Car boot sale licence

Car boot sales usually count as ‘occasional sales’, which must be licensed.

An occasional sale is a sale including five or more stalls, stands, vehicles or pitches.

There are exceptions to the licensing of occasional sales.

Sales held in car parks need a licence, but those held inside buildings or on a highway do not.

You do not need a licence if the proceeds of the sale are to used solely or principally for charitable, social, sporting, religious or political purposes.

Apply for a licence

Occasional sales licence application form (DOCX, 32.82 KB)

Please complete all parts and send it to us at least 42 days before the date of the sale.

We will decide whether to grant or refuse your application and notify you of our decision within 21 days.

If we refuse your application or impose any conditions on your licence, we will write to you to tell you why.

We will also send you details of your right of appeal.

Fees

The fee for this licence depends on the number of stalls, vehicles or pitches at the sale.

You will need to contact us to discuss how much the licence will cost and make the payment before submitting your application.

Contact for quote and payment:

020 8215 3007

Request quote and make payment

Licensing conditions

If we decide to grant your licence, we can impose conditions relating to:

  • the starting time of the sale
  • the time the sale will end
  • parking arrangements
  • arrangements for dealing with road congestion, litter and noise caused by the sale
  • a requirement that sellers must display their name and address at the sale
  • any other conditions which we feel apply to your application

We may refuse your licence application if:

  • we consider parking arrangements to be inadequate
  • we consider arrangements to deal with road congestion, litter or noise are inadequate
  • you have not complied with an occasional sales licence condition imposed by any council within the last three years

At the sale you must display prominently your full name and business address, and the full name and business address of the person responsible for dealing with complaints about the sale.

These details must also be included on all notices, posters and leaflets about the sale which are exhibited or distributed.

If you do not comply with your licence conditions, you could be prosecuted and future applications to hold sales may be refused.