Do you need a temporary event notice for your wedding? The £21 form and its real deadline
Most couples do not need one, because their venue's licence already covers the bar. You need a temporary event notice when alcohol will be sold somewhere with no licence for it: a marquee in a field, a family garden, a hall without its own licence. It costs £21, it must reach the council at least 10 clear working days before the wedding, and it covers fewer than 500 people at a time.
This post covers England and Wales, where the Licensing Act 2003 applies. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own licensing rules.
The rule in four lines (gov.uk): £21 fee. At least 10 clear working days' notice to the council, with copies to the police and environmental health. Fewer than 500 people at all times, staff included. No longer than 168 hours (7 days).
What a temporary event notice is for
Section 1 of the Licensing Act 2003 lists four licensable activities: selling alcohol, supplying alcohol to members of a club, providing regulated entertainment, and providing late night refreshment. gov.uk describes the last one as serving hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am. If any of these will happen at a place with no premises licence covering it, a temporary event notice (a TEN) lets it happen for one event.
It is a notice, not a licence. You tell the council, and the event can go ahead unless someone objects.
When a wedding does not need one
- The venue is licensed. Hotels, pubs and restaurants usually hold a premises licence, and their bar runs under it. Ask the venue to confirm the licence covers your finishing time, because licences set hours.
- The drinks are free. The Act licenses the sale of alcohol. If you buy the drinks and hand them out free at a private party, nobody is selling them.
- The music is for invited guests only, with no charge. Schedule 1 of the Act makes entertainment "regulated" when it is open to the public, for a club's members, or provided for a charge with a view to profit. A band or DJ at a private wedding, paid for by you and free to your guests, is none of those.
When it does
The common case is a cash bar at an unlicensed venue. The moment a guest hands over money for a drink, that is a sale. The same goes for a mobile bar company running a pay bar in your marquee. Section 136 of the Act makes it an offence to carry on a licensable activity without an authorisation, so this is worth settling early.
Ask any bar company you book whether they give the notice themselves, and whether their own allowance has room for your date. gov.uk limits how many notices each person can give: 5 a year, or 50 for someone who holds a personal licence to sell alcohol. A single premises can have up to 15 a year, for no more than 21 days in total.
The deadline, counted properly
gov.uk says to apply at least 10 clear working days before the event. Councils such as Pendle explain that clear days leave out the day the council receives the notice and the day of the event. Section 193 of the Act says a working day is any day except a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday.
That makes the real deadline earlier than most people expect. Take a wedding on Saturday 12 June 2027. Monday 31 May 2027 is the spring bank holiday, so it does not count. The notice has to reach the council by Thursday 27 May 2027, 16 days before the wedding.
| Kind of notice | When it must arrive | If police or environmental health object |
|---|---|---|
| Standard TEN | At least 10 clear working days before | The council holds a hearing |
| Late TEN | Between 9 and 5 clear working days before | The event cannot go ahead, with no appeal |
The police and environmental health have 3 working days to object once they receive a notice. With a late notice, an objection ends it: Cotswold District Council's guidance says the council issues a counter notice and the event cannot take place. Someone without a personal licence can give only 2 late notices a year. Treat the late route as a fallback, never the plan.
The 500 limit includes your staff
A TEN covers fewer than 500 people at any one time, and gov.uk says that count includes the staff running the event. Caterers, bar staff, the band and the photographer all count. A wedding with 480 guests and 30 staff on site at once is over. Large multi-event weddings are the ones that hit this, so count everyone who will be there during the busiest hour.
What to do this week
- Ask your venue whether it holds a premises licence that covers selling alcohol on your date and to your finishing time.
- If it does not, decide whether the drinks will be free or whether there will be a pay bar.
- If there will be a pay bar, ask the bar company whether they give the TEN, and get it in writing.
- If you are giving it yourself, count back 10 clear working days from the wedding, skipping bank holidays, and put that date in your diary with a week to spare.
Work out the quantities with the free drinks calculator, and put the bar quote, its deposit and its due dates into wedding money so the bar is part of the budget from the start.
Sources
- gov.uk, Temporary events notice: £21 fee, 10 clear working days, late notices from 9 to 5 days, fewer than 500 people including staff, 168 hours, limits per person and per premises, 3 working days to object
- Licensing Act 2003, section 1: the four licensable activities
- Licensing Act 2003, section 136: the offence of carrying on a licensable activity without an authorisation
- Licensing Act 2003, Schedule 1, paragraph 1: when entertainment is regulated entertainment
- Licensing Act 2003, section 193: the meaning of a working day
- Pendle Borough Council, Temporary event notices: clear working days leave out the day of receipt and the day of the event
- Cotswold District Council, Temporary event notice: an objection to a late notice means the event cannot take place, with no appeal
- gov.uk, UK bank holidays: spring bank holiday on 31 May 2027
Questions
Do I need a licence to give free alcohol at my wedding?
The Licensing Act 2003 licenses the sale of alcohol, not giving it away. Drinks you buy and hand out free at a private wedding are not a sale. Once guests pay for drinks in any way, such as a cash bar, someone needs a licence or a temporary event notice. If you are unsure, ask your council's licensing team.
How much does a temporary event notice cost?
£21, paid to the licensing authority (your local council) for the area where the wedding takes place. You apply through gov.uk or the council.
How far in advance do I need to apply?
At least 10 clear working days before the event. Councils do not count the day they receive it or the day of the event, and weekends and bank holidays are not working days. A late notice is possible from 9 down to 5 clear working days, but if the police or environmental health object to a late notice, the event cannot go ahead.
How many guests can a temporary event notice cover?
Fewer than 500 people on the premises at any one time, and gov.uk says that includes the staff running the event. A wedding with 520 guests at once would need a premises licence instead.
Does our venue need one if it already has a bar?
Usually not. A venue with a premises licence that covers selling alcohol can run the bar under that licence. Ask the venue to confirm its licence covers your date and your finishing time.
Keep the bar bill with the rest
Kismet's free wedding money tracker holds every supplier, payment and due date in one place, the bar company included.
Start free