Apply for a club premises certificate

You need a club premises certificate if you’re a members club and you want to buy alcohol in bulk to supply to your members. 

About members clubs

Members clubs are ones that people join for a particular reason, such as: 

• social
• sporting
• political 

Examples include: 

• Labour, Conservative and Liberal clubs
• Royal British Legion and other ex-services clubs
• working men's clubs and miners' welfare institutions
• football, rugby, snooker and tennis clubs 

How to qualify

A qualifying club must: 

• have at least 25 members
• be conducted in good faith
• have at least 48 hours between someone becoming a member and their first admission
• only admit non-members who are nominated by a member 

The club can only supply alcohol on the premises as long as: 

• it’s on behalf of the club
• no person purchasing alcohol for the club receives commission, percentage or similar payment at the club's expense
• no person gains financial benefit from the club supplying alcohol to members or guests, except where this benefits accrues to the club as a whole, or contributes to a general gain for the club 

The purchase and supply of alcohol must be managed by: 

• an elected committee of club members aged 18 or over, or
• club general meetings, or
• a body of members 

Exceptions to the rule about managing alcohol apply to:

• industrial and provident societies
• friendly societies
• miners' welfare institutions 

Good faith

We consider several factors when deciding whether a club is conducted in good faith: 

• restrictions on the club's freedom to purchase alcohol
• how the club informs members about club finances
• the standard and accuracy of the club's financial records and accounts
• the nature of the premises occupied by the club
• whether club rules state that assets can only be spent for the benefit of the club, or for charitable, benevolent or political purposes 

If we are not satisfied that your club is being conducted in good faith, we must notify you about our decision and the reason for it. 

Benefits of being a qualifying club

The benefits include: 

• no individual needs a personal licence to sell or supply alcohol
• the club does not need to appoint a designated premises supervisor
• the police and authorised persons have more limited powers of entry because the premises are considered private and not open to the public
• the premises are not subject to powers of police closure on grounds of disorder and noise nuisance because the club operates under strict and rigorously-enforced discipline rules - unless the premises are being used under a temporary event notice or premises licence at the time
• the premises are not subject to potential magistrates' court orders to close all licensed premises in an area where disorder is happening or expected to happen 

More information

Read our guidance documents: