What is a Temporary Event Notice (TEN)?

If you’re running a one-off event — a beer festival, a charity ball, a pop-up bar or a village fete with a licensed marquee — you may need permission to sell alcohol or put on entertainment. For smaller events, the quickest route is usually a Temporary Event Notice, or TEN. This guide explains what a TEN is, when you need one, the real rules that apply, and how it interacts with capacity and security.

What a TEN actually is

A Temporary Event Notice is a light-touch form of authorisation under the Licensing Act 2003, which covers England and Wales. It lets you carry out one or more licensable activities at a single, temporary event without holding a full premises licence.

The licensable activities a TEN can cover are:

• Selling alcohol (or supplying it in a members’ club)
• Providing regulated entertainment — such as live or recorded music, dancing, plays, films or indoor sport
• Serving late-night refreshment — hot food or drink sold between 11pm and 5am

If your event involves any of these, you generally need either a premises licence or a TEN. A TEN is designed for the smaller, occasional end of the scale, which is why it comes with firm limits.

Who you serve it on

A TEN is a notice, not an application you wait to have approved — but you still have to give it to the right people, on time.

• You serve the notice on your local council, which is the licensing authority for the area where the event is held.
• You must also send a copy to the police and to the council’s environmental health team.

Both the police and environmental health can object to a TEN, but only on the grounds of the four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm. If they object, the licensing authority holds a hearing and can refuse the notice or, for a late TEN, simply issue a counter-notice that stops the event going ahead as planned.

Most authorities now take TENs through the GOV.UK service or their own online portal, and a fee applies.

The notice periods: don’t leave it late

Timing is where organisers most often come unstuck, because everything is counted in working days (excluding the day you submit and the day of the event).

• A standard TEN must reach the licensing authority at least 10 working days before the event.
• A late TEN can be given between 9 and 5 working days before the event — but with tighter restrictions, fewer allowed per year, and no ability to amend it. If the police or environmental health object to a late TEN, it simply cannot go ahead; there is no hearing to argue your case.

Because bank holidays and weekends don’t count, ten working days can easily be two and a half calendar weeks. Always submit as early as you can.

The key limits

A TEN is deliberately capped. The main limits to know:

• Fewer than 500 people at any one time — a maximum of 499, and crucially this figure includes everyone on site: staff, bar teams, performers and security, not just guests. If you expect 500 or more at once, a TEN won’t do and you’ll need a premises licence.
• Duration of up to 168 hours (seven days) per event.
• Limits on how many TENs can be used — there’s a cap on the number per premises per year, a cap on the number an individual can give per year (higher if you hold a personal licence), and minimum gaps between separate events at the same premises. The exact figures matter, so check the current rules and your council’s guidance before you commit to a run of dates.

If your plans bump against any of these, that’s usually the signal to apply for a premises licence instead.

Scotland is different

The Licensing Act 2003 doesn’t apply in Scotland. There, one-off events are licensed under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, typically via an Occasional Licence granted by the local Licensing Board. The principles are similar — temporary permission for licensable activities — but the application process, timescales and limits are their own, so don’t assume the England and Wales rules carry over. Northern Ireland has separate arrangements again.

How a TEN affects security and capacity

Getting the paperwork right is only half the job. The same licensing objectives that let the police object are the ones your event needs to meet on the day — and that’s where stewarding and security come in.

• Capacity management. Because the 499 limit includes staff and security, you need a realistic way to count and control numbers at the entrance. Clicker counts, a single controlled entry point and trained door staff keep you legally inside the limit rather than guessing.
• Alcohol and crowd risk. Where you’re selling alcohol, the risk of disorder rises. SIA-licensed door supervisors are the appropriate cover for licensed events, while event security guards handle access control, searching and patrols across the wider site.
• Demonstrating you’ve thought it through. A written risk assessment shows the police and environmental health that you’ve considered crime, safety, nuisance and the protection of children — exactly the grounds on which they can object. Our event risk assessment generator gives you a structured starting point.

Not every TEN event needs security, but many do. If you’re unsure, our guide to do I need security for my event? walks through the factors — guest count, alcohol, ticketing and venue — that tip the balance.

Practical checklist for organisers

• Confirm whether your activities are actually licensable — if you’re not selling alcohol or running regulated entertainment, you may not need a TEN at all.
• Check the expected headcount at peak, including staff and security, against the 499 limit.
• Identify your local council as the licensing authority, and budget for the fee.
• Serve the notice — plus copies to police and environmental health — at least 10 working days ahead for a standard TEN.
• Build a risk assessment and decide on stewarding or SIA-licensed door cover based on it.
• For anything bigger, longer or more complex than the TEN limits allow, speak to your council about a premises licence.

This is general guidance, not legal advice, and the precise figures and local requirements can vary — always check the rules with the specific council for your venue.

Get the security side right

A clean TEN keeps you legal; the right team on the door keeps your event safe and inside its limits. If you’d like help working out the door supervision and crowd control your event needs, get a quote and we’ll put together a clear, SIA-licensed plan for your date across London and the Home Counties.