Late hours catering licence
If you serve hot food or drink to the public in Scotland between 11pm and 5am, you need a late hours catering licence from your local council — separate from your premises or alcohol licence.
Scotland only
If you serve hot food or drink to the public in Scotland between 11pm and 5am, you need a late hours catering licence from your local council — separate from your premises or alcohol licence. It covers takeaways, restaurants, cafes and any venue selling food late, whether it is eaten in or taken away.
Trading late without it is an offence, and enforcement is straightforward for a council to spot — it is just a matter of who is open and when. Processing can also take a long time, so leaving it late genuinely risks having to close early on opening night.
Apply to the council for the area; processing can take months.
Who this is for
Any Scottish venue — restaurant, cafe, takeaway or bar with a kitchen — that plans to serve food to the public after 11pm.
No turnover or size threshold. Applies from the first night you intend to trade past 11pm, including occasional late openings for events.
What you’ll hold
- Site plan
- Public notice displayed at the premises from the day of application
Watch out for
- Assuming your premises licence hours cover food service. It does not — late food service is a separate licence even if you already have extended alcohol hours.
- Underestimating how long councils take. Some processes run to several months rather than weeks — apply the moment you know you will trade past 11pm, not once the kitchen is fitted.
- Forgetting the public notice requirement. You must display notice of the application at or near the premises from the day you submit it — missing this can invalidate the application.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Late hours catering licence (Scotland) checked 2026-09-02
See also
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