Late-night refreshments

Late-night refreshments are those provided between 11pm and 5am.

Licences required 

To offer late-night refreshments, you need a premises licence if you plan to: 

• sell alcohol
• supply alcohol at a club
• provide regulated entertainment
• provide facilities for regulated entertainment
• provide refreshments between 11pm and 5am. 

To sell alcohol, you need to:

• hold a personal alcohol licence or operate under the authority of a licence-holder
• appoint a designated premises supervisor who holds a personal alcohol licence

A premises licence lasts for the lifetime of the business unless you apply for a licence for a shorter period. 

Exceptions

You do not need a premises licence for late-night refreshments if:

• you hold a certain type of one-off or occasional event - for this you need a temporary event notice
• your establishment is a qualifying club (members' club) - for this you need a club premises certificate
• you provide late-night refreshments but fall into one of the exempt categories below

You do not need a premises licence for: 

• hot drinks distributed by a machine that is operated solely by the customer
• hot food or hot drink supplied free of charge, where there is also no charge for admission to any premises, or a change for some other item to obtain the hot food or hot drink
• hot food or hot drink supplied by a registered charity or by a person authorised by a registered charity (registered under the Charities Act 1993, or not required by this act to be registered)
• hot food or hot drink supplied on a moving vehicle, for example trains, coaches and limousines
• hot food or hot drink supplied to members and guests of recognized clubs that hold a club premises certificate
• hot food or hot drink supplied to hotel and bed and breakfast guests
• refreshments in staff canteens, where the staff are required to work between 11pm and 5am