Is your New Year's Eve licence notice due by 14 December? If your premises licence stops short of the hours you want on 31 December, a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) is the route. In England and Wales, GOV.UK says you must apply at least 10 clear working days before your event, and clear working days do not include the day your council receives the application or the day of the event. In 2026, Christmas Day and Monday 28 December (the Boxing Day substitute day) are not working days either, so on the guide's count the last day for a standard TEN for Thursday 31 December 2026 is Monday 14 December. A late TEN sits between Tuesday 15 and Monday 21 December, but if the police or environmental health object to a late TEN, the notice will not be valid and the event cannot go ahead. No national New Year's Eve extension to licensing hours was found on legislation.gov.uk, so the premises licence decides first. On deposits: a dated restaurant booking carries no statutory 14-day right to cancel under regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, but the terms must still be fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A summary of public law and official guidance, not legal advice.
What the film covers
- The night when every table could sell twice
- New Year's Eve restaurant bookings: one sitting or two?
- New Year's Eve set menu restaurant: price the menu before the page
- Price display: put the service charge and any booking fee in the headline
- New Year's Eve restaurant deposit: what it is and how big to make it
- A worked example for 31 December
- New Year's Eve restaurant cancellation policy: what the law lets the terms say
- No 14-day cooling-off right, but the fairness duty stays
Questions the film answers
- Should a restaurant run one sitting or two on New Year's Eve?
It is the owner's decision. Two sittings let each table sell twice, so a 60-cover room reaches 120 covers, but the second sitting depends on the first clearing on time. State the seating window on the page, give each sitting its own capacity, and plan the turn time from the menu.
- How big should a New Year's Eve restaurant deposit be?
No larger than the loss the restaurant would really suffer. The worked example here uses £25 a head on a £75 menu, which is one third, and also shows £15 a head at 20%. Do the sum with your own menu and your own resale prospects, and be able to explain the figure.
- Can a restaurant keep the deposit if a guest cancels?
Terms that allow it must be fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Schedule 2, paragraph 4, describes keeping a guest's money when the guest cancels without providing equivalent compensation when the trader cancels. State the cancellation date, the retained sum and a refund if the restaurant cancels.
- Do guests have a 14-day right to cancel a New Year's Eve booking?
Not under regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, which covers catering where the contract provides for a specific date. The fairness test in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 still applies, so cancellation and deposit terms must be fair and clear.
- When is the deadline for a temporary event notice for New Year's Eve 2026?
For a standard TEN, an application must reach the council at least 10 clear working days before. For Thursday 31 December 2026 that is Monday 14 December. A late TEN can be filed between Tuesday 15 and Monday 21 December, but an objection from the police or environmental health makes it invalid. England and Wales only.
- Is there a national extension to licensing hours on New Year's Eve?
None was found. A search of Licensing Hours orders on legislation.gov.uk on 29 October 2026 returned 14 event-specific orders, and none named New Year's Eve. Extended hours come from the premises licence or from a TEN. A title search is evidence, not proof about every instrument.