Most mobile bars are run on a part time basis by people already in the license trade, such as pubs, restaurants, wine bars etc. The reason being that they already have the experience, the knowledge and the license, albeit they might need to apply for an additional temporary or event license if they are not working within already licensed premises. But the big advantage is that they have the buying power to get the beer, wines and spirits at the right price, somewhere to store them and a way of selling off anything that might be left after the event .

The other thing you need to be aware of is the licensing requirements which vary for Scotland and Northern Ireland

In England and Wales this is the situation, but check with your local authority to be sure

Under the Licensing Act 2003, an event organiser who wishes to provide alcohol or certain types of entertainment must issue a Temporary Event Notice. The notice is issued to your local licensing authority and the police, either of whom can object to the Notice.

A Temporary Event Notice (TEN) given under the Licensing Act 2003 allows the sale of alcohol, the provision of late night refreshment or provision of certain public entertainment from a specified premise in England and Wales.

TENs can be used to authorise relatively small-scale ad hoc events held in or on any premises involving no more than 499 people at any one time.

A Temporary Event Notice (TEN) allows you to hold a licensable activity at a venue that is not currently licensed, or to hold or extend activities your existing licence does not permit.

This would include, for example:

·         Selling alcohol at a village hall that only holds a premises licence to cover regulated entertainment

·         Providing regulated entertainment at a pub where the current licence does not permit this

·         Staying open late to sell hot food on a special occasion (for example, New Years Eve)

·         Selling alcohol after the hours your normal licence permits, for example, for a special occasion

·         An amateur dramatics group putting on a play in unlicensed premises.

There are restrictions that apply to the duration of the TEN, these are:

Last no longer than 96 hours

Have no more than 499 people present at any time.

There are also restrictions upon the number of TENs:

That one person can serve (50 for a Personal Licence holder but only 5 for anyone else)

For events held at any particular premises (12 times in a calendar year for a maximum aggregate time period of 15 days).

If your event exceeds these restrictions you will need to apply for a Premises Licence and if that licence permits the sale of alcohol you will also need to nominate a Personal Licence holder as the designated premise supervisor.

Generally you will need to serve the notice on both the licensing authority and the police at least 10 clear working days before the day of the event (if it falls on a working day). (Bank Holidays, Saturdays and Sundays are not considered as working days for this purpose). NB: This means that the day of receipt of the notice (by the police and licensing authority) and the day of the event do not count towards the minimum 10 clear working days notice that must be served.