Public holiday - Monday 25th September
We will be closed on Monday 25th September for the public holiday
A Public Entertainment Licence is required for the use of premises as a place of public entertainment.
Changes in legislation have removed the previous exemption for holders of an Occasional Licence from the requirement to also hold a public entertainment licence. By law it will be a criminal offence to hold an event for which a public entertainment licence is required without such a licence, without reasonable excuse, liable on summary conviction to a fine or imprisonment or both.
Read further guidance about this here.
Please note that this licence runs on a 3 yearly basis, which at present is 1st July 2021 to 30th June 2024. The application fee for a 1 year licence from 1st July 2023 is £175, or £149 for a temporary licence.
Apply Online
If you prefer, you can also download the forms:
Public Entertainment licence - application for new licence
Public Entertainment licence - renewal
Schedule of conditions for public entertainment licences
For a new grant application, a notice requires to be displayed on or near the premises (to allow passers-by to view) for 21 days. Once the notice has been displayed for this period, the certificate of compliance requires to be filled in accordingly and returned to the licensing office.
The information you have supplied on this form will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data. A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found here:
Applications must:
If the entertainment is to be carried out mainly or wholly in premises, the application must also contain either of the following:
Regulation Summary
A summary of the regulation relating to this licence
£175 (1 year) or £149 for a temporary licence
Telephone: 01546 604128 or licensing@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Argyll and Bute Council
Legal and Regulatory Support
Licensing Section
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
PA31 8RT
A “place of public entertainment” means any place where members of the public are admitted or may use any facilities for the purposes of entertainment or recreation.
A Public Entertainment Licence is not required for the following:
If the application is for entertainment that will be mainly or wholly on the premises you must display a public notice detailing your application, in a public place at or near the premises for 21 days from the date the application is submitted. The notice must contain details relating to the application, where objections and representations can be made and how the objections and representations can be made.
If you are required to place a notice you must supply the licensing authority with a certificate confirming you have complied with the requirement.
Voluntary / Charitable organisations
A guide for Voluntary / Charitable organisations
We will:
The register must be available for inspection by any member of the public at reasonable times and places and any member of the public must be allowed to make a copy of it. A fee will be required for this service.
Where we fail to make a decision within six months of the application, the licence is held to be granted or renewed.
If you have made an application for a licence and it has been refused
You may ask us for the reasons for our decision to refuse your application within 21 days of the decision date.
You may appeal to the sheriff against the decision, within 28 days of the decision, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.
The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had:
You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.
Appeals - Licence Holders
Appeals against the refusal of an application must be made to the Sheriff Principal of North Strathclyde, Paisley Sheriff Court, St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2AW.
You may appeal if we decide to suspend a licence, not to renew a licence, or not to consent to material changes to the premises or vehicle used in the course of a licence holder's work. You may appeal against the decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as you have already followed any available procedure to state your case to ourselves.
The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, have:
You may then appeal on a point of law from the sheriff's decision to the Court of Session within 28 days from the date of the sheriff’s decision.
Objections or representations relating to a licence application may be made in writing to the licensing section, within 28 days of notice of the licence application being given, stating:
Police Scotland, or anyone who has made a relevant objection or representation regarding the licence, may appeal against a decision within 28 days of being notified, as long as they have already followed any available procedure in terms of stating their case to ourselves.
The appeal will only be successful if the sheriff considers that we, in making our decision, had: