Regulation Summary
A sex establishment can either be a Sex Shop or a Sex Cinema.
- A sex shop is a premises used for business which consists to a significant degree of selling sex articles.
- A sex cinema is any premises used to a significant degree for showing of films which are concerned primarily with, or relate to, or are intended to stimulate sexual activity.
Who is eligible?
An applicant:
- must be at least 18 years old
- must not be disqualified from holding a licence
- must have been resident in the UK at least six months immediately before the application or, if a body corporate, must be incorporated in the UK
- must not have been refused the grant or renewal of a licence for the premises in question within the last 12 months unless the refusal has been reversed on appeal
Application Process
There is an application fee which must be paid at the time an application is made. Full details are available on our fees and charges page.
The law defines the way in which an application is made, which include advertising notice of the application in the local press and displaying a notice outside the premises for a specific time period to give passers by the opportunity to comment by a statutory closing date.
Receipt of your completed application form and the appropriate fee(s) will be confirmed in writing. It is in the public interest that the authority must process your application before it can be granted.
Is there a public register available?
No. The legislation does not require a register to be kept.
This page was last reviewed by the Licensing Section on 9 February 2010.
