Selling drinks at a Scottish fete, wedding or festival: the occasional licence, its 14 days and its limits, and what they mean for your cups

A one-day bar at a wedding or fair in England and Wales can run on a Temporary Event Notice, which our guide to Temporary Event Notices for weddings, fairs and parties covers. In Scotland the licensing law is a different Act, and section 56 provides the occasional licence for premises that are not licensed premises. This article reads the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Scottish Government's guidance to Licensing Boards as they stand on 26 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and the Licensing Board for the area of the event decides each application.

Who can apply, and for what

Section 56(1) lets a Licensing Board, on an application made in relation to any premises other than licensed premises in the Board's area, issue an occasional licence authorising the sale of alcohol on the premises. Section 56(2) names three kinds of applicant: the holder of a premises licence, the holder of a personal licence and a representative of any voluntary organisation. The Scottish Government's guidance gives an example for two of them: a premises licence holder catering for an event outside their licensed premises, and a voluntary organisation selling alcohol at an event connected with its activities. Section 147, the interpretation section, has no entry for voluntary organisation, and section 56 does not define it. The guidance describes voluntary organisations as including individuals acting on behalf of charities, community and voluntary groups, schools, churches and hospitals.

How long it lasts and how many a year

Under section 56(5) a licence has effect for the period the Board determines, of not more than 14 days. Section 56(6) caps what a Board may issue for any one voluntary organisation in a 12 month period: not more than four licences each lasting four days or more, not more than twelve each lasting less than four days, and a total of no more than 56 days on which licences have effect. Section 56(6A) says the Board must refuse an application that would exceed the occasional licence limit, and section 56(6B) says that for applicants other than voluntary organisations the limit is such limit as may be prescribed.

The Scottish Government consulted from 23 April 2019 to 16 July 2019 on the fee and on prescribing limits for premises licence holders and personal licence holders, and published a summary of responses in December 2019. On 26 October 2026 we searched the titles of Scottish Statutory Instruments for occasional licence and for the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. The first search returned the Occasional Licence (Scotland) Regulations 2007, which prescribe the form of the licence and of the application. The second returned eleven instruments: nine commencement, transitional or consequential orders, one Act of Sederunt and one set of Gambling Act 2005 regulations. None was about limits on those applicants. Chapter 9 of the guidance does report one cap that sits outside section 56(6): for a members' club of the kind described in regulation 2 of the Licensing (Clubs) (Scotland) Regulations 2007, paragraphs 9.26 to 9.28 say an occasional licence can be issued although the premises are licensed, and regulation 3(2) of those Regulations sets for the premises the same cap that section 56(6) sets for a voluntary organisation: four licences of four days or more, twelve of less than four days and 56 days in total in 12 months. Outside that case we found no prescribed limit for those applicants. That is a reading of two searches, and this is the paragraph most likely to go out of date.

How the Board decides

When a Board receives an application, section 57(1) requires it to give notice, with a copy of the application, to the chief constable and to any Licensing Standards Officer for the area. The Officer may submit a report within 21 days (section 57(3)). Where the Board is satisfied that the application requires to be dealt with quickly, the 21 days can be replaced by a shorter period of not less than 24 hours (section 57(4) and (5)). Section 58 lets any person object on a ground relevant to the grounds for refusal, or make representations in support of the application or about conditions.

The guidance says a notice of objection or representation must be made within the 7 day period in which the application is published on the Board's website. It also suggests Boards point out to organisers that, because of the possibility of police intervention or public representations, they should not rely on giving the minimum notice, and that early engagement with the local police licensing officer is worth having.

Under section 59, if the Board has received no Officer report, objection or representation, it must grant the application unless it has to be refused under section 56(6A), 64(2) or 65(3). Otherwise it considers whether a ground for refusal applies: that the premises are excluded premises, that a mandatory refusal applies, that granting the application would be inconsistent with one or more of the licensing objectives, or that, having regard to the activities proposed, the location, character and condition of the premises and the people likely to frequent them, the premises are unsuitable for the sale of alcohol. The licensing objectives in section 4 are preventing crime and disorder, securing public safety, preventing public nuisance, protecting and improving public health, and protecting children and young persons from harm.

What the licence says and the conditions that come with it

Section 56(8) lists what an occasional licence must contain, including the times at which alcohol may be sold and a statement of whether it may be sold for consumption on the premises, off the premises or both. Where off-sales are proposed, section 65(3) requires the Board to refuse an application whose off-sales hours would run before 10am or after 10pm. Subsection (4) lets the Scottish Ministers substitute other times by order, and the 2023 guidance still gives 10am and 10pm.

Every licence is subject to the mandatory conditions in Schedule 4 (section 60(1)). Alcohol may be sold only in accordance with the licence. Where the licence is issued to a premises licence holder or a personal licence holder, every sale must be authorised by a personal licence holder. Where it is issued to a representative of a voluntary organisation, alcohol may be sold only at an event on the premises in connection with the organisation's activities. Schedule 4 also contains a minimum price condition: alcohol must not be sold below its minimum price, and where alcohol is supplied together with other products or services for a single price, the test applies as if the alcohol were supplied on its own for that price. The minimum price per unit is set by order, which was not read.

Section 60(4) lets the Board add conditions it considers necessary or expedient for the licensing objectives, and section 60(6) and (7) say these include conditions in connection with the sale of alcohol on the premises or any other activity carried on there. It cannot add a condition on a matter regulated under another enactment, such as planning, building control or food hygiene (section 60(5)).

The guidance adds two points. It says that since the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015, holders of an occasional licence are no longer exempt from the public entertainment licensing requirements of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, which we have not read. And it says occasional licences are not intended as a substitute for premises licences, so a Board may ask an applicant who applies repeatedly for the same premises why no premises licence is sought.

Where cups come in

Neither the sections read nor chapter 9 of the guidance mentions cups or glasses. What follows is our reading.

A Board can attach conditions to the sale of alcohol, and securing public safety is one of the five objectives, so a request that drinks are served in plastic rather than glass is the kind of condition section 60(4) allows. Whether a given Board asks for it is a question for that Board, and no statement of licensing policy was read for this article.

One provision on drinks leaving the site does mention a container. Section 63(1)(c) makes it an offence to allow alcohol to be taken from licensed premises outwith licensed hours, and section 147 says licensed premises include premises in respect of which an occasional licence has effect. Section 63(2)(b) excepts alcohol taken from the premises within 15 minutes of the end of licensed hours if it was sold during that period and is not taken out in an open container. The section does not define an open container. In our reading an uncovered pint cup is one, so an event that expects visitors to leave with a drink at closing time should settle with the Board what its licence allows.

The bundle rule in Schedule 4 matters for souvenir cups. In our reading, if a cup and a drink are sold together for one price, the whole price is tested as the price of the alcohol, with nothing carved out for the cup.

On the product side

For a festival or fete that runs over several days, within the 14 days a licence can cover, the cup hire page describes reusable cups that arrive ready for service, with collection, washing and drying support after the event and storage between uses. It says the cups are shatterproof, dishwasher safe and BPA-free, and used by bars, stadiums, arenas and outdoor events where glass is not practical. An event that prefers to own its stock can look at the reusable event cups, a free sample cup can be ordered to see the cup in hand, and a quote can be asked for by choosing the cups, then the quantities and delivery options.

Where this stands

This was checked on 26 October 2026. Section 56 reads as set out above and the Act is shown as up to date to that day. The Scottish Government's guidance is dated 13 January 2023, and each Licensing Board's own policy may add requirements it does not mention.