A premises licence costs between £100 and £1,905 to apply for in England and Wales, and between £70 and £1,050 a year after that. Which you pay depends on your rateable value band, and wet-led pubs in the top two bands pay double or triple. The fees are set nationally and haven't moved since 2005. The cost that actually catches licensees out isn't the fee, it's the annual payment you forget, because the council has to suspend your licence if it isn't paid.
Yesterday I wrote up how to get a personal licence, which is the one for you. The premises licence is the one for the building, and it's the one that lets you sell a single drink. Here's what it costs, how to work out your band, and the bits nobody puts in the budget.
Premises licence fees by band
| Band | Rateable value | New application or full variation | Annual fee | Wet-led pub: application | Wet-led pub: annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | None to £4,300 | £100 | £70 | £100 | £70 |
| B | £4,301 to £33,000 | £190 | £180 | £190 | £180 |
| C | £33,001 to £87,000 | £315 | £295 | £315 | £295 |
| D | £87,001 to £125,000 | £450 | £320 | £900 | £640 |
| E | £125,001 plus | £635 | £350 | £1,905 | £1,050 |
"Wet-led" is my shorthand. The rule says the multiplier applies to premises "used exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises", and only in bands D and E. Club premises certificates use the same band fees without the multiplier.
A band C pub pays £295 a year. That's £5.67 a week, a bit over two pints of gross profit at £2.45 a pint. A wet-led band E pub pays £1,050, about £20 a week, eight pints. It isn't the fee that hurts. It's what happens if you miss it.
How to find your band
Your band comes from your rateable value, the same figure your business rates are worked out from. You can look it up on the Valuation Office Agency's business rates service.
Two details from the regulations are worth knowing. The rateable value used is the one "for the time being in force" on the rating list. So if your rateable value moved at the April 2026 revaluation, your band can move with it. If you've crossed £33,000 or £87,000, expect the annual fee to change. And if your pub is part of a bigger hereditament, the band uses the whole hereditament's value, while if it's made up of two or more, the highest one counts.
The question worth asking if you're food-led in band D or E
The double and triple multipliers only apply if the premises are used exclusively or primarily for drinking on the premises. A busy food pub with a rateable value of £90,000 is band D either way, but if the council treats it as primarily alcohol it pays £900 to apply and £640 a year. If not, £450 and £320. If your takings are mostly food and you're paying the multiplier, ask your licensing team how they decided it. It's a fair question with evidence behind it, and it could halve the bill every year.
The other licensing fees
| What | Fee |
|---|---|
| Change of designated premises supervisor (DPS) | £23 |
| Transfer of the premises licence to a new holder | £23 |
| Interim authority notice (after a holder dies or becomes incapable) | £23 |
| Minor variation | £89 |
| Full variation | Same as a new application for your band |
| Temporary event notice | £21 |
| Personal licence (grant) | £37 |
| Change of name or address | £10.50 |
| Replacement for a lost or stolen licence or summary | £10.50 |
| Provisional statement, for premises being built or altered | £315 |
Venues expecting 5,000 or more people at once pay extra on top, from £1,000, which is festivals and stadiums, not pubs. If you want a late licence for Christmas without changing the premises licence, the £21 TEN is usually the answer, and I've covered the deadlines in the Christmas TEN guide.
What a new application really costs
The fee is only part of it. For a new premises licence or a full variation you must advertise it in two ways, set out in the Home Office's licensing guidance:
- A notice in a local newspaper, or a local newsletter or circular if there's no paper.
- An A4 or bigger notice on pale blue paper, in black print of 16 point or larger, on or outside the premises for at least 28 consecutive days, starting the day after the council receives the application.
That 28 days is also, in effect, the timescale for a decision if nobody objects. If someone does, there's a hearing, and that's when people start paying licensing solicitors. You also need a plan of the premises, drawn to the standard the regulations set. The newspaper notice is the cost people forget to ask about, so ring the local paper for a price before you apply. And the guidance tells councils to warn applicants not to place the newspaper notice until the council confirms the application is complete, so you don't pay for it twice.
