Personal Licence - Refresher Training

Holders of Personal Licences must complete refresher training for their Licensing Qualification every five years.

If you have recently completed refresher training you can use our online form to provide the Board with a copy of your training certificate.

What is refresher training?

Personal Licences are issued for a period of 10 years.  Anyone applying for a Personal Licence must first obtain a Scottish Certificate of Personal Licence Holder (SCPLH) Qualification; this is often referred to as a "Licensing Qualification".

A licence holder must undertake refresher training in respect of their Licensing Qualification every 5 years from the date the Licence was issued.

If a Licence Holder does not undertake refresher training their licence will be revoked.

What are the legal requirements?

Section 87 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 sets out specific legal requirements for refresher training. 

The Act sets outs that the holder of a Personal Licence must complete a refresher training course every 5 years from the date their licence was issued.

The training provider will issue a certificate to the licence holder once they have completed refresher training.  The licence holder must provide a copy of the training certificate to the Licensing Board that issued their Personal Licence no later than 3 months after the expiry of each 5 year period.

What do I need to do?

Refer to your licence documentation to determine the date the licence was issued.  Refresher training must be completed by no later than 5 years after the licence was first issued and each subsequent 5 year period.

You should contact a training provider to book a refresher training course; please note the Licensing Board does not hold details of training providers.

Once you have successfully completed your course, the training provider will issue a certificate.

A copy of your refresher training certificate must be sent should be sent to the Licensing Board no later than 3 months after the final date for completion of the refreshing training.

How do I provide a copy of my Refresher Training Certificate?

The easiest way to provide a copy of your training certificate is using our online form.  If you don't have a digital or scanner copy of your training certificate you can take a photograph of the certificate and upload it.

Alternatively you can download a notification form and return it to us by post with a copy of your training certificate.

 Notification Form - PDF

 Notification Form - Word [182kb]

The Board will update its records and send you an updated training appendix for your Personal Licence.

What happens if a licence holder does not produce their certificate in time?

If a Personal Licence Holder does not undertake training within the prescribed timescale or produce the training certificate by the 3 month deadline then their Personal Licence will be revoked.

As this is a statutory requirement, the Licensing Board has no discretion in this matter. If a Personal Licence is revoked the holder of the licence can reapply immediately for a new Personal Licence.

If the holder of a revoked Personal Licence is also named as the Designated Premises Manager of licensed premises, this may mean that alcohol cannot be sold on the premises.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I find out the "Date of Issue" for my Personal Licence?

In drafting the refresher training provisions, the Scottish Government has specified that the timescales for training should be based on the "date of issue" of a Personal Licence. The "date of issue" is not the date that the Licensing Board grants a Personal Licence, it is the date that the Licensing Board issues (i.e. posts out) the licence.

Unfortunately the format of the Personal Licence is set out in a prescribed form by Scottish Government legislation and does not contain the "date of issue". Licence holders should refer to the covering letter that accompanied the issue of their licence; the date of this letter will be the "date of issue". In most cases the difference between the "date of issue" and the date the licence was granted will be a few days.

Does the Licensing Board have a list of Training Providers?

The Licence Board does not hold a list of training providers nor can we recommend or endorse any particular training provider.

I work as a Premises Manager in Glasgow but my Personal Licence was issued by another Licensing Board - who do I send the Certificate to?

The training certificate should be returned to the Licensing Board that issued your Personal Licence.

Do I  have to pay a fee to the Licensing Board to update my records?

The Licensing Board does not charge a fee for updating its records and issuing an updated training record appendix.