There is no single “business licence” in Britain — there are dozens of activity-specific ones. Here’s how to work out, in 2026, exactly which registrations apply to what you do.
Updated 14 August 2026. Fees quoted are the current statutory rates for England (and, for alcohol, England & Wales); Scotland and Northern Ireland run parallel regimes with different fees.
Registering a company at Companies House does not license you to do anything — it only creates the legal entity. UK licensing is activity-based: the question is never “does my business need a licence?” but “which of the things my business does are regulated, and by whom?” A single café can need four separate permissions — food registration, an alcohol premises licence, a music licence and tables-on-the-pavement consent — each from a different route.
Three regulators matter most in practice: your local authority (food, alcohol, street trading, taxis, HMOs), national regulators (FCA for financial services, CQC for healthcare in England, Ofsted for childcare, SIA for security, the Environment Agency for waste), and sector schemes layered on top. GOV.UK’s licence finder is a good first sweep; the sections below cover the licences we are asked about most.
Anyone selling or preparing food — restaurants, home bakers, market stalls, online sellers — must register each premises with the local authority at least 28 days before opening. Registration is free, cannot be refused, and puts you into the food-hygiene inspection and rating system. Businesses handling meat, fish, egg or dairy products for supply to other businesses generally need approval rather than simple registration — a materially heavier process worth planning around.
Selling alcohol in England & Wales under the Licensing Act 2003 needs both a licensed place and a licensed person:
Application, by rateable-value band
Payable each year, same bands
Plus accredited qualification
The band depends on the property’s non-domestic rateable value; large premises whose main business is alcohol pay a multiplied fee at the top bands. Every licensed premises must also name a designated premises supervisor who holds a personal licence. Budget for the process, not just the fee: plans, notices, and responses from police and environmental health all take time.
Some sectors are gated entirely — you cannot lawfully trade first and register later. Financial services (lending, payments, investments, insurance distribution, crypto-asset business) need FCA authorisation or registration. Healthcare providers in England register with the CQC. Childcare registers with Ofsted. Letting and property agents must join a redress scheme, and HMO landlords need a local-authority licence. Authorisation timelines in these sectors are measured in months — they belong in the business plan, not the launch-week checklist.
Playing recorded music in a shop, gym, café or office usually requires TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS. Tables and chairs on the highway need a pavement licence from the council. Selling from a stall or van in public needs a street trading licence or market pitch consent. None is expensive individually; all are enforced, and a missing one is the fastest way to meet your council’s enforcement team.
Hiring from abroad is a licence too. If your growth plan includes sponsoring overseas workers, the UK sponsor licence is in effect the licence to employ them — our 2026 sponsor licence cost breakdown covers exactly what that route costs.
Our licensing & compliance service maps every permission your specific activity needs — national and local — then prepares and files the applications in the right order. Setting up from overseas? Start with the non-resident company setup guide, or book a free consultation.
No. The UK has no single, universal business licence. Whether you need a licence depends on what the business does, where it operates and how it sells. Many activities need nothing beyond company and tax registration, while food, alcohol, security, transport, waste, finance, healthcare and childcare are all separately regulated with their own registrations and fees.
You must register your food business with the local authority for each premises at least 28 days before opening. Registration is free and cannot be refused, and it applies to home kitchens, market stalls and online food businesses as well as restaurants. Some higher-risk businesses handling meat, fish or dairy need separate approval instead.
Under the Licensing Act 2003 a premises licence application costs £100 to £635 depending on the property’s rateable-value band, with an annual fee of £70 to £350 thereafter. High-band premises whose main business is selling alcohol pay a multiplied fee. The person authorising sales needs a personal licence (£37 application plus an accredited qualification), and every premises must name a designated premises supervisor.
Individuals working in licensable security roles — door supervision, security guarding, CCTV operation, close protection — need an SIA licence, which costs £204 from 1 April 2026 and lasts three years. Companies supplying security staff can additionally join the SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme.
If your business transports, buys, sells or brokers waste in England — including builders carrying their own trade waste — you must register with the Environment Agency. A new registration costs £191.02; upper-tier registrations renew every 3 years at £130.25, while lower-tier registrations (usually those carrying only their own non-construction waste) are typically free and do not expire. Operating unregistered risks an unlimited fine.
Tell us what the business does and where, and we’ll map the exact permissions it needs — then handle the applications in the correct order.
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