To change the DPS, the premises licence holder applies to the council to vary the licence, pays £23, and sends the new supervisor's signed consent form with the licence. You copy the application to the police and the outgoing DPS. Tick the box for immediate effect and the new DPS can start the day the council receives it. The police then have 14 days to object, and only in exceptional circumstances.
It's a £23 form. It's also the form that can shut your bar, because the law says no alcohol can be sold at all while there's no designated premises supervisor, or while the DPS's personal licence is suspended. Managers leave, tenants change, people fall out. Here's how to swap the name over without a single night where you legally can't pull a pint.
Why a gap stops every sale
Section 19 of the Licensing Act puts two mandatory conditions on every premises licence that allows alcohol. The first is that no alcohol may be supplied "at a time when there is no designated premises supervisor", or when the DPS doesn't hold a personal licence or has it suspended. The second is that every sale has to be made or authorised by a personal licence holder.
So it isn't enough to have plenty of personal licence holders on the rota. If the name on the licence goes, the licence can't sell drink until a new name is on it. A pub doing £5,000 a week loses about £1,400 of takings on a Friday and Saturday closed, before the regulars who go elsewhere and don't come back. My arithmetic, assuming those two nights do around 28% of the week.
How to change the DPS, step by step
- Check the new DPS holds a personal licence. No personal licence, no DPS. If they haven't got one, my guide on how to get a personal licence covers the course and the council application, which takes longer than this does.
- Get the consent form signed by the new DPS. It's a prescribed form. The council won't treat the application as received until they have it.
- Fill in the application to vary the licence to specify a new DPS. Many councils take it online through GOV.UK, or on their own paper form. Only the premises licence holder can apply.
- Tick that you want it to have immediate effect. This is the section 38 request, and it's the box that keeps the bar open.
- Send the premises licence, or the relevant part of it. If you can't, because the outgoing DPS or a previous tenant has it, send a statement of why.
- Pay the £23. It's the same at every council in England and Wales.
- Copy the application to the police and the outgoing DPS. The Act says notice must go to the chief officer of police and to the existing DPS, if there is one, and must say whether you've asked for immediate effect. Some councils pass it to the police for you, so ask.
- Wait 14 days. If the police don't object, it's granted and you get an updated licence. If they do, it goes to a hearing.
What you need, on one table
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who applies | The premises licence holder |
| Fee | £23 |
| Consent form | Signed by the proposed DPS, in the prescribed form |
| The licence | The premises licence (or relevant part), or a statement of why you can't send it |
| Who to tell | The police and the outgoing DPS |
| Starts | When the council receives it, if you asked for immediate effect |
| Police window | 14 days from the day they're notified |
| Grounds for a police objection | Exceptional circumstances where granting it would undermine crime prevention |
| If they object | A hearing before the licensing sub-committee, with appeal to the magistrates' court |
Wirral Council's guidance says an objection goes to a hearing within 20 working days of the consultation ending. If the new DPS has a clean record, an objection is rare, because the bar for it is "exceptional circumstances", not "we'd prefer someone else".
When the DPS leaves before you're ready
This is the bit that catches people. A DPS doesn't need your permission to stop being DPS. Under section 41 they give the council a notice saying they want to be removed. If they're not the licence holder, they have to give you a copy within 48 hours, with a direction to send the licence to the council within 14 days. Ignore that direction without a reasonable excuse and it's an offence, a fine up to level 3, which is £1,000.
They stop being DPS when the council receives their notice, or on a later date they put in it. From that moment, section 19 bites and you can't sell alcohol until your variation lands. The Institute of Licensing's factsheet on the DPS role puts it the same way: the person stops being DPS on the date the council has the notice.
So a manager who walks out on a Thursday and emails the council that night can, in law, stop your Friday. The fix isn't to argue with them. It's to have the replacement ready before you need it.
What I'd have in the drawer
Here's the idea I don't see anyone in pubs talking about. Have a DPS consent form already signed by your second personal licence holder, sitting in the office with a filled-in variation application and the £23 ready to pay. Date it on the day. If the DPS goes, you can submit it with immediate effect within the hour, and the gap is as short as the council's inbox.
That means having a second personal licence holder in the first place. It's a one-day course and a £37 council fee, and it's the cheapest insurance on the premises. While you're in the drawer, keep the licence summary on display and the full licence somewhere you can actually find it, because the variation asks for it.
And if you employ a manager as DPS, put a line in their contract asking for notice before they give a section 41 notice. You can't stop them giving it, but you can ask for the courtesy of warning.
Tenancy changeovers
When a pub changes tenant, it's common to need two things at once: a transfer of the premises licence to the new holder and a change of DPS. Both are £23. Do them together, both with immediate effect, and get the paperwork in before the changeover day, not after. And ask the outgoing tenant for proof every annual fee's been paid, because an unpaid annual fee gets the licence suspended. My premises licence cost guide covers that trap, and the first stocktake guide covers the stock side of the same day.
DPS, licence holder and personal licence holder: who's who
| Role | What it is | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Premises licence holder | The person or company the licence for the building belongs to. Often the tenant, sometimes the pubco | One licence |
| Designated premises supervisor | The named personal licence holder in day-to-day charge, and the first contact for police and council | One per licence |
| Personal licence holder | Anyone who's passed the course and holds a personal licence. Every sale has to be made or authorised by one | As many as you like |
A premises licence can only name one DPS. The same person can be DPS for more than one premises, as long as they can actually make sure each one runs properly. A DPS also carries the duty to make sure sales follow your age verification policy, which my Challenge 25 guide covers.
All of this is England and Wales. Scotland runs a different licensing system with its own rules.
My take
Changing a DPS is one of the easiest bits of licensing there is, £23 and a form. The only way it hurts is if you do it in a hurry, after someone's already gone. Get the second personal licence holder, get the consent signed, and the day the name has to change is a Tuesday morning job, not a closed weekend.
Common questions
How much does it cost to change the DPS?
£23 in England and Wales. The fee is set nationally and is the same at every council.
How long does it take to change a DPS?
If you ask for immediate effect, the new DPS takes over as soon as the council receives a complete application. The police then have 14 days to object. If they don't, the variation is granted and an updated licence is issued.
Can a pub sell alcohol without a DPS?
No. Section 19 of the Licensing Act 2003 says no alcohol can be supplied under a premises licence while there is no DPS, or while the DPS's personal licence is suspended. There is no exception for pubs.
Who can apply to change the DPS?
Only the premises licence holder. The new DPS signs a consent form that goes with the application, and the police and the outgoing DPS must be told.
How does a DPS remove themselves from a licence?
They give the council a section 41 notice. If they aren't the licence holder, they must give the holder a copy within 48 hours, with a direction to send the licence to the council within 14 days. They stop being DPS when the council receives the notice, or on a later date given in it.
Sources
- No supply without a DPS, or while the DPS has no personal licence or it's suspended; every sale made or authorised by a personal licence holder: Licensing Act 2003, section 19.
- Application by the licence holder, consent form, licence or statement of reasons, notice to the police and existing DPS, exceptional circumstances, 14 days: Licensing Act 2003, section 37.
- DPS removing themselves, 48-hour copy, 14-day direction, level 3 offence, when it takes effect: Licensing Act 2003, section 41.
- £23 fee: GOV.UK, Alcohol licensing fee levels: additional and other fees.
- Immediate effect, consent form needed before the application counts as received, 14-day consultation, hearing within 20 working days: Wirral Council, Change designated premises supervisor. Copy to police and current DPS, automatic grant without police representation, appeal to magistrates: Islington Council, Licence holder varying a DPS.
- One DPS per licence, one person can be DPS of more than one premises, ceases on the date the council has the notice: Institute of Licensing, The Role of the Designated Premises Supervisor (factsheet, 2012).
- Level 3 fine is £1,000: Sentencing Act 2020, as in my children in pubs guide. Personal licence fee £37: GOV.UK fee levels, as above. The weekend-takings figure is my arithmetic.