Late Night Refreshments

Planning to serve, collect or deliver hot food or hot drink after 11pm?

Complete Licensing helps restaurants, takeaways, cafés, delivery kitchens, mobile food operators and other businesses identify the correct permission, prepare a properly evidenced application and respond to local-authority concerns.

We also independently stress-test existing late-night premises and provide clearly scoped technical consultancy and expert-witness support to solicitors.

Discuss my late-night licensing matterSolicitors: discuss an expert instruction

Complete Licensing is an independent licensing consultancy. We are not a firm of solicitors and are not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

What do you need help with?

I want to open later or start a new business

We can assess whether you may need a new premises licence, a variation to an existing licence or a Temporary Event Notice, then help prepare the application, operating schedule and supporting evidence.

Plan my application

I already operate late at night

We can compare your licence, conditions and procedures with what happens in practice — including order cut-offs, collections, deliveries and closing arrangements — and identify potential weaknesses before an inspection, complaint or review does.

Arrange a compliance stress test

I am a solicitor or professional adviser

We provide technical consultants and, where appropriate, independent expert witnesses for late night refreshment licensing and premises-compliance matters. Your firm retains the legal strategy, conduct of the matter and client relationship.

Discuss a professional instruction

Do you need late night refreshment authorisation?

In England and Wales, supplying hot food or hot drink to the public between 23:00 and 05:00 is generally a licensable activity under the Licensing Act 2003. This applies whether the food or drink is consumed on or away from the premises.

Food or drink can be considered “hot” where it has been heated so that it can be consumed above the ambient air temperature.

The time of supply matters. This will commonly be when a meal is served or a takeaway is handed to the customer — not necessarily when the order was placed or paid for.

What people commonly call a “late night refreshment licence”, “late-night food licence” or “takeaway licence after 11pm” is normally permission provided through:

• A premises licence.
• A variation to an existing premises licence.
• A Temporary Event Notice for qualifying temporary activity.

A new premises licence may be appropriate for regular late-night trading. If the premises already has a licence but the activity, area, days or hours are not authorised, a variation may be required.

A Temporary Event Notice may be suitable for a limited event or temporary extension, subject to strict notice periods and operating limits. It should not be treated as a permanent substitute for the correct premises licence.

Exemptions must be checked carefully

Some supplies are exempt under the Act. Examples can include certain customer-operated hot-drink vending machines, genuine free or charitable supplies, supplies to overnight guests or employees in specified circumstances, and supplies made on a vehicle while it is moving.

A parked mobile takeaway is not exempt simply because it operates from a vehicle.

Licensing authorities can also adopt local exemptions covering designated areas, specified premises types or particular periods between 23:00 and 05:00. These are not automatic exemptions for individual businesses and can change.

Selling only cold food and cold non-alcoholic drinks after 23:00 is not, by itself, the provision of late night refreshment. Other premises-licence conditions, planning restrictions and regulatory requirements may still apply.

The licensing regimes in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different. This page concerns the Licensing Act 2003 regime in England and Wales.

Late night refreshment application support

A strong application should explain both the hours requested and how the proposed operation will promote all four licensing objectives:

• The prevention of crime and disorder.
• Public safety.
• The prevention of public nuisance.
• The protection of children from harm.

The appropriate controls depend on the premises, location, customer journey and proposed hours. A city-centre takeaway, restaurant beneath residential flats, delivery-only kitchen and parked mobile food unit can present very different issues.

