Every licensed premises in Scotland must have a designated premises manager (DPM) who works on the premises in order to sell alcohol under Schedule 3 Premises Licence Mandatory Conditions of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. The only premises which are exempt from these requirements are clubs operating in terms of the Licensing (Clubs) (Scotland) Regulations 2007.
Please note that all the Licensing web pages are intended to guide you through the procedures associated with making an application for a licence. They are not intended to summarise relatively complex areas of the law. Anyone using these pages should obtain independent advice from their own solicitors or advice centre.
Covid 19 - The impact of the Coronavirus (COVID -19) continues to have a significant impact on the processing of licence applications. Please consult the Scottish Government website for information on any covid restrictions which may affect the operation of your licence.
Please note the following information in relation to premises managers;
Every premises must have a specified designated premises manager who works at the premises.
Any individual intending to be a designated premises manager must also be the holder of a valid Personal Licence.
A person can only be the designated premises manager of one premises at a time.
If your designated premises manager stops working at the premises for any reason, or his licence expires or is revoked or suspended, the licence holder must notify the Licensing Board within one week or the premises will not be able to continue selling alcohol.
The application can only be made by the premises licence holder [82.38KB] as stated on the licence. If you are naming a new person as your designated premises manager then you need to apply for a variation to your premises licence and you need to ensure that the person you are going to nominate is not currently named as a designated premises manager at any other premises within Scotland.
If your new premises manager has a personal licence which was issued by another Board in Scotland then you must include a copy of their personal licence with your application.
You need to complete the application form [91.21KB] and return it with the appropriate fee of £31, your principal premises licence (i.e. not a copy) including the layout plan and a copy of the proposed new premises managers personal licence to West Lothian Licensing Board. If all parts of the premises licence are not available you must provide a statement of the reason for failure to produce the whole licence.
If any of the events listed below happen with your designated premises manager;
the premises manager resigns
the premises manager is dismissed
the premises manager becomes incapable for any reason of acting as the manager, for example, if his personal licence expires
the premises manager dies or
the personal licence held by the premises manager is revoked or suspended
Then the premises licence holder, must, not later than 28 days after the occurrence of the event, give notice [76.89KB] to the Licensing Board. (Section 54 Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, as amended by Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020)
If the premises licence holder fails to notify the Board within 28 days of the events above having taken place, then the premises licence will be varied by the Board to remove the premises manager. This would result in the premises not being able to sell alcohol until this had been rectified by means of a variation application.
If you have given notice to the Board within 28 days as mentioned above then you must nominate a new designated premises manager within a period of 3 months from the date of the occurrence above.
Once you are ready, within the 3 month period, to name a new person as your designated premises manager then you need to apply [91.21KB] for a variation to your premises licence. This application can only be made by the premises licence holder and you need to ensure that the person you are going to nominate is not currently named as a designated premises manager at any other premises within Scotland and that their refresher training is up to date.
You need to complete the application form [91.21KB] and return it with the appropriate fee of £31, all parts of the principal premises licence (copies will not be accepted) including the layout plan and a copy of your proposed new premises managers personal licence to West Lothian Licensing Board. If all parts of the premises licence are not available you must provide a statement of the reason for failure to produce the whole licence.
Details of how to make application are contained in the guidance notes attached to the application.
If your application is correctly completed it will be processed without delay and will take effect immediately and you will be advised as soon as the application has been processed.
Before submitting your application please check that:
The application has been signed by the licence holder (or an agent on their behalf)
If applicable, confirmation from the licence holder that the agent can make the application is enclosed, unless the agent is a professional licensing agent;
You have enclosed all 4 parts of the premises licence - copies cannot be accepted
Your proposed premises manager:
is not a premises manager anywhere else in Scotland,
has a personal licence, and
a copy of their full licence is enclosed so we can check they are up to date with their refresher training.
Please note applications will not be processed until they have been checked by the Licensing Team to ensure the application is competent.
Please ensure you provide an up to date telephone number and email address for the applicant in order that we can contact you if there are issues with the application.
If your complaint relates to the manner in which your application was processed, then you should address it in the first instance to the Clerk of the Licensing Board, West Lothian Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston EH54 6FF.
