This page contains information about the Licensing Act 2003 and premises licence transfers. If you need any help or advice about anything on this page please contact us by telephone or email. Our telephone line is open Monday to Thursday 9am - 5pm and Friday 9am - 4:30pm. You can also offer us feedback on our service by filling out our online customer feedback form.
Premises licence transfer (Introduction)
This page is aimed at individuals or businesses, who may need to apply to transfer an existing premises licence. For example if a business which has a premises licence is sold, the new owners can apply to have the licence transferred into their name(s), if they have the consent of the existing licence holder(s).
Things to think about before applying for a transfer
Every premises licence that includes the sale or supply of alcohol must include a DPS (Designated Premises Supervisor). The DPS must be a personal licence holder. If you are considering taking on a premises licence which includes the sale or supply of alcohol you need to find out if the present DPS is still going to be working at the premises after the transfer. If the existing DPS is not staying on then you will need a new DPS and personal licence holder before the transfer can be granted. This may involve another application to change the named 'DPS' on the licence
Section 5 of the guidance Note GN-E downloadable from this page contains more information about this.
You should familiarise yourself with the licence which is in force and any conditions which relate to the licence. You should do this before you apply for the transfer especially if you plan to ask for the transfer to take immediate effect. Once the transfer is granted the responsibility to operate the premises licence in accordance with any conditions which are present on the licence will pass to you. If you need any help and guidance in understanding the meaning of any conditions on the licence please contact Entertainment Licensing as a matter of urgency.
How to apply to transfer a premises licence
To apply for a transfer is a fairly straight forward process. If you are the person who is going to succeed the existing licence holder you simply need to fill out the appropriate transfer form PREM4. (downloadable from this page) The current licence holder then needs to sign a PREM5 form to give their consent to the transfer. You then send copies of the forms, along with the original premises licence plus the fee of £23 to the Entertainment Licensing Section. You must also serve a copy of the application on West Yorkshire Police.
What next
This page offers a brief insight into how to apply for a premises licence transfer. If you wish to apply simply download each of the documents available on this page to form a complete application pack.
Alternatively if you would like the documents sending to you in Microsoft Word format so you can fill them out electronically or you would like a hard copy of the application pack sending in the post please contact us and we will be happy to help.