National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) FAQ's
How long is the course?
1 day (09.30 - 17.00). The multiple choice examination takes place at 16.00 on the day of the course.
Where and when are the courses run?
We run regular 'open courses' in London and the South East.
Our next course dates in are:
- 25th March 2010 (London Waterloo)
- 6th April 2010 (Central London)
- 21st April 2010 (Central London)
- 6th May 2010 (London Waterloo)
- 18th May 2010 (London Waterloo)
Please visit our Course Dates page for a complete list of upcoming courses, locations and dates, call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact US for more details.
We run courses for our corporate clients throughout the UK, either at our clients own workplace or at one of our established Training Centres. Where we are training at our clients premises, we are required to register the training facility with the BIIAB in order to meet our quality assurance standards. We perform this process on behalf of our clients at no additional cost to them.
Courses are run at the convenience of our clients, including weekends where required. Please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact US for more details.
How do I book?
Complete and return the NCPLH Booking Form or call us on 0845 602 55 95 to book over the phone.
- NCPLH Individual Booking Form (MS Word version / pdf version)
- NCPLH Group Booking Form (MS Word version / pdf version)
For more details on how to book, please visit the 'Booking & Fees' section of our website.
Candidates requesting a foreign language examination paper (Polish, Turkish, Welsh, Chinese, Bengali or Thai) must allow at least 9 working days before the course date when booking.
How much does it cost?
£150.00 + vat (all inclusive of course handbook, course materials, tuition & certification) per candidate.
Discounts may be available for corporate clients. Please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us for more details.
What is the BIIAB Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH)?
The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders is a nationally recognised level 2 qualification designed to provide the knowledge and information required by anyone wishing to apply to their local authority for a personal licence. A personal licence must be held by anyone who sells or authorises the sale of alcohol within a licensed premises.
The qualification acts as a safeguard for the premises licence, as it strengthens the defence of due diligence where prosecutions may affect a company's continued operations. This is because candidates have to demonstrate that they know the law on core licensing issues in order to pass the examination.
Who should attend this course?
The course is designed for managers and supervisory staff working in a licensed premises where they are selling or authorising the sale of alcohol for which they require a personal licence. The course is also essential for candidates assuming the position of Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) One of the mandatory conditions for a Designated Premises Supervisor is that they hold a Personal Licence.
The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders should not only be considered by those who are required to hold a Personal Licence, but by anyone with a supervisory role within the sector. The qualification and holding a Personal Licence is recognised and well respected by employers throughout the sector.
The Personal Licence is linked to the holder and not the premises, it can therefore be used in any premises where alcohol is sold throughout England and Wales.
What does the course cover?
The licensing act 2003 • Licensing policy • Personal licenses • Procedures for application and renewal of a personal license • Duties of a personal license holder • Licensable activities • Premises licence • Operating schedules • The designated premises supervisor • Temporary events notice • Supply of alcohol • Unauthorised licensable activities • Prohibition for the sale of alcohol • Rights of entry and inspection • Police powers to close licensed premises • Protection of children • Nature of alcohol and how it affects the body • Social responsibilities in the retail sale of alcohol • Conduct of licensed premises •
We have made a sample National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders - Learning Programme (pdf document) and NCPLH with Assessment Criteria - Learning Programme (pdf document) available to download. These demonstrate how we put our courses together for individual clients following a Training Needs Analysis (pdf document).
What is the outcome of the course?
On completion candidates will be able to identify and apply their responsibilities in selling and authorising the sale of alcohol on licensed premises. They will have an understanding of the law in relation to the Licensing Act 2003 and be able to apply these laws while promoting the licensing objectives in their workplace.
On successfully completing the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders and passing the associated examination, candidates will receive a certificate from the BIIAB. The course will provide them not only with a nationally recognised qualification but also with an accredited qualification, recognised as prescribed for applications for a Personal Licence.
How is the course assessed?
The course is assessed via a short 40 minute, 40 question multiple-choice examination; candidates must attend all sessions of the training and achieve 28/40 in their examination in order to pass and to be awarded their certificate.
Examination papers are now available in some foreign languages. These include; Polish, Turkish, Welsh, Chinese, Bengali and Thai. Candidates must request a foreign language paper when booking and at least 9 working days before the course date. Please Contact Us for further details.
Once completed, examination papers are returned to the BIIAB to be marked. The BIIAB allow themselves five working days to communicate the results to us; although to date the longest notification time has been 48 hours. We aim to inform candidates of their results by phone or by email the same day.
