Christmas and New Year are when many venues want to open later, and when community groups, businesses and organisers hold one-off events. If the event involves selling alcohol, providing regulated entertainment or serving hot food late at night, and it is not covered by an existing licence, you will usually need a Temporary Event Notice, often called a TEN.
This guide covers the rules in England and Wales under the Licensing Act 2003. Always check the details with your local council’s licensing team.
What a TEN covers
- Fewer than 500 people at any one time, which means a maximum of 499 including staff, performers and anyone else on site.
- An event lasting no more than 168 hours, which is seven days.
- Up to 15 TENs per premises in a calendar year, covering no more than 21 days in total.
- Up to 50 TENs a year for a personal licence holder, or 5 a year for anyone else aged 18 or over.
- At least 24 hours between events at the same premises given by the same person or their associates.
- A fee of £21 per notice.
The deadlines to watch
A standard TEN must be given at least ten clear working days before the event. Clear working days do not include the day you give the notice, the day the event starts, weekends or bank holidays, and Christmas Day counts as a bank holiday.
That matters over the festive period. For a New Year’s Eve event on Thursday 31 December 2026, the Christmas Day and Boxing Day bank holidays both fall inside the count, so by our reckoning the last day to give a standard TEN is Monday 14 December. We would recommend applying in November to be safe.
A late TEN can be given between five and nine clear working days before the event, but there are tighter limits: ten a year for personal licence holders and two for everyone else. If the police or environmental health object to a late TEN, it is automatically refused and there is no hearing.
Who can object
The police and your council’s environmental health team can object to a TEN within three working days if they think the event would undermine the licensing objectives. Those objectives are the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.
Where security fits in
A TEN does not automatically require door supervisors, but a clear security plan shows the police and the council that you have thought about crime, disorder and public safety. For busier festive events, that usually means SIA-licensed door supervisors on the entrance, a clear search and entry policy, a plan for capacity and dispersal, and a record of any incidents. It can also make the difference if the police have concerns about your event.
We provide door supervisors and event security for one-off events across Devon and the South West, and we are happy to help you think through a security plan before you submit your notice. Request a free quote.