If you wish to sell alcohol from premises that are not licensed for the sale of alcohol, for example local halls, community centre etc, you will need an occasional licence from Falkirk Council Licensing Board.

You can apply for an occasional licence for a maximum of 14 days but usually they are granted for single, one-off events such as a wedding reception, birthday party or fund raising dance.

There are strict rules on who can apply for an occasional licence. You must be:

  • the holder of a premises licence; or
  • the holder of a personal licence; or
  • a representative of a voluntary organisation.

If you are a voluntary organisation the Licensing Board is limited to issuing in any rolling 12-month period:

  • not more than 4 occasional licences for a period of 4 to 14 days
  • not more than 12 occasional licences for a period of less than four days

The total number of licences issued to a voluntary organisation must not cover more than 56 days in any 12 month period.

These restrictions also apply to premises which operate as a members club, for example bowling clubs, golf clubs or social clubs, and which do not generally allow members of the public access.

Applications for Occasional Licences are advertised on our website for a continuous period of 7 days. Any person may object to an Occasional Licence application within the period of 7 days starting on the day when details are published on the web site.

Mandatory conditions will be attached to your licence and the Board may decide to put additional conditions on your occasional licence. The mandatory conditions and examples of additional conditions are available to download.

The Board's Statement of Licensing Policy has a section about occasional licences. You should read this before submitting your application.

The Board's Statement of Licensing Policy states that all applications for occasional licences must now be accompanied by a written statement detailing how the 5 licensing objectives will be promoted by the licence holder at the event.

To help applicants, we have attached a pro forma to the application form to be completed. If you require assistance with this, please contact one of the Licensing Standards Officers to make an appointment.

Applicants for an occasional licence for large scale events will require to submit an Alcohol Management Plan. You can download our template to assist you.


How to apply

The Occasional Licence application form is available for download:

Application form for an Occasional Licence

Your completed application form and fee should be sent to: