Two licences sit behind every venue that sells alcohol. The premises licence belongs to the venue. A personal licence belongs to a person, and allows them to sell alcohol or to authorise others to sell it.
The rules
- Premises licensed to sell alcohol must have a designated premises supervisor, the DPS, who holds a personal licence.
- No alcohol may be supplied at a time when there is no DPS, or when the DPS does not hold a personal licence or it is suspended.
- Every supply of alcohol must be made or authorised by someone who holds a personal licence.
- Staff do not need a personal licence to work in a pub or another business that sells alcohol.
Why a change of DPS is not a lead
When a manager leaves, the licence holder applies to name a new supervisor, and councils publish these applications alongside the others. They can outnumber everything else on a register: in the Leeds sample for 10 October to 9 November 2026, 33 of 55 records were manager changes and minor variations.
A new manager rarely means a refit or new suppliers, so CiviFlow leaves these out. A transfer of the licence itself is different: that is the business changing hands.