A pavement licence lets a pub put removable tables, chairs, benches, barriers, umbrellas and heaters on the public highway outside. In England the council can charge up to £500 for a new one and £350 to renew, it can last up to two years, and it takes about four weeks: 14 days of public consultation, then 14 days for the council to decide. If the council misses that deadline, the licence is granted automatically.
That's been the permanent system since 31 March 2024, when the Covid-era scheme with its £100 fee was made permanent with higher fees. The government's guidance is clear enough. What it doesn't spell out is the bit that catches pubs: a pavement licence is about furniture, not drink, and since the temporary off-sales easement ended on 31 March 2025, serving drinks to those tables can need something on your premises licence too. That's further down.
This guide is for England. The guidance says it doesn't apply in Scotland or Wales, so if you're there, ask your council what they use.
The rules in one table
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Fee | Up to £500 for a first application, up to £350 to renew. Councils can charge less. |
| How long it lasts | Up to two years, and councils are expected to give the full two unless there's a good reason not to. |
| Consultation | 14 days, excluding public holidays, starting the day after you apply. |
| Decision | 14 days after consultation ends, excluding public holidays. |
| If the council doesn't decide in time | Deemed granted for two years, on the council's published local conditions. |
| Who can apply | A business selling food or drink, for consumption on or off the premises. Pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants all count. |
| What it covers | Removable furniture used for food and drink: tables, chairs, benches, counters or stalls for serving, umbrellas, barriers and heaters. |
| What it doesn't | Fixed furniture (that needs Highways Act permission) and A-boards, which are outside the scheme and shouldn't be used as barriers. |
| If you're refused | No statutory appeal. Some councils offer an internal review. |
What councils actually charge
Most charge the cap or near it. Two I checked on 8 November 2026:
- Oxford: £500 for a first-time licence, £350 to renew, not refundable if refused, and you need public liability insurance of at least £5 million.
- Rushcliffe: £450 for a new two-year licence, £350 to renew one, or £250 for a one-year licence.
So check your own council's page before you budget, and check the insurance figure they want, because that can cost more than the licence if your policy doesn't already cover the pavement.
How to apply
- Measure first. Take a tape measure outside and work out how much pavement is left once your furniture is down. The guidance points councils to the Inclusive Mobility standard: a footway should normally be 2,000mm wide so two wheelchair users can pass, and 1,500mm between obstacles is acceptable in most cases. If you can't leave 1.5 metres clear, expect a problem.
- Draw the plan. A site plan to scale or with clear measurements, showing your boundary, where every table and chair goes and the clear width left. Oxford also asks for pictures or brochure images of the furniture.
- Apply through the council and pay the fee.
- Put the site notice up the same day and keep it up for the whole 14 days of consultation. Failing to display it is one of the listed grounds for revoking the licence, so photograph it in place on day one.
- Wait for the decision. Don't put furniture out until you've got the licence. Oxford's page says so in as many words.
The conditions you'll be held to
Every pavement licence carries two national conditions:
- No obstruction. Keep the clear width, use furniture that's heavy enough not to blow over and isn't reflective, and think about people with sight loss, which is where colour contrast and tap rails come in.
- Smoke-free seating. If you allow smoking out there, you have to make reasonable provision for non-smoking seating too. The guidance suggests clear signs, no ashtrays on the smoke-free tables, and a gap of at least 2 metres between the two areas where you can.
Councils can add local conditions on top, things like hours, and those take priority. Break a condition and the council can serve a notice to put it right, then change or revoke the licence, or do the work itself and send you the bill.
The off-sales trap
This is the part that isn't on the council form. A pavement licence lets you put furniture on the highway. It doesn't license the sale of alcohol, and the pavement usually isn't part of the licensed area on your premises licence plan. A drink bought at the bar and carried out to a pavement table is, in licensing terms, usually an off-sale.
