Did your premises licence lapse? A premises licence lapses if the holder dies, lacks capacity, becomes insolvent or is dissolved. An interim authority notice under section 47 of the Licensing Act 2003 must now be given within 28 days, not the seven days of the original text, which S.I. 2010/2452 replaced. Section 50 offers another route: a fresh section 42 application, given interim effect, made no later than 28 days after the lapse. Only one interim authority notice may ever be given for a lapse, so a missed window has no second attempt. A summary of public law, not legal advice.

What the film covers

The transfer does not happen by itself
Death, incapacity or insolvency lapses the licence outright, and the clock most people quote is wrong
Transferring the licence and naming a supervisor are two different applications
The offence sitting underneath a missed step
The website is where the stale claim lives longest
What has to be checked, and when

Read the full articleThe Premises Licence Nobody Transfers When a Restaurant Is SoldA licence does not move with a sale, a lapse after death or insolvency starts a fixed 28-day clock, and a website still advertising “fully licensed” once that window closes now risks a strict-liability penalty under 2025 consumer law. A restaurant changes hands on a Friday. The new owner has the keys, the till, the staff and a solicitor's letter confirming completion. The premises licence that lets the venue sell alcohol, run late-night refreshment or put on regulated entertainment does not come with them. Under the Licensing Act 2003 a licence belongs to a named holder, and a change of ownership does not carry it across. Somebody has to apply separately, and until they do the venue can be trading with no valid authorisation behind the till.

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