Renfrewshire Council

Late hours catering licence

You need a late hours catering licence for a premises that sells food, either sit in or takeaway, after 11pm or before 5am.

The licence acts as an extension to normal trading hours. 

Our current policy hours in relation to late hours catering licence are:

  • Sundays to Thursdays, from 11pm to 12 midnight
  • Fridays and Saturdays, from 11pm to 2am

 You only need to apply if you intend to open after 11pm and before 5am.

Application for hours outside of these limits will be treated on their own merits.


How to apply for a licence

We now accept late night catering licence applications online, including the use of electronic signatures.

You can apply, upload and sign for your supporting documents and pay for the licence online.

Apply for a late hours catering licence 

You can see the Council's policy on electronic licensing applications in Appendix 1 of the report to  the Regulatory Functions Board meeting on 15 September 2022.


What you need to do after you've applied

You must display a public notice at the proposed premises as soon as the application has been lodged.

The display notice must be displayed for a period of 21 days together with a copy of the application.

At the end of the 21 day period you must sign and return a certificate of compliance to confirm that you have displayed the notice for the statutory period.

You can find the certificate of compliance in the late hours catering licence application pack [449KB] .


How much it costs 

See the civic application fees page for late night catering fees.


How long your application will take

All applications made under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 must be considered within 3 months and a decision made within 9 months.


Who is consulted about your application

A copy of your application will be sent to Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue, Local Councillor, Community Councillor, Community Resources Section, Development and Housing Services, and, where the premises are within Paisley Town Centre, the Town Centre Manager.

They will carry out their own investigations and report back to the licensing section.


If there are objections or representations to your application

If an objection or representation is received the application must be considered at a meeting of the Regulatory Functions Board. You will be formally cited to attend the meeting and a copy of the letter of objection or representation will be sent out to you with the citation letter.


The conditions of the licence

You can see the conditions of the licence in the  late hours catering licence application pack [449KB] .

We will issue you with a  copy of the conditions of the late hours catering licence if your licence is granted.

The council requires all licenceholders to have a thorough understanding of these conditions and they should be kept as they form part of your licence.


How long the licence lasts for

Applications for the grant of a licence are generally granted for a period of one year. Applications to renew an existing licence are normally granted for a two year period.