Sex shop and cinema licence

If your business sells goods or entertainment of a sexual nature, you will need a licence. This includes:

  • sex shops
  • sex cinemas
  • sexual entertainment venues

You will be able to apply for a licence if you:

  • are over 18 years old
  • have been resident in the UK at least 6 months before the application (if a corporate body, this must be incorporated in the UK)
  • have not been disqualified from holding a licence
  • have not been refused the grant or renewal of a licence for the premises in question within the last 12 months - unless the refusal has been reversed on appeal

Apply

To apply for a licence, you need to:

Once you have applied for a licence, you will need to:

  • advertise your application in a local newspaper

If your application for a licence is successful, we may impose conditions on your premises. These conditions could affect the hours you can operate or the types of material you can display.

If you are refused a licence, you can appeal to the magistrates court within 21 days of receiving notice of the refusal.

However, the right to appeal does not apply where the licence was refused on the grounds that:

  • the number of sex establishments in the area exceeds the number which the authority consider is appropriate
  • the grant of the licence would be inappropriate considering the character of the area, the nature of other premises in the area, or the premises themselves

If we grant your licence, it needs to be renewed every year from the date it was granted. The fee to renew the licence for one year is £1,250.

Renew

To renew a licence, you need to:

Vary

If you want to make a variation to your licence, you will need to:

  • contact the Licensing team
  • pay the fee of £1250

If you want to transfer your licence, the fee is £675.