Certificates are sent to us from the BIIAB within 10 working days of the results notification and we aim to forward these by first class post to our clients, within 48 hours of them being received by us.
Who accredits the course?
The course is accredited by the BIIAB. Beyond The Blue are approved to administer training and examinations by the BIIAB.
The BIIAB Level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders is approved by the Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) and is accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as a level 2 qualification. Level 2 means it is a qualification which supports employment progression.
The qualification counts towards other BIIAB qualification schemes.
Why choose Beyond The Blue as your training provider?
At Beyond The Blue we employ only specialist instructors to run our courses; all our instructors have extensive experience in the relevant fields. They train with the objective of helping candidates not just complete the course, but of gaining the skills and knowledge to succeed and be more effective in their workplace.
The experience of our instructors brings the subject they are teaching to life. Our training is based on a variety of training methods and comprises open learning, classroom based learning, scenario based learning, group work and interactive discussion; this approach allows us to meet the preferred learning styles of all candidates.
Beyond The Blue is a ‘BIIAB Grade 1’ Training Centre (The BIIAB describe Grade 1 as ‘demonstrating outstanding quality procedures’); we have exceptionally high pass rates for all our BIIAB accredited courses. In 2008 across the whole portfolio of BIIAB courses, only 3 candidates failed their examinations after attending training with Beyond The Blue.
Our success is measured in the success of those people we train, we are focussed on providing excellence in customer service both pre and post training.
For more good reasons why you should choose Beyond The Blue as your training provider, please visit the 'Why Choose Us?' page.
Additional information
A comprehensive course handbook is provided to each candidate when they register on the course to enable them to complete 'open learning' prior to training. 'Open learning' consists of candidates reading through the course handbook prior to attending the course. Our courses are designed to be interactive and to take a full part in the course candidates should be familiar with the content of the course handbook; this also results in better examination results as exams are based on this content.
To complement our professional training and the course handbook, we provide candidates attending our courses with a selection of comprehensive course hand-outs. These come together to form a training folder candidates can refer back to, in order to refresh their skills and knowledge.
Candidates are required to provide a form(s) of identity in order to sit the examination. For a full list of acceptable forms of identity please download Examination Identity Requirements (pdf document).
To apply for a Personal Licence candidates must be;
- 18 years old
- Not have forfeited a Personal Licence within the last 5 years
- Hold the National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders
Certain criminal convictions may result in a Personal Licence application being rejected. Please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us for more details.
During the course we provide comprehensive guidance and information to candidates on how and where they have to apply for their personal licence. We also provide a free follow-up service, whereby candidates can contact us if they require any assistance in the process of their personal licence application. For more details on the application process download our Personal Licence Application pdf document.
We also offer a Personal Licence Application Service (pdf document). This takes the hassle out of the application process as we do it all for you and avoids any delays in the processing of the personal licence application. Candidate wishing to use this service must inform us prior to attending the course. For details of this service please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.
Successful candidates are entitled to free BII membership for 6 months. This entitles them with access to the BII support and advice as well as regular trade news and information from this most respected trade body.
We provide a number of different Training Solutions to help our clients working in the licensed retail sector meet their statutory requirements, up-skill their workforce and develop their business. Our training solutions include;
- Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR)
- National Certificate for Designated Premises Supervisors (NCDPS)
- National Certificate for Licensees - Drugs Awareness (NCLDA)
- Professional Bar Persons Qualification (PBQ)
- Award in Customer Service Excellence – Licensed Premises* (ACSE-LP)
- Certificate in Alcohol Awareness* (CAA)
- Award in Assessment of Licensed Premises – Social Responsibility* (AALP-SR)
- In-House Licensed Retail Sector Induction* (IHLRSI)
- Award in Conflict Management (ACM)
- National Certificate for Door Supervisors (NCDS)
*For more details on these courses please Contact Us
We also help our clients to succeed through our Consultancy Service - The Licensed Retail Sector.
For more details on our Course Dates and Fees please visit the Bookings & Fees section of our website, Contact Us or call us on 0845 602 55 95 to book your place.
Please also visit our National Press Archive and MD Blog for relevant industry news, our comment and advice or join us on Facebook.
Other useful pages in this section of our website include:
• Licensed Retail Sector (Home Page) • Training • Frequently Asked Questions • Useful Information • Responsible Alcohol Retailing • The BIIAB • Incentives & Discounts • Download a Leaflet •