From 2020 a temporary easement let most on-sales-only pubs sell for consumption off the premises without changing their licence. Licensing solicitors Poppleston Allen reported in February 2025 that the government would not extend it, and it ended on 31 March 2025. The government also said it would advise councils to accept a minor variation when a premises adds off-sales permanently, which is £89 instead of a full variation.
So before the tables go out: get your premises licence out of the drawer and check whether it allows off-sales, and whether there are conditions about drinks outside, glassware outside, or a time when the outside has to be cleared. If it's on-sales only, sort the minor variation first. What the different licence changes cost is in what a premises licence costs, and the time limits on your licence are in licensing hours. This is general information, not legal advice, and for anything unusual about your licence a licensing solicitor is the right call.
Does it pay?
£500 over two years is £4.81 a week. At about £2.45 gross profit on an average pint, that's two pints a week. Most pubs with a pavement worth having will clear that on the first dry Saturday.
The real costs are the furniture, the insurance, the staff time carrying it in and out, and anything you add to keep people out there longer. If you're thinking about heaters, run the numbers in what a beer garden heater costs to run first, and if you're thinking about music outside, read the outside music rules before the neighbours do.
The idea: plan two zones before you plan tables
Most pubs that want a pavement licence want it because the smokers are already stood out the front. The smoke-free seating condition means you can't just licence the smoking area. So draw it as two zones from the start: smokers at the end away from the door, non-smoking tables nearest the windows, a 2 metre gap between them, and the clear walkway along the kerb side. Measure it out in chalk on a quiet morning, sit at each table, and take a photo for the application. It gets you a plan the council can say yes to first time, and it stops the non-smoking tables being the ones nobody sits at.
If you put furniture out without one
The council can serve a notice telling you to remove it by a set date. If it's still there, it can remove and store it, charge you the cost, and keep it until you pay. If the costs aren't paid three months after the notice, it can sell the furniture and keep the money. Two years of licence is cheaper than one set of seized benches.
Common questions
How much does a pavement licence cost?
In England the council can charge up to £500 for a first application and up to £350 to renew. Some charge less: Rushcliffe charges £450 for a new two-year licence and £250 for one year.
How long does a pavement licence take?
About four weeks: 14 days of public consultation from the day after you apply, then 14 days for the council to decide, excluding public holidays. If the council misses the deadline the licence is deemed granted.
How long does a pavement licence last?
Up to two years. The government expects councils to grant the full two years unless there is a good reason not to.
Do I need a pavement licence for a beer garden?
No, not if the garden is your own land. A pavement licence is for furniture on the public highway. Your own land is covered by your premises licence and planning position.
Can I serve alcohol to pavement tables?
The pavement licence only covers the furniture. Drinks taken to the pavement are usually off-sales, and the temporary easement that let on-sales-only pubs do this ended on 31 March 2025, so check your premises licence allows off-sales or apply for a minor variation (£89).
Does the pavement licence apply in Scotland and Wales?
No. The government guidance covers England only. In Scotland and Wales, ask your council what permission it needs.
Sources
- Fee caps, two-year duration, 14-day consultation and determination, deemed grant, who can apply, what furniture counts, A-boards and fixed furniture excluded, no-obstruction and smoke-free conditions, 2,000mm and 1,500mm widths, 2 metre smoking gap, enforcement, removal and sale of furniture, no statutory appeal, England only: GOV.UK, Pavement licences guidance (2 April 2024). The law: Business and Planning Act 2020, Part 1, as amended by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
- Oxford fees, £5 million public liability insurance and application documents: Oxford City Council, Pavement licence. Rushcliffe fees: Rushcliffe Borough Council, Pavement licence. Both checked 8 November 2026.
- Off-sales easement not extended, ending 31 March 2025, and minor variation advice to councils: Poppleston Allen (27 February 2025). Minor variation fee £89: my premises licence cost guide.
- £2.45 gross profit on an average pint: my average price of a pint guide. The per-week cost and the two-zone plan are my own arithmetic and method.