Depending on the agreed scope, Complete Licensing can assist with:

• An initial licensing-route and application-readiness assessment.
• New premises licence applications.
• Assessment of whether a full or minor-variation process may be available.
• Applications to add late night refreshment or extend existing hours.
• Temporary Event Notices for temporary late-night trading.
• Review of an existing licence, plan, authorised activities and conditions.
• Pre-acquisition checks before taking a lease or buying a business.
• Review of the licensing authority’s statement of policy.
• Review of any relevant cumulative impact assessment.
• Consideration of locally preferred or framework hours.
• Development of a premises-specific operating schedule.
• Practical measures addressing noise, queues, litter, dispersal, deliveries, collections, security and public safety.
• Preparation or review of staff instructions and supporting procedures.
• Coordination of application forms, plans, notices and publication requirements.
• Early engagement with responsible authorities where appropriate.
• Responses to questions, representations and proposed conditions.
• Preparation of applicants, managers and witnesses for meetings or hearings.
• Review of the licence issued following a successful application.
• Support with implementing the granted hours and conditions.

We define who will prepare, approve and submit each part of the application before work begins. The applicant remains responsible for the accuracy of information and declarations made in its name.

Turn the proposed hours into a credible operational case

Late-night applications frequently attract concerns about what could happen outside the premises as well as inside it.

Depending on the location and business model, the application may need to address:

• Customer queues and congregation.
• Noise from voices, doors, equipment and extraction systems.
• Litter, waste and odour.
• Delivery-driver and rider arrivals.
• Rider waiting areas and vehicle idling.
• Online orders placed close to the licensed terminal hour.
• Collection and dispatch arrangements.
• Lighting, CCTV and incident management.
• Staff supervision and escalation routes.
• Customer dispersal at closing time.
• Complaints and engagement with neighbours.
• The relationship between licensed hours, opening hours and planning restrictions.

We examine whether proposed measures are specific, proportionate, workable and capable of being evidenced.

We also test the operational effect of proposed licence conditions before they are agreed. Conditions that cannot be clearly understood or reliably implemented can create serious problems after the application has been determined.

No applicant can be promised a particular terminal hour. The licensing authority considers each application on its facts, local policy, any relevant representations and the licensing objectives.

Objections and licensing-authority hearings

If a responsible authority or another person makes a relevant representation that is not resolved or withdrawn, the licensing authority will normally hold a hearing.

Complete Licensing can support the application from the first representation through to the licensing sub-committee.

Under the Licensing Act hearing procedure, a party may be represented by someone who is not legally qualified. Subject to the applicable procedure and the authority’s directions, Complete Licensing can attend and speak on the applicant’s behalf at local-authority licensing hearings in England and Wales.

Our work can include:

• Analysing the representations and identifying the issues in dispute.
• Reviewing the evidence supporting or contradicting the concerns raised.
• Preparing written responses and supporting documents.
• Engaging with responsible authorities and residents where instructed.
• Examining the practical effect of proposed conditions.
• Identifying safeguards that are workable for the business.
• Preparing the applicant, managers and witnesses for questions.
• Presenting the practical licensing and operational case.
• Reviewing the decision and helping implement any conditions imposed.

Where a solicitor is instructed, we agree a clear division of responsibilities. The solicitor retains control of legal advice, legal strategy, privilege decisions, litigation and the client relationship. Complete Licensing provides the agreed premises, licensing, operational and evidential input.

An appeal against a licensing-authority decision is made to the magistrates’ court. Complete Licensing does not conduct litigation or claim reserved rights of audience in court.

If an appeal, judicial review, prosecution or other court proceeding arises, clients should obtain advice from an appropriately authorised solicitor or counsel without delay. Complete Licensing can support that legal team with factual evidence, premises analysis and appropriately scoped expert opinion.

Independent late-night premises compliance reviews

Would your operation withstand scrutiny tonight?

A business can have written procedures yet still operate outside its authorised hours, licensed plan or conditions.

Our independent compliance review — or regulatory-readiness stress test — examines the connection between the licence, written procedures, technology and what staff actually do.

The purpose is to identify potential weaknesses early, provide management with evidence-based findings and create a practical route to improvement.

