If you're organising an event on an unlicensed premises and you want to carry out licensable activities then you'll probably need a temporary event notice (TEN).

Licensable activities are:

• the sale by retail of alcohol
• the supply of alcohol to club members and their guests
• the provision of regulated entertainment (plays, films, indoor sporting events, boxing or wrestling, a dance performance, live or recorded music)
• the provision of late night refreshment

You'll also need a TEN if a particular licensable activity is not included in the terms of your existing licence.  For example, if you want to sell alcohol at premises only licensed for regulated entertainment or if you want to open late for a special occasion.

A TEN is not an application but a notice about a planned event. Your notice will need to be served on us, the police and the environmental health service. 

The police and environmental health service can object to a TEN if they feel the event will undermine any of our licensing objectives. 

Timescales

Standard TENs

The law states that you must serve your notice on us at least 10 clear working days before the event (not including the event day and the day the notice is served).

Late TENs

In exceptional circumstances the law allows us to accept a TEN submitted between five and nine working days before the event (not including the event day and the day the notice is submitted).

Late TENs should only be used in exceptional circumstances as you run the very real risk that the event may not be able to take place if we receive an objection to the notice. If that happens then we have no alternative but to serve a counter notice on the notice giver. If that happens the event can't go ahead as the law doesn't allow for an appeal with a late TEN.

Number of notices you can apply for

You'll need a separate TEN for each event you hold even if it's on the same premises.

You can serve up to five TENs a year (of which two may be late notices).

If you have a personal licence to sell alcohol, you can serve up to 50 TENs a year (of which 10 may be late notices).

A single premises can have up to 12 notices applied for in one year, as long as:

• the total length of the events is not more than 21 days (events that carry on after midnight will count as two days)
• the person serving the notice doesn't exceed the amount of TENs they can serve in a year

Displaying your licence

You must keep your TEN in a safe place where the event is held.

You must also display a copy of the notice where it can be easily seen.

Length of licence

A TEN will only authorise you to provide licensable activities during the times you have given on the form.

Additional information

Here’s a list of popular events / celebrations and their temporary event notice deadlines which you might find useful, including the King’s coronation.

You’ll need these dates when planning events that aren’t covered by a premises licence – which now include the King’s coronation.

The below events and dates have been updated for 2023. This includes the dates for the relaxation of licensing hours until 1am on Friday 5 May, Saturday 6 May, and Sunday 7 May to celebrate His Majesty the King’s coronation.

A standard TEN must be received by the licensing authority at least 10 working days before the event. 10 working days excludes the day the notice is received and the first day of the event.

If there are less than 10 working days before the event, you need to apply for a late TEN.

The latest you can apply for a ‘late’ temporary event notice (TEN) is 5 clear working days before your event (but no earlier than 9 clear working days before the event). Clear working days do not include the day your council receives your application or the day of the event.

There is a limit of 10 late temporary event notices per year for an individual holding a personal licence and 2 for those who do not. Late TENs count towards the total number of permitted TENs.

If an authority vetoes a late TEN (police or environment health object) there is no right to a hearing or appeal, it is simply refused and it is not possible to add conditions to a late TEN.

Occasion	Last Date for Standard TEN	Last date for Late TEN
Good Friday	23 March 2023	30 March 2023
Easter Monday	23 March 2023	30 March 2023
Early May Bank Holiday	14 April 2023	21 April 2023
King’s Coronation	20 April 2023	27 April 2023
Spring Bank Holiday	12 May 2023	19 May 2023
Summer Bank Holiday	11 Aug 2023	18 August 2023
Christmas Day	8 Dec 2023	15 Dec 2023
Boxing Day	8 Dec 2023	15 Dec 2023