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Apply for a Temporary Event Notice
You’ll need a Temporary Events Notice (TEN) if you want to hold an event where you'll:
- sell alcohol
- be supplied with alcohol for the event by a members club
- provide regulated entertainment, including music, singing or dancing
- provide hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am
You don't need a TEN if the premises you're holding the event at:
- already has a club premises certificate under the Licensing Act 2003
- has a premises licence which covers the timings and activities of the event
If you're applying on behalf of a business or club, you'll need decide who's going to act as the premises user who is responsible for making sure the terms and conditions of the TEN are followed.
Applying
If you’re going to run an event which will be attended by:
- 500 people or more, last more than 7 days or where there is less than 24 hours between events, you’ll need a premises licence
- less than 500 people (including all staff and organisers), last up to 7 days and where there is at least 24 hours between events, you’ll need a temporary event notice
You can't submit an application for another TEN within 24 hours of each event.
A TEN can be used for indoor and outdoor events.
If you don’t have the appropriate permission when you need it, you could be sent to prison.
You'll need to pay £21 for a temporary event notice.
There are two types of temporary event notice - standard and late. You’ll be applying for a:
- standard temporary event notice if you apply online or by email, no later than 10 clear working days before the event starts
- late temporary event notice if you apply within 9 clear working days and no later than 5 clear working days before the event starts
Clear working days exclude weekends, Bank Holidays, and the day of the event.
Limitations
A location or premises can have up to 15 TENs within any calendar year.
A TEN can't exceed 168 hours.
Each TEN you receive covers one 24 hour period, so any event that starts at 5pm and finishes at 1am the following day, requires two TENs for example.
If you:
- have a personal licence, you can apply for up to 50 standard and up to 10 late temporary event notices within a year
- don’t have a personal licence, you can apply for up to 5 standard and up to 2 late temporary event notices within a year
Applying
Download the application form to apply for a Temporary Event Notice (PDF 354KB).
Once you've completed the application form, email it to licensing@swale.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can post it to:
Licensing Team
Swale House
East Street
Sittingbourne
Kent
ME10 3HT
You can pay for a Temporary Event Notice online. You'll need a credit or debit card.
What happens next
Once we’ve received your application, we'll consult with the police and environmental health. If there are no objections then the notice will be approved.
The Police and environmental health have 3 days to respond to the consultation.
If we need additional information, we will contact you.
Objections
If we receive objections to your event, a hearing will be held. Three councillors will decide:
- if your event can go ahead
- if the event needs conditions adding to it so it doesn't undermine the licensing objectives
If you've:
- applied for a standard TEN and you disagree with our decision, you can appeal to the local magistrate's court within 21 days of receiving our response and at least 5 working days before the event is due to take place
- applied for a late TEN and we receive objections to you application, your event won't be able to take place and you won't be able to appeal our decision