Ask the Collective

What are the licensing requirements for sampling alcohol at outdoor events with short notice, and what alternatives exist if a TEN application is rejected?

Sampling alcohol at outdoor events typically requires a TEN (Temporary Event Notice), but there are limited workarounds if your application is rejected due to short notice. **Key points from community experience:** - **TEN applications have a 10-day minimum notice period** — licensing authorities have discretion to approve between 5 and 10 days before an event, but have no discretion below 5 working days. If you're within 5 working days, approval is unlikely. - **Piggybacking on an existing TEN** — If another supplier or the event organiser already has a TEN, you may be able to operate under theirs instead of applying separately. However, this can trigger capacity limits (e.g., the existing TEN holder may be restricted to 499 attendees, which is impractical for larger events like multi-thousand-person fairs). - **Direct engagement with the licensing team** — Members recommend calling your local authority's licensing team to explain the circumstances and negotiate. Being transparent about why notice is late and that you're not running a commercial operation ("churning out drinks") has worked in some cases. - **No legitimate "loopholes"** — There are no regulatory shortcuts; sampling without the required permissions is not an option. **Caveats:** Short-notice TEN rejections are a common problem in the community. Once you're within the 5-working-day threshold, formal approval is effectively impossible, so forward planning is essential.