Do I need a licence to serve alcohol in my restaurant?

Yes. To sell alcohol you need a premises licence from your local licensing authority, and a designated premises supervisor (DPS) named on it who holds a personal licence. Selling alcohol without authorisation is a criminal offence under the Licensing Act 2003.

Is Challenge 25 the law?

Challenge 25 itself is best practice rather than a named statutory requirement. The mandatory licensing conditions require you to have an age-verification policy and to check anyone who appears to be under 18. Challenge 25 — asking for ID from anyone who looks under 25 — is the standard the industry and licensing authorities expect because it gives a safe margin above 18. Acceptable ID is typically a passport, photocard driving licence or a PASS-scheme card.

Can a 16 or 17 year old serve alcohol in a restaurant?

In England and Wales, yes — a person under 18 can sell alcohol in licensed premises provided each sale is specifically approved by a responsible person (the DPS, a personal licence holder, or someone they have authorised). Many operators choose not to allow it for simplicity, but it is lawful with that approval in place.

Do staff need training to sell alcohol?

Yes, in practice. Anyone who sells alcohol must be authorised to do so, and they need to understand age verification, your refusals procedure, and the law on selling to drunk people or making proxy sales. Training every seller before they are authorised — and recording it — is how you uphold the licensing objectives and protect your licence.

What is a refusals log and do I have to keep one?

A refusals log records every time staff refuse a sale — usually because of age, intoxication or a suspected proxy purchase — with the date, time, staff member and reason. It is not always set out in statute, but local licensing conditions commonly require it, and it is strong evidence that your age-verification policy is being operated. Reviewing it regularly is good practice.

9 min readUpdated 4 June 2026

Challenge 25 and licensing: alcohol service rules for UK restaurants

The short answer

To serve alcohol, a UK restaurant needs a premises licence and a designated premises supervisor (DPS) who holds a personal licence. You must operate an age-verification policy — the mandatory minimum requires checking anyone who looks under 18, and Challenge 25 (ID everyone who looks under 25) is the widely adopted best-practice standard. Every member of staff who sells alcohol must be authorised to do so and trained, you must keep a refusals log, and you must uphold the four licensing objectives. Scotland and Northern Ireland run different licensing regimes.

If your restaurant serves alcohol, you're operating under the Licensing Act 2003 — and your licence is a genuine asset you can lose. The rules aren't complicated, but they assume a system: the right licences, an age-verification policy your team actually follows, and the records to prove it. This guide covers what you need and where operators slip.

What does UK law require to serve alcohol?

In England and Wales, the Licensing Act 2003 requires two things before you sell a single drink:

A premises licence from your local licensing authority, setting out your licensable activities, hours and any conditions specific to your premises.
A designated premises supervisor (DPS) named on the licence, who must hold a personal licence. The DPS is the day-to-day point of accountability.

Everything you do then has to support the Act's four licensing objectives: preventing crime and disorder, public safety, preventing public nuisance, and protecting children from harm. Scotland (Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, which uses a Premises Manager rather than a DPS) and Northern Ireland have substantively different regimes — not just different citations.

Challenge 25: what age verification actually requires

The mandatory licensing conditions require you to operate an age-verification policy and to check anyone who appears to be under 18. In practice the standard everyone works to is Challenge 25: if a customer looks under 25, you ask for ID. The extra margin protects you and your staff from a borderline judgement going wrong. Accepted ID is normally a passport, a photocard driving licence, or a card carrying the PASS hologram.

Who can sell, and the records you keep

A few operational rules carry real weight:

Authorisation to sell. Every sale must be authorised by the DPS or a personal licence holder. Under-18s can sell alcohol only if each sale is specifically approved by a responsible person.
A refusals log. Record every refused sale — age, intoxication or suspected proxy purchase — with date, time, staff member and reason. Local conditions often require it and it's your best evidence the policy is real.
An incident log for disorder, ejections or drugs-related issues.
The licence summary on display, and the section-57 documents kept on the premises.

The duty most easily lost: trained, authorised staff

The licensing objectives don't fail because a manager doesn't care — they fail at the point of sale, with a server who wasn't sure whether to ask for ID, or didn't know they couldn't serve a visibly drunk customer. Every person who sells alcohol needs to be trained on age verification, your refusals procedure, and the law on drunk and proxy sales before they're authorised — with a record to show it.

Keeping every seller trained and on the record

Authorising a new seller, training them on Challenge 25 and your refusals procedure, and keeping that record current as the team turns over is exactly the kind of recurring duty that slips. That's where frunt helps.

frunt turns your alcohol-service and licensing procedures into training new staff complete on their phones before they start selling, and keeps a dated record of who's been trained and authorised — so the training behind your licence is evidenced, not assumed. Get started with frunt, or book a walkthrough.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to serve alcohol in my restaurant?: Yes. To sell alcohol you need a premises licence from your local licensing authority, and a designated premises supervisor (DPS) named on it who holds a personal licence. Selling alcohol without authorisation is a criminal offence under the Licensing Act 2003.
Is Challenge 25 the law?: Challenge 25 itself is best practice rather than a named statutory requirement. The mandatory licensing conditions require you to have an age-verification policy and to check anyone who appears to be under 18. Challenge 25 — asking for ID from anyone who looks under 25 — is the standard the industry and licensing authorities expect because it gives a safe margin above 18. Acceptable ID is typically a passport, photocard driving licence or a PASS-scheme card.
Can a 16 or 17 year old serve alcohol in a restaurant?: In England and Wales, yes — a person under 18 can sell alcohol in licensed premises provided each sale is specifically approved by a responsible person (the DPS, a personal licence holder, or someone they have authorised). Many operators choose not to allow it for simplicity, but it is lawful with that approval in place.
Do staff need training to sell alcohol?: Yes, in practice. Anyone who sells alcohol must be authorised to do so, and they need to understand age verification, your refusals procedure, and the law on selling to drunk people or making proxy sales. Training every seller before they are authorised — and recording it — is how you uphold the licensing objectives and protect your licence.
What is a refusals log and do I have to keep one?: A refusals log records every time staff refuse a sale — usually because of age, intoxication or a suspected proxy purchase — with the date, time, staff member and reason. It is not always set out in statute, but local licensing conditions commonly require it, and it is strong evidence that your age-verification policy is being operated. Reviewing it regularly is good practice.

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