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Regulated entertainment exemptions

Regulated entertainment means entertainment that needs some form of licensing permission such as a:

  • Premises licence
  • Club premises certificate
  • Temporary event notice

The following are regulated entertainment. However there are exemptions in place in some circumstances. This means you don't need any form of licensing permission to provide them:

  • Live or recorded music
  • Plays and performance of dance
  • Indoor sporting events
  • Boxing and wrestling
  • Films

Live or recorded music

A licence is not required to stage a performance of live music, or the playing of recorded music if:

  • it takes place between 8am and 11pm
  • it takes place at an alcohol on-licensed premises
  • the audience is no more than 500 people

You also don’t need a licence:

  • to put on unamplified live music at any place between the same hours
  • to put on amplified live music at a workplace between the same hours for an audience of no more than 500 people

Other exemptions include:

  • places of public worship, village halls, church halls and other similar buildings
  • schools
  • hospital
  • local authority premise
  • incidental music - music that is incidental to other activities that aren’t classed as regulated entertainment

Plays and performance of dance

A licence is not required to stage a performance of a play or a performance of dance if:

  • it takes place between 8am and 11pm
  • the audience is no more than 500 people

Indoor sporting events

A licence is not required at an indoor sporting event if:

  • it takes place between 8am and 11pm
  • the number of spectators is not more than 1000 people

Boxing and wrestling

There are no exemptions, you will need a licence to stage boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts.

Films

There are exemptions from the need for a licence for film entertainment including for:

  • places of public worship, village halls, church halls and other similar buildings
  • education
  • incidental film – moving pictures that are incidental to other activities that aren’t classed as regulated entertainment
  • television broadcasts