Guide
Capacity conditions on a premises licence: what actually binds you
Updated
Licensing is the regime people assume sets venue capacity. It usually does not. It only enforces a number when one has been written into your licence.
What the Licensing Act 2003 actually does
The Act creates the requirement for a premises licence to carry on licensable activities, including the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment such as live and recorded music, dance and indoor sporting events, and hot food and drink between 11pm and 5am (gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk). It contains no national occupancy formula. Capacity enters through conditions, which the licensing authority can attach to promote the licensing objectives, and through the operating schedule you propose yourself.
Where your capacity condition comes from
- Your own operating schedule. Applicants frequently offer a capacity figure to reassure the authority. Once granted, it is a condition and breaching it is a licence breach.
- A responsible authority's representation. The fire and rescue authority or the police can make representations, and a capacity condition is a common outcome.
- The fire safety figure, imported. Most capacity conditions trace back to a safe occupancy calculated for fire safety rather than to any separate licensing calculation.
- Review. A licence can be reviewed on the application of a responsible authority or any other person, and conditions including capacity can be added at review.
The practical points
Application fees are based on the rateable value of the property and range from £100 to £1,905 depending on the fee band, with premises that have no rateable value falling into the lowest band. Most premises licences run for an unlimited duration but carry an annual fee. The licence summary must be displayed where it can easily be seen, and the other pages kept safely at the premises for inspection by police or council officers (gov.uk, figures as published on 14 August 2026).
When your numbers change
If your realistic maximum attendance rises, three things move at once: your fire risk assessment needs reviewing, any capacity condition may need varying, and your position against the 200 and 800 thresholds in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 may change tier. Doing one and not the others is the usual failure. Run the checker again after any layout or programming change.
A club premises certificate is the equivalent route for a members' club. The capacity logic is the same: the number binds you when it appears as a condition.