Business Licences - Does Your Startup Need One?

Forming your company is the first step to doing business, but sometimes, depending on your chosen industry, there are still a few hurdles that you need to navigate before you can start trading. In this post, we focus on one of these hurdles – business licences.

What is a business licence?

A driving licence lets you drive. A flying licence lets you fly. A business licence lets you…you guessed it, do business. Okay, that’s an oversimplification.

There is not one business licence that lets you ‘do business’. Different activities require different licences, and they’re not always referred to as ‘licences’ – sometimes they’re simply permits or fees that need paying.

The purpose of a business licence is to provide protection to the consumer. A licence indicates that the business/person in question knows what they are doing, they are working within a specific legal framework and can be deemed ‘safe’.

Typically, licences are issued by the government, a local authority or a professional body.

Failure to hold the necessary licences can result in a large penalty and sometimes a criminal conviction, so it’s imperative that you check what licences you need before you start any trading activity.

General qualifications and compliance regulations

It’s important to highlight that a business licence should not be confused with a qualification.

For example, to qualify as a dentist, you need to complete a dental course that ultimately culminates in a bachelor’s degree. However, to set up a dental practice, you will need a number of business licences. In this post, we will focus on the licences, not the qualifications.

Also, acquiring the necessary business licences is just one facet of running your business compliantly.

You still need to ensure that you meet your tax requirements, adhere to employment laws, and take care of any other filing obligations, such as filing annual accounts and a confirmation statement if you’re operating as a limited company.

Licences that your business may need

Before we look at specific industries, here are some of the general licences/permits that are applicable to a large number of businesses.

Notification to process personal data

Will your business be electronically processing personal information for your customers and/or employees?

If the answer is yes, you will need to pay an annual data protection fee to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The cost of this depends on the size of your company, with it starting at £40 per year and going up to £2,900. Not sure if your business qualifies?

Read our blog on the topic; Do I need to pay the ICO data protection fee?

Public space surveillance (CCTV) licence

If your business is operating from premises where employees work and members of the public visit, you’ll probably want to install a CCTV system for security purposes.

To do this you will need a licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), with the application fee costing £190.

TheMusicLicence

Whether you’re playing music from the radio, a CD or a steaming service – if you have music on for your staff and/or customers in your business premises, you will need a licence from PPL PRS. The price of the licence depends on the sector in which you are working. Take a look at the PPL PRS website for more information.

TV Licence

Just like at home, if you have a television set at your business premises that’s used to watch live TV (on any channel, including live TV on streaming services), you will need a TV Licence. The TV Licence costs £159.

Business licence examples

It’s common for a business to need more than one licence type.

Here are some examples of business types and the licences you may need to run such an operation.

See the links for more information on each licence. You may need to provide information relating to your location as, as you would expect – the requirements differ throughout the UK.

As you will see, some of the business licences are very specific so will not necessarily apply to you.