Personal licences are issued by Perth and Kinross Licensing Board for a period of 10 years. However, in terms of Section 87 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, there is a legal requirement for personal licence holders to undertake refresher training and pass an exam to obtain a refresher training certificate within 5 years of the date of issue of their personal licence.
Each personal licence holder will be sent a letter by Perth and Kinross Licensing Board no later than 3 months before the end of 5 years of their licence being issued that they are due to undertake refresher training. The letter contains the dates by which you must undergo the training and submit the certificate to the Licensing Board for your licence to be updated. For example, if the personal licence was issued on 1 September 2018, the refresher training must be undertaken no later than 1 September 2023 and submitted to the Licensing Board no later than 1 December 2023.
It is essential that you comply with these requirements should you wish to continue to hold your personal licence beyond the statutory deadline for you to produce evidence of your training to the Licensing Board.
The consequences of the revocation could include the premises licence holder being no longer permitted to sell alcohol on their premises, unless appropriate steps are taken to name an alternative personal licence holder as the designated premises manager. In addition, personal licence holders, who have their licences revoked, will no longer be allowed to authorise sales of alcohol or conduct the mandatory staff training. If your licence is revoked for failure to complete the training and you still wish to hold a personal licence, you will have to make a new application for a personal licence.
If you are in any doubt how to calculate the statutory deadlines involved in undertaking and passing the training and then producing evidence of the completed refresher training to the Licensing Board, you should take advice from a licensing solicitor or agent immediately.
At the end of the second 5 year period from when your licence was granted you will need to undertake further refresher training and renew your licence, please see our Renewing your Personal Licence webpage.
The refresher training should be arranged through a recognised trainer. The course required is the Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (Refresher) at SCQF Level 6. It is not the same course sat over 5 years ago to be able to apply for a personal licence, you must sit the course AND the exam to be awarded the Certificate. Sitting the course on its own is not sufficient. View a list of training providers (PDF) [191KB] available. Please note, there are other trainers available.
What are the statutory deadlines?
The first statutory deadline is the date 5 years after your licence was issued. You can calculate that by working back 5 years from the date your licence is due to expire. This is the date by which you need to pass a refresher training course. You need to examine your personal licence to work out what date your refresher training needs to be completed and passed by.
The second statutory deadline is the date by which you need to submit your training certificate to the Licensing Board. This is the date 3 months after the date by which you need to pass a refresher training course.
For example: if your licence is due to expire on 31 August 2028, then it was issued on 1 September 2018. The first deadline is 31 August 2023 so you must have passed the refresher training course by then, and you must have submitted the form to the Board by the second deadline, 30 November 2023.
What do I need to do?
You need to examine your personal licence to work out what date your refresher training needs to be completed and passed by. You then need to book a place on a course with a training provider offering the required training, sit and pass the exam.
For example: if your licence is due to expire on 31 August 2028, then it was issued on 1 September 2018. The first deadline for refresher training is 1 September 2023 so you must have passed the refresher training course by then, and the second deadline is 30 November 2023 which is the date by which we must have received a copy of the training certificate and returned your licence to be updated.
You will be sent a reminder letter to the address on your licence. It is important if you have changed your name or address that you notify the Board within 30 days of any of these changes.
Do not delay in booking a course. You need to book a place on a course in sufficient time for you to sit and pass the required training within 5 years of the date of issue of your personal licence and for your training certificate to be issued by no later than that date. You will then have a period of 3 months to provide evidence of your training to Perth and Kinross Licensing Board i.e. a copy of your training certificate must be received by the Board no later than 3 months after the expiry of the 5 year period.
The refresher training should be arranged through a recognised trainer. The course and exam required is the Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (Refresher) at SCQF Level 6. It is not the same course as that prior to December 2020. A list of accredited training providers locally and online can be found in the Downloads section. Other providers can be found online.
