Change of name or address
The Licensing Act Section 127 (1) states that the holder of a personal licence must, as soon as is reasonably practical, notify the relevant licensing authority of any change in their name or address as stated in the personal licence.
The notification must be accompanied by the prescribed fee (£10.50). There is no prescribed form of notification, a letter or email will suffice.
If providing a change of name you must supply documentation supporting your change of name, this can include but is not limited to:
- Marriage certificate
- Deed poll certificate
You can make payment using our online payment service:
The notice must be accompanied by the personal licence or, if that is not practicable, by a statement setting out the reasons why the licence cannot be produced.
A personal licensee who fails to give notice of the change in his name or address is committing an offence, and on summary conviction may be fined a sum not exceeding level 2 on the standard (£500).
Renewing your personal licence
The Deregulation Act 2015 came into effect on the 1 April 2015, and abolished the requirement to renew personal licences. Instead personal licences will carry on indefinitely until such time that they are either surrendered or revoked.
Frequently asked questions
| Can I still use my existing personal licence, even though it appears to have expired? | Yes. Because the requirement to renew has been abolished, the expiry date no longer applies. |
| Can I get my licence updated to remove the expiry date? | Yes. All newly issued personal licences will have the expiry date removed, and this will be done automatically the next time you apply to update your licence; for example if you change name or address. However, if you wish to have your licence updated early, you can apply for a newly issued "copy" of your licence. To do so you will need to supply us with: - A written request to replace your licence, providing your full name, address. - Your existing licence or an explanation as to why it cannot be returned. - The £10.50 administration fee. |
| Do I need to change my photo? | No. There is currently no requirement to update your photo. However you may run into difficulties if you no longer resemble the photo printed upon your personal licence. Therefore we strongly recommend that you get your photo updated at least every 10 years (in line with the requirements of driving licences and passports). As with any change to a personal licence, this will incur a £10.50 administration fee. You need only pay a single fee if making multiple changes at the same time. |