Depending on the agreed scope, we can examine:

• The identity and status of the premises licence holder.
• Licensed activities, permitted hours and opening hours.
• The licensed plan and areas used for preparation, collection and dispatch.
• Conditions attached to the premises licence.
• Display and availability of licensing documents.
• Online-platform and point-of-sale settings.
• Orders placed shortly before 23:00 or the licensed terminal hour.
• When food is prepared, handed over, collected or dispatched.
• Customer, courier and delivery-rider procedures.
• Staff understanding of authorised hours and conditions.
• Closing, dispersal and external-area procedures.
• Noise from customers, equipment, extraction, doors and vehicles.
• Litter, waste, odour and cleaning arrangements.
• CCTV, lighting, security and incident records where relevant.
• Complaints and neighbour-engagement records.
• Use of Temporary Event Notices.
• Previous council correspondence, warnings and inspection findings.
• Differences between licensing hours, planning hours and actual operation.
• Changes in ownership, layout or business model that may require action.
• Right-to-work processes where relevant to the agreed scope.

The review can combine document examination, management interviews, staff sampling, scenario testing and a premises visit. Announced, unannounced and late-night observations can be considered where appropriate.

What you receive

Following the review, you can receive:

• Clear findings linked to the evidence examined.
• Prioritised risks and areas requiring attention.
• Practical corrective recommendations.
• An action plan with suggested owners and target dates.
• A management debrief.
• An optional follow-up review to test whether improvements have been embedded.

A Complete Licensing stress test is an independent consultancy assessment. It is not an official inspection, regulator approval, accreditation, food-hygiene audit or guarantee of compliance.

It does not prevent a council, police force or another authority from reaching its own conclusions, and responsibility for compliance remains with the premises licence holder and operator.

Arrange a late-night premises stress test

Technical and expert support for solicitors

Licensing expertise within your legal team — not in competition with it

Complete Licensing supports solicitors who need focused premises, operational or licensing expertise in a late night refreshment matter.

We respect the instructing firm’s retainer. Your firm retains the client relationship, legal advice, legal strategy, conduct of proceedings and decisions concerning privilege.

We work to the agreed questions, reporting line and communication protocol. We will not broaden the instruction, approach the client independently or provide competing legal services without prior agreement.

Three roles, clearly separated

Technical or consulting expert

Confidential technical analysis for the solicitor and legal team. This can include document review, operational testing, premises assessment, identification of evidential gaps and explanation of practical licensing processes.

Independent expert witness

Objective opinion from an appropriately qualified individual on matters within that person’s evidenced expertise.

Where CPR Part 35 or another procedural framework applies, the instruction and report will be scoped around the applicable duties and directions. The expert’s duty to the court or tribunal overrides obligations to the instructing party, and the expert does not act as an advocate.

Licensing consultant or representative

Applicant-facing consultancy, application management, responsible-authority engagement and representation at a local-authority licensing hearing.

The selected role is recorded in the engagement terms. Complete Licensing will not act as both a partisan representative and an independent expert in the same matter where doing so could compromise — or appear to compromise — the expert’s independence.

We can support legal teams with

• Early identification and scoping of technical licensing issues.
• Review of premises licences, plans, conditions and operating schedules.
• Analysis of application, inspection, enforcement and complaint chronologies.
• Independent desktop reviews and premises inspections.
• Comparison of written procedures with operational reality.
• Assessment of collection, delivery and terminal-hour controls.
• Analysis of noise, dispersal, litter, rider management and external areas.
• Crime-and-disorder, CCTV and premises-management evidence.
• Environmental-health and public-nuisance issues.
• Review of regulator correspondence and hearing material.
• Identification of missing evidence and further technical enquiries.
• Assessment of whether proposed conditions are operationally clear and workable.
• Reports addressing agreed technical questions.
• Conferences with the instructing solicitor, client and other experts.
• Expert discussions and joint statements where required.
• Oral expert evidence where instructed, permitted and within the expert’s competence.
• Technical assistance in preparation for licensing-authority or court proceedings.

