder or DPS; any member or officer of a Club where present in a capacity which authorises him to prevent the supply; a Premises User under a Temporary Event Notice or person aged over 18 authorise for this purpose by the Premises User | No defence available | £200 |