Planning a Bonfire Night Event at your Pub? Check Your Licensing Permissions

Bonfire Night is quickly approaching which means your pub might be preparing to welcome visitors to fireworks, warming drinks and hot food from the barbecue. If you’re planning to host an event in your beer garden or you want to extend the evening celebrations with an outdoor bar and live music, now is the time to make sure you’ve got the correct licensing arrangements in place.

Alongside organising the relevant suppliers, staffing and ticket sales, you’ll need to ensure that your current premises licence covers your plans. Selling alcohol outdoors, using other space attached to your premises or serving food and drink later in the evening than usual may require extra permissions. If additional permissions are required, you’ll need to allow time for the relevant notice or application process. Leaving these checks and applications too late could mean your event is unable to go ahead as planned.

Do you need a licence for a Bonfire Night event?

There isn’t one ‘Bonfire Night licence’ that covers every event. The question is whether your current licence will cover your proposed alcohol sales, regulated entertainment or late-night refreshment for the event, or whether an exemption applies.

When planning your event, review your current premises licence, its conditions and the attached plan. We recommend focusing on the permitted activities, hours, the areas covered and any restrictions that may affect outdoor activities.

Remember that a firework display also requires its own safety planning. A premises licence or Temporary Event Notice does not replace the separate checks and arrangements required for fireworks.

When reviewing your licence and its permitted activities, consider the following:

 

Does your premises licence cover your beer garden or outdoor bar?

An outdoor bar is a great way to serve customers who are enjoying the bonfire and fireworks. However, simply owning the land doesn’t mean you’re authorised to sell alcohol.

Selling alcohol from a temporary bar that’s been set up in your beer garden, car park or adjoining land raises different questions from customers buying drinks at the indoor bar and carrying them outside.

Consider where the alcohol sales will take place, where the customers will drink and whether your existing premises licence covers these arrangements.

The team at Complete Licensing can review the licence against your proposed layout and advise you on whether additional permission is required. If outdoor events are likely to become a regular part of your business, we can discuss whether a premises licence variation is more suitable.

 

Will your Bonfire Night event include music?

You might be planning to add additional entertainment to the Bonfire Night celebrations in the form of a singer, band or DJ. Some live and recorded music played at qualifying alcohol licensed premises is exempt from entertainment licensing between 8am and 11pm for audiences of no more than 500. The conditions of your licence will matter here so pay attention to the status of your outdoor area and any relevant licence review conditions.

When asking for advice about permissions for your event, explain the proposed music, audience size, timing and performance area so your adviser can understand what will fall within your existing licence and what will require extra consideration.

Even if an entertainment exemption applies to your premises, make sure your plans for the event include minimising the disturbance to neighbours as speaker positioning, volume and the way customers leave the premises can all affect the evening’s impact on your local area.

Are you serving food or keeping the bar open later?

If you plan to serve hot food or hot drinks between 11pm and 5am, you will usually require authorisation forlate-night refreshment, unless an exemption applies. You will need to check whether your existing premises licence covers the proposed hours and area. If it doesn’t, seek advice on whether a TEN or premises licence variation would be required before advertising your event.

You will also need to consider separate finish times for your bar, entertainment and food service as this can influence the permissions required for each activity. Ensure you review your licence and any applicable non-standard timings, before advertising a later service.

 

When might you need a Temporary Event Notice for Bonfire Night?

A Temporary Event Notice (TEN)may be required for occasional licensable activities outside your existing permissions.

For a TEN to be applicable, the event must involve fewer than 500 people at any one time, including staff, and last no longer than 168 hours. Personal and premises annual limits also apply.

If you’re intending to host your event on Thursday 5th November 2026, the latest standard TEN submission date is Wednesday 21st October. The latest late TEN date is Wednesday 28th October. Standard notices require 10 clear working days; late notices require between five and nine. Submission and event days and weekends are excluded from these timings.

Ensure you submit your application early and confirm your arrangements with your local council. An objection from the police or environmental health can prevent a late TEN from being granted.

If your event falls outside the limits of a TEN, you may require a different licensing route. Depending on what your existing licence already covers, you may need to vary your premises licence or apply for a new licence. These applications take longer so seek advice early.

 

Ensure your pub’s Bonfire Night licensing arrangements cover your event

Before finalising your event and inviting people to it, check your premises licence and plan, event date, the proposed layout, expected attendance and timings for alcohol, food and entertainment. Having all of these details together will help you identify any gaps while there is still time to act.

Complete Licensing can review your existing permissions, assess whether a TEN is suitable and help you prepare and submit the notice. Where a different application is required, our team can explain the options and timescales available to you.

 

Planning a Bonfire Night event at your pub? Contact Complete Licensing to discuss your plans.