After you complete the refresher training
Once you have completed and passed the refresher training course, you need to inform the Perth and Kinross Licensing Board. You can provide evidence of your training by either:-
- Emailing a copy of your training certificate to liquorlicensing@pkc.gov.uk together with the Personal Licence Refresher Training Application Form (PDF) [36KB] and if you have an original laminated licence, this must be returned to us by post. If your licence was emailed to you (this started in 2020) you do not need to return it to us, but you should ensure you destroy any previous versions of your licence.
- Posting a copy of your training certificate and your original personal licence to us (the original, not a copy is required), together with the Personal Licence Refresher Training Application Form (PDF) [36KB] . The form can be posted to: Licensing Team, Perth and Kinross Council, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD. If you are posting your certificate, please obtain a proof of posting from the post office.
If the personal licence holder has changed name and/or address, please enter those details on the application form. Evidence of change of name should also be provided, for example, a copy the relevant marriage/civil partnership or divorce certificate.
NOTE: Since 2020 all personal licences have been sent out by email. If you received your licence by email, there is no need to return it to us, however you MUST destroy any copies you may have once your receive your updated personal licence. Previous versions are no longer valid.
Where a personal licence is issued by another licensing board, that board should be contacted.
There is no cost for updating a personal licence unless the original licence has been lost or misplaced. In that event, please complete the declaration in the application form and also send in one passport sized photograph in the manner set out in the form together with a fee of £10. Do not delay returning the application form if you have lost or misplaced the personal licence. The deadlines for the refresher training must still be met.
What happens if I fail to comply?
In terms of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 licensing boards must revoke the personal licence of any personal licence holder who has not sat and passed refresher training within 5 years of the date of issue of their personal licence and provided evidence of that to the Licensing Board no later than 3 months after the end of their relevant 5 year period.
What if I undertake personal licence refresher training late i.e. after my first statutory deadline and provide evidence of it to the Licensing Board on time i.e. by my second statutory deadline?
Your personal licence will be revoked as complying with your second deadline makes no difference if you have missed your first deadline. You should not undertake refresher training after your first statutory deadline as, even if you sit and pass the course, by law your training certificate will be worthless.
What if I sit and pass refresher training by my first statutory deadline and there is a delay in getting my training certificate?
The second statutory deadline gives you up to 3 months to obtain your training certificate once you have sat and passed the refresher training course on time. However, you should obtain your training certificate and provide evidence of it to the Licensing Board as soon as possible after sitting and passing the course. You must avoid delay which could result in your having any difficulty in complying with the second statutory deadline i.e. providing evidence of your training to the Licensing Board after sitting and passing the course. If in any doubt you should take this up with the training provider who has provided your training just as soon as possible.
What if I don't send my Certificate in by the second statutory deadline?
Your personal licence will be revoked as you have failed to comply with the second deadline.
What if the details contained on my personal licence have changed?
If you wish to continue to hold your personal licence you should still make arrangements to sit and pass refresher training in accordance with the statutory deadlines which apply to you.
You are also required to inform the Licensing Board within a month of any change to your name or address. You must send a letter to the Licensing Team containing notice of the change together with your original personal licence or a statement of reasons for failure to produce it.
If at the time of providing evidence of your personal licence refresher training and your original personal licence your name or address has changed within the last month, you should include this in your letter to the Licensing Team and your new name or address will be added to your personal licence at the same time as it is updated to contain details of your personal licence holder refresher training.
What if I no longer wish to hold my personal licence?
You can surrender your personal licence at any time by sending a letter or email to Perth and Kinross Licensing Team advising you wish to surrender your licence. If you have a personal licence issued by post, you must return it to the licensing team at Perth and Kinross Council, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD. If you no longer have your licence a statement of reasons for failure to produce it must accompany the letter. If your licence was issued by email, you must confirm in your email to us that you have destroyed any copies of your licence you may have as they are no longer valid.
Can Perth and Kinross Licensing Team help arrange personal licence refresher training for me?
The Licensing Team does not provide training or have any connection with training providers. You or your employer must arrange for you to undertake the training required. A list of providers is available on our website to assist, but we do not assess their suitability. Other providers can also be found on the internet.
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