Club premises certificate

A qualifying club must obtain a Club Premises Certificate from the Licensing Authority if they wish to supply alcohol or provide regulated entertainment to members and their guests.

In a qualifying club there is technically no sale by retail of alcohol (except to guests) as the member owns part of the alcohol stock and the money passing across the bar is merely a mechanism to preserve equity between members where one may consume more than another.

A commercial club which makes a profit from sales of alcohol cannot be considered as a qualifying club.

Regulation summary

View the Telford & Wrekin Council Statement of Licensing Policy.

Application evaluation process

A club can apply for a Club Premises Certificate for any premises which is occupied and used regularly for club purposes.

Applications should be made to the Licensing Authority.

New applications, provisional statements or variation applications should be submitted with a plan of the premises which must be in a specific format, a copy of the rules of the club and a club operating schedule.

The club operating schedule is part of the application form and includes information on:

• the activities of the club;
• the times the activities are to take place;
• other opening times;
• if alcohol supplies are for consumption on or off the premises or both;
• the steps that the club propose to take to promote the licensing objectives;
• any other information that is required.

For new applications, provisional statements or full variation applications a notice must be displayed on the premises for a period of 28 consecutive days starting from the day after the day the application is made to the Licensing Authority. The Notice must be to the specified size and colour (light blue). Copies of the application must also be sent to the responsible authorities. (.pdf Size: 111Kb)

A notice must also be displayed in a local newspaper circulating in the area to which the premises relate. The notice must contain the same information as the notice on the premises. It must be displayed in the newspaper within 10 days from the day the application is made. The notice only has to appear once in the local paper. Please note that if the requirements of these notices are not met the Licensing Authority may require you to re-advertise and the 28 day consultation period will recommence.

A notice is also required for a minor variation application. The notice must meet the statutory requirements and be no smaller than A4 size on white paper. However, unlike full variations the consultation period is reduced for these applications. The notice has to be displayed on the premises for a period of 10 consecutive days from the day after the application is made. No newspaper public notice is required for minor variations.

A statutory fee is payable upon application. Download the Licensing Act 2003 fees (.pdf Size: 26Kb) .

Will tacit consent apply?

If there are no objections to an application, it will be deemed granted at the end of the period for representations. If there are objections, it will be put before a hearing of the Licensing sub-committee within 20 working days of the end of the period for representations and they will determine the application.

Minor variations will not have tacit consent as they are deemed automatically refused if they have not been determined by the authority within 15 working days after receipt.

Target completion period

Applications would normally be determined within 28 days of receipt of all the information necessary to determine the application.

Policies and procedures

• View the determining film classifications policy.

Redress

Failed Application Redress

Please contact the council in the first instance, using the contact details above.

If you wish to appeal against a decision, you may do so to a Magistrates' court within 21 days of the decision.

Licence Holder Redress

Please contact the Council in the first instance.

If you wish to appeal against a decision, you may do so to a Magistrates' court within 21 days of the decision.

Consumer Complaint

If you are a customer of a club, you should first contact the operator, preferably in writing, with proof of your complaint. If that does not work and if you are located in the UK, Consumer Direct will give you advice. From outside the UK, contact the UK European Consumer Centre.

Other Redress

Please contact the Council in the first instance.

Any interested party or responsible authority may make representations against a new application or a variation application to the Licensing Authority within the statutory consultation period before the application is determined. If representations are made a hearing will be held to consider the application and the representations. Notices will be issued by the Licensing Authority detailing the reasons for any outcome.

Anyone who made representations will receive notice of the decision.

An interested party is:

• a person living near the premises or a body representing such a person;
• a person involved in a business near the premises or a body representing such a person.

An interested party or responsible authority may request a review of a club premises certificate if they are not happy with the way it is being run.

An interested party or responsible authority may appeal against any decision made on the grant, variation or review of a club premises certificate. If you wish to appeal against a decision, you may do so to a Magistrates' court within 21 days of the decision.

If there is a concern about noise, pollution, etc please contact Telford & Wrekin Council in the first instance.

Public registers or databases

For details on the public register please contact us.

Trade associations

• Visit the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations website (FLVA).

Last updated : 21 March 2025

To be eligible for a Club Premises Certificate, a club must satisfy a number of qualifying conditions.

• Condition 1 is that under the rules of the club persons may not be admitted to membership, or be admitted, as candidates for membership, to any of the privileges of membership, without an interval of at least two days between their nomination or application for membership and their admission.
• Condition 2 is that under the rules of the club persons becoming members without prior nomination or application may not be admitted to the privileges of membership without an interval of at least two days between their becoming members and their admission.
• Condition 3 is that the club is established and conducted in good faith as a club.
• Condition 4 is that the club has at least 25 members.
• Condition 5 is that alcohol is not supplied, or intended to be supplied, to members on the premises otherwise than by or on behalf of the club.

Registered industrial and provident societies and friendly societies will qualify if the alcohol purchased for and supplied by the club is done under the control of the members or a committee of members. Relevant miners' welfare institutes can also be considered.

Further details of what constitutes a qualifying club or a relevant miners' welfare institute, and what conditions it must satisfy, can be found in the Licensing Act 2003.

Last updated : 27 June 2024

What we will do with your Personal Information
Telford & Wrekin Council’s Licensing Service is collecting your personal information for the purpose of meeting the statutory requirement of the Licensing Act 2003.

Telford & Wrekin Council will not share any of your personal data collected with external organisations unless required to do so by law when your data may be shared with other regulatory bodies.

For further details on the Council’s privacy arrangements please view our privacy notice.

Please use our online forms.

Last updated : 29 August 2024