Expert-witness instructions are accepted only after checking the proposed individual’s relevant expertise, availability, independence, conflicts position, applicable procedural requirements and the precise questions to be addressed.

Request an expert’s CV and availabilityDiscuss a technical consultancy instruction

How we work

1. Tell us what is proposed or what has happened

Provide the premises address, proposed activities and hours, current licence if one exists, operating and delivery model, regulator correspondence and any application, objection or hearing deadline.

2. We identify the route and define our role

We assess whether the matter appears to require a new premises licence, variation, Temporary Event Notice, compliance review or solicitor-led instruction.

We also identify issues that should be referred to a solicitor or another specialist. Deliverables, responsibilities, communication arrangements and fees are agreed before substantive work begins.

3. We prepare, examine or test

For an application, we develop the supporting material and coordinate the agreed process.

For a compliance review, we compare documented controls with operating practice.

For a solicitor-led matter, we work to the agreed technical questions and reporting arrangements.

4. We support the next stage

This may involve coordinating an application, responding to representations, attending a licensing hearing, preparing a report or helping management implement corrective actions.

Why bring in Complete Licensing?

Premises-specific work

A late-night takeaway beneath residential flats should not be approached in the same way as a restaurant, delivery kitchen, mobile food operation or occasional event.

Our work is shaped around the premises, locality, proposed hours and customer journey.

Practical testing

We look beyond the application form. Proposed conditions and procedures are tested against staffing, technology, collections, deliveries and the realities of operating late at night.

Evidence-led findings

A useful review distinguishes between what is documented, what was observed and what still needs to be verified.

Support beyond submission

Where agreed, support can continue through questions, representations, a hearing, licence implementation and subsequent compliance checking.

A solicitor-friendly model

We provide additional premises and licensing depth while protecting the instructing firm’s role, reporting arrangements and relationship with its client.

Clear professional boundaries

You will know whether we are acting as licensing consultants, hearing representatives, technical advisers or independent experts — and when an authorised legal professional should be involved.

Questions and answers

Before you get in touch

Tell us:

• The premises address and relevant local authority.
• The type of food or drink operation.
• Whether customers eat in, collect, receive deliveries or use a combination.
• The proposed days and hours.
• Whether a premises licence already exists.
• Whether you need an application, variation, TEN or compliance review.
• Whether representations, complaints or a hearing are involved.
• Any submission or hearing deadline.
• Whether you are an operator, solicitor or professional adviser.

We will identify the most useful next step: an application-readiness assessment, premises licence application, variation, Temporary Event Notice, compliance stress test, hearing support or carefully scoped technical or expert instruction.

Arrange an initial discussionCall 020 7222 2345

Complete Licensing Ltd is an independent licensing consultancy, not a firm of solicitors. We are not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or another approved legal-services regulator and do not provide reserved legal services.

The content of this page is general information about the Licensing Act 2003 regime in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Exemptions, licensing policies, cumulative impact assessments and procedures can vary between authorities and change over time.

Where legal advice, litigation, an appeal, judicial review, prosecution or court or tribunal advocacy is required, clients should instruct an appropriately authorised solicitor or counsel. Complete Licensing can work alongside that legal team by providing licensing consultancy, operational analysis, factual evidence and appropriately scoped expert opinion.

Any attendance or representation before a licensing authority is subject to the applicable legislation, hearing procedure and directions of the decision-maker. Complete Licensing does not claim reserved rights of audience before courts or tribunals.

A premises licence or Temporary Event Notice does not replace any required planning permission, building-control approval, food-business registration, food-safety compliance, street-trading consent, pavement licence, landowner permission or other authorisation.

A compliance review is not an official inspection, accreditation or guarantee. No application, licence, hearing or regulatory outcome can be guaranteed. The applicant or licence holder remains responsible for the accuracy of submissions, compliance with all permissions and conditions, and the lawful operation of the premises.