Transfer a premises licence to another licence holder

You need to transfer a premises licence if the venue has been sold by one person/company to another. The new owner needs to apply for the transfer. A transfer only changes the holder of the licence. It doesn't change the licence in any other way.

Fees

The fee to transfer a premises licence is £23.

How to apply

Anyone aged 18 or over can apply to transfer a premises licence. The venue must be in our licensing area. You can apply and pay the fee using our online form.

In the form you need to upload copies of your:

If you're not able to provide a consent form, you need to tell us the steps you've taken to obtain consent.

You must also give notice of your application to the chief officer of South Yorkshire Police.

Apply to transfer a premises licence

Applying by post

You can apply by post by sending your forms to: Barnsley Council, Licensing, Regulatory Services, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG. You must also give notice of your application to:

  • chief officer of South Yorkshire Police
  • alcohol licensing team at the Home Office (see our responsible authorities page for details)

You can pay the fee using our online form. Select 'Pay for a transfer application submitted via post' as the reason you're applying. Your application isn't valid until you've paid the fee.

What happens next

The transfer comes into immediate interim effect if you've ticked on your transfer form that:

  • you want the transfer to have immediate effect, and
  • you're in a position to use the premises for the activities authorised (see Licensing Act 2003 section 43)

This makes sure there's no interruption to normal business at the premises until the transfer is formally determined or withdrawn.

The chief officer of police has 14 days to consider the transfer. This begins on the day they're notified of the application. They can either:

  • issue an objection notice if they believe the transfer may undermine the crime prevention licensing objective
  • raise no objection to the transfer

If we don't receive an objection we'll transfer the licence to the new holder. This will often be done within seven days of the end of the consultation period. We'll update the premises licence and email/post it to you.

Please read the premises licence approval process for more details about how all applications and changes are processed.

Food premises licence

You'll likely need to register as a food establishment. We'll include a copy of the registration form if you've applied for a new licence. We'll also include this if you are transferring a premises licence. You may also register a food business on our food premises licences webpage.

Tacit consent

Tacit consent applies to premises licence transfers. This means if you've not heard from us after 60 calendar days, you can act as though your application is granted.