To authorise the supply of alcohol and regulated entertainment in a qualifying club you need a club premises certificate from us.

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. In order to constitute a qualifying club you must also satisfy the various requirements set out under the Licensing Act 2003.

Before making your application please make sure you read our Licensing Principles.

Who can apply?

Only qualifying clubs may hold club premises certificates. In order to be a qualifying club, a club must meet five general conditions:

  • 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;
  • 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;
  • the club is established and conducted in good faith as a club;
  • the club has at least 25 members;
  • that alcohol is not supplied, or intended to be supplied, to members on the premises otherwise than by or on behalf of the club.

A club may apply for the grant of a club premises certificate in respect of any premises which are occupied by, and habitually used for the purposes of, the club.

Applications

Applications for club premises certificates must be sent to us if the premises are located in Torbay. There is a consultation period and you will need to advertise the application.

  Apply for a premises certificate for a new club Opens in a new window

  Download the declaration for the grant of a club premises certificate

If you make an application online, you are not required to send a copy of the application to the Responsible Authorities, we will do this for you.

When you submit the application for a club premises certificate online, you must ensure that you download the club declaration form, complete it and upload it with the application. Without this club declaration form, the application will be delayed.

Paper applications

You can also apply for a new certificate by downloading and completing an application form and sending it us.

  Download a premises certificate application for a new club

  Download the declaration for the grant of a club premises certificate

If you submit a paper application you must also send a copy to the Police, Fire, Public Health and Safeguarding Unit.

List of Responsible Authorities
Contact details of the authorities that require notices to be sent to them following applications.

Fees

Licensing Fees
Details of licensing fees and annual fees for premises licences and club premises certificates.

Additional information for applicants

Applications may be made online or by post and include the following documents and submissions:
Operating Schedule

An operating schedule will include:

  • the qualifying club activities;
  • the times when the activities will take place;
  • whether any alcohol that is to be sold is for consumption on or off the premises or both;
  • the steps proposed to be taken to promote the licensing objectives;
  • any other required information.
The form of an operating schedule is provided within the specified application form and must be completed.
Plan(s) of the Premises

All applications for the grant of a club premises certificate must be accompanied by a plan of the premises to which the application relates. For clarity, it is recommended that plans together with the prescribed features they contain be colour coded. The plan must be to a scale of 1:100 (unless otherwise agreed with the Licensing Authority).

Required Fee

For all applications for first-time grant of a club premises certificate, the prescribed fee must accompany the application.

Club rules

A Copy of the Rules of the Club.

The Responsible Authorities and any Interested Parties have 28 days, beginning with the day after on which the club premises certificate application is accepted, to raise a valid representation if they consider that the application would undermine the four licensing objectives.

If no objection is received against the club premises certificate application, we will grant the club premises certificate as requested. This will usually be done within 7 days from the close of the 28 day consultation period.

The total timescale for dealing with a club premises certificate application (no objection received) is therefore expected to be no more than 35 consecutive days commencing with the correct receipt of all the paperwork (including all the copies of the application and plans to the Responsible Authorities) and the associated fee.

Local Newspaper:

In all cases, an application must be advertised by publishing a notice in a local newspaper. This advert must be published on at least one occasion within 10 working days of the application being accepted by the Licensing Authority.

Site Notice:

The application must also be advertised by displaying a notice at or on the club. This notice must be A4 or larger in size, pale blue in colour and located in such a position where it can be conveniently read from the exterior of the club.

The notice must be printed legibly (font size 16), be printed or typed in black ink and must be displayed for a period of 28 consecutive days. For any premises covering an area more than 50 metres square, two A4 notices must be displayed.

All notices must contain a statement of the relevant qualifying club activities and timings that the applicant is applying for at the club, along with all timings of sale of alcohol to guests and members and Late Night Refreshment.

A copy of the public notice can be downloaded by using the relevant link below:

  Download a site notice advert

If a valid representation against one of the four licensing objectives is received from any of the Responsible Authorities or any Interested Parties, the applicant will be notified and the Licensing Authority must hold a hearing to consider the representation/s.

The Committee would consider if the application promotes the four licensing objectives and the burden would be on the Responsible Authority, or any Interested Parties to demonstrate to the committee that they believe it does not. In this case, the committee could either reject the application, grant the certificate with restrictions (timings, conditions etc), or certain qualifying club activities applied for can be excluded. Otherwise, the club premises certificate would be granted as requested.

A right of appeal exists to the Magistrates' Court for all parties involved, including the applicant, Responsible Authorities and Interested Parties, however, it must be lodged with the Court within 21 consecutive days of the date of the notice of the decision.