A minor variation is cheaper all round: £89, no newspaper, and a white notice for ten working days instead of a blue one for 28. It's for changes that couldn't affect the licensing objectives, like moving the bar or a small layout change. Ask your licensing officer whether yours qualifies before you pay for a full variation.
The annual fee trap
Here's why the cheapest bill on your list matters most. The law requires the council to suspend your premises licence if the annual fee isn't paid when it's due. Suspended means no licensable activities. No alcohol, no late night refreshment, nothing. On a Friday.
There are only two ways out of instant suspension, and both give you a 21-day grace period. One is an administrative error, which can be anyone's, the council's included, like post going to the wrong place. The other is a dispute about the fee, but you have to tell the council about the dispute on or before the due date. If it isn't sorted in 21 days, the licence is suspended.
The council has to tell you in writing, with at least two working days' notice before the suspension starts. The suspension ends the day they receive the money, and they have to confirm it in writing quickly so you can show the police you're back. If more than one year has been missed, every missed year has to be paid.
Two things I'd do about it
Put the due date in your diary now. It's usually the anniversary of when the licence was first granted, not the date you took over, so it can land in a month you're not expecting. If your council takes direct debit, use it.
And if you're taking over a pub, ask for proof that every annual fee has been paid. The guidance says the debt is formally owed by whoever held the licence when it was suspended, but that in practice it's more likely the new holder ends up paying. Get the receipts with the keys.
My take
A premises licence is cheap for what it does. Most pubs pay less a year for it than they spend on a single keg. But because it's cheap and annual, it's the bill that slips through the cracks, and the penalty for missing it is out of all proportion to the £295. Check your band against your 2026 rateable value, put the date in the diary, and if you're food-led paying the wet-led multiplier, ask why. That's ten minutes' work.
If you're starting from scratch, my guide on how to become a pub landlord covers the rest of the costs, and the business rates relief guide covers the other bill that comes off the same rateable value.
Common questions
How much does a premises licence cost?
In England and Wales a new premises licence costs £100, £190, £315, £450 or £635 depending on rateable value band A to E. Premises used primarily for drinking alcohol on site pay double in band D (£900) and triple in band E (£1,905).
How much is the annual fee for a premises licence?
£70, £180, £295, £320 or £350 a year for bands A to E. Premises used primarily for drinking on site pay £640 in band D and £1,050 in band E.
What happens if you don't pay the premises licence annual fee?
The council must suspend the licence, with at least two working days' written notice, and no licensable activities can take place until it's paid. There is a 21-day grace period only for an administrative error, or a dispute notified on or before the due date.
How much does it cost to change the DPS?
£23 to vary the premises licence to name a new designated premises supervisor. Transferring the premises licence to a new holder is also £23.
Do councils set their own premises licence fees?
No. Premises licence fees in England and Wales are set nationally by the Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations 2005 and are the same at every council.
Sources
- Bands, rateable values, application and annual fees, the multiplier for premises used exclusively or primarily for supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises (bands D and E): GOV.UK, Alcohol licensing fee levels: main fee levels. Same figures on Trafford Council's fees page, checked 3 November 2026.
- DPS change, transfer, interim authority, minor variation, TEN, personal licence, name and address, replacement, provisional statement, large-event fees: GOV.UK, Additional and other fees.
- Rateable value "for the time being in force" on the rating list: Licensing Act 2003 (Fees) Regulations 2005, regulation 2. Part of a hereditament and two or more hereditaments: regulation 3.
- 28-day blue notice, newspaper notice, wait for confirmation before advertising, minor variation white notice for ten working days, annual fee suspension, 21-day grace period, two working days' notice, debt and new holders, all missed years payable: Home Office, Revised guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (September 2026), paragraphs 8.23, 8.27, 8.54, 8.80 and 15.1 to 15.7.
- £2.45 gross profit on a £5.34 pint: my electricity per pint guide. The per-week and per-pint figures and the band-D food pub example are my arithmetic.