Premises Licence
If you wish to sell alcohol, your premises must be licensed. You must be 18 years or older to make the application.
Your premises will also require a premises manager who holds a personal licence to sell and authorise the sale of alcohol.
The application requires an application form, an operating plan, a layout plan of the premises, and certificates for planning, building standards and, if relevant, food hygiene.
Moray Licensing Board Guidelines
Guidance on completion of Premises licence application forms (PDF)
Guidance on Capacity (PDF)
Guidance on Descriptions of premises (PDF)
Premises Licence World Cup 2026 Extension of Licenced Hours
The Board is the licensing authority for people and premises selling alcohol in Moray, including shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels and visitor attractions, and promotes the licensing objectives of preventing public nuisance, crime and disorder, securing public safety, protecting children and young persons from harm and improving public health.
Moray Licensing Board is seeking feedback from residents and businesses on an extension of licensed hours for on sales of alcohol during the 2026 World Cup.
The proposed extension for on sales hours of alcohol during the 2026 World Cup can be found below.
Comments should be emailed to: LicBoard@moray.gov.uk
Or by post: Depute Clerk Licensing Board, Moray Council, Council Offices, High Street, Elgin IV30 1BX.
This consultation closes on 1 March 2026.
ATTACHMENTS:
Notice and Guidance to Licence Holders of Extension of Hours by Moray Licensing Board (PDF)
All applications need:
- An application form
- An operating plan and guidance notes,
- A layout plan which must meet required standard detailed in the legislation
- A planning certificate, a building standards certificate and if applicable, a food hygiene certificate (Sec,50 application), there is a separate fee which is documented on the application form.
- A disabled facilities statement.
- The fee - which can be paid over the phone by calling 0300 123 4561 (contact centre). The fee will depend on whether you are applying for a provisional licence (£200 and the balance on confirmation) or a full application which will be dependent on the rateable value of the premises which can be found on the Scottish assessors website. There will also be an annual licence fee which is based on the rateable value of the premises, the annual fee is due each year on the 1st October. For the first year that fee will be due pro rata from the date of commencement of the licence
- A risk assessment,
- Every premises must have a premises manager who must be a personal licence holder. The licence cannot be used without a designated premises manager (DPM) in place. You can also have as many other personal licence holders as you wish. The DPM authorises the sale of alcohol and a personal licence holder can provide training to staff as all staff selling/serving alcohol must have a minimum level of training. You will need to consider who will be the DPM alongside who will hold the licence. Again the DPM remains responsible for what goes on in the premises. Only the licence holder can nominate a DPM. If not done from the outset, the DPM will have to be nominated as part of the confirmation of the licence before the licence can be used. An individual may not, at any one time, be the premises manager of more than one licensed premises. If the Designated Premises Manager leaves the premises, the premises licence holder has 7 days in which to notify the Licensing Board and 6 weeks to nominate a new premises manager. Failure to nominate will result in the premises no longer being able to sell alcohol
You must apply to vary your premises licence if you want to make any changes. Under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, there can be either major or minor variations to a licence.
Major Variation
A major variation includes varying:
- Any of the conditions of the licence;
- Any information contained in the operating plan, i.e an increase to licensed hours, adding activities such as adding off sales
- The layout plan, such as adding an unlicensed area ie an extension to a beer garden or moving or increasing the off sales area; or
- Any other information contained or referred to in the licence.
The cost of a major variation depends on the category of the premises.
An application form can be found here
An operating plan can be found here
If you are making changes to the layout plan then guidance for what is required can be found here
A major variation will be decided by the Licensing Board at a licensing Board meeting.
Minor Variation
A minor variation means:
- Any variation of the layout plan that does not make it inconsistent with the operating plan;
- Restricting children and young persons access to the premises; or
- A change to the Designated Premises Manager
The cost of a minor variation is £20. The cost of varying the Designated Premises Manager is £31.
The application form can be found here
Transfer of licence
A premises licence holder may apply to the Licensing Board for the transfer of the premises licence.
Section 33 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 allows the holder of a current Premises Licence to transfer that licence to another person.
- The transferee must not be aged under 18,
- The application must include the premises licence to which the application relates or a statement of reason for failure to produce the licence.
Section 34 of the 2005 Act allows a Premises Licence to be transferred by a person (aged 18 or over) other than the licence holder.
A person other than the holder of a premises licence may within 28 days of the occurrence of any of the events below, apply to the Licensing Board for the transfer to that person of the premises licence.
The events referred to are the premises licence holder, being an individual
- dies, or
- becomes incapable within the meaning of section 1 (6) of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
- the premises licence holder , being an individual, a partnership or a company, becomes insolvent,
- the premises licence holder, being a person other than an individual, a partnership or a company, is dissolved, and
- the business carried on in the licensed premises to which the licence relates is transferred (whether by sale or otherwise) to another person
The application is form is here
Operating Plan Guidance
An operating plan will detail the following,
- The activities to be carried out on the premises i.e. live music, functions, outside drinking space
- The times when alcohol will be sold,
- Whether alcohol is to be sold for consumption on or off the premises or both,
- Times when any activities other than the sale of alcohol will be carried out,
- Where alcohol is to be sold on the premises,
- A statement detailing whether children or young people will be allow on the premises and if so details of when they can be present, times and parts of the premises they can enter,
- The capacity of the premises, for onsales that will be the maximum number pf persons that can be permitted and for off sales that will be the m2 for the area where alcohol will be displayed.
- Specific information about the premises manager
and any other relevant information.