Apply for a Sex Establishment Licence

Overview

Here you will find information on how to apply for the following:

Grant of a new Sex Establishment licence, 
Renewal of an existing Sex Establishment licence, 
Transfer of an existing Sex Establishment licence,
Variation of an Sex Establishment existing licence

We recommend that you read the Council's Rules Governing Applications and general information before making the application.

Applications can be submitted and paid for on-line or sent to the licensing team by post with your payment. If the application is sent by post you will also need to send a copy of the application to the Police at the following address Police Licensing Office, 72 Earl’s Court Road, London W8 6EQ.

Licence Fee

The licence fee is payable when submitting your application and the amount of the fee varies depending on the type of application you are making. Please see the list of Licensing Fees to see how much you will have to pay. If applying on line you will need a debit or credit card. We accept MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards.

Your security, our responsibility

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea takes internet security extremely seriously. All online payment transactions take place through secure networks using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). This technology encrypts all the information involved in a transaction, for example your credit card details, vehicle registration number or Council Tax account number, so that it is unrecognisable and safe.

Security indicators
If you look at your browser window you will see an unbroken key or lock which shows you the website area is secure. We do not store your credit card or debit card details. Once you have completed this transaction we do not keep your credit card details on our servers

Before you apply for a Sex Establishment Licence 

As part of your application, you will need to provide the following

• the Sex Establishment Licence Application Form that is relevant to you.
• Premises plan (New Grant and Variation applications involving a change to the licensed area)
• Evidence of planning permission for the proposed use (New Grant and Variation applications involving an extension of hours or an increase in the licensed area)
• Copy of the lease/tenancy agreement (New Grant and Transfer applications)
• Copy of the site notice
• Licence Fees

If you do not have electronic copies, scanned documents are acceptable, providing the relevant information is clear.

If you're unable to provide electronic versions of these documents you can forward copies to the Licensing Team by post after you have submitted your application, however, the processing of your application may be delayed until all relevant documents have been received by the Licensing Team

After you have applied for a Sex Establishment Licence

You must now advertise your application by means of a notice displayed at the premises for 21 consecutive days starting on the day your application is submitted to the Council, and a notice published in the local press within 7 days of the day your application is submitted to the Council. Please contact the licensing team for a copy of the notice to be displayed at the premises.

The consultation period will finish 28 days after the date the application was submitted to the Council. We will contact you either during or after the consultation period has ended to let you know the next steps.

If you are applying for the renewal of your licence and you submit your application and fee to the Licensing Team before your current licence expires, you  can continue to operate while your application is being processed even though the date on your licence may have expired.