Independent service - not affiliated with GOV.UK or any government body. See the free official route →
Plain-English UK licensing

Find, understand and apply for the UK licences that trip people up.

We explain what a licence actually costs, who issues it and how it works, in plain English, and we always show you the free official route before anything else.

Popular: SIA licence · HGV operator's licence · HMO licence · personal licence

A person applying for a UK licence online at their laptop
Photo: Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash
IndependentNot GOV.UK or any government body, and never dressed up to look like one.
Free route always shownEvery guide links directly to the official GOV.UK or council process.
Fees dated & sourcedEvery figure is checked against a primary source and dated on the page.
No drip pricingIf we charge a fee, it's shown alongside the statutory fee, in full, up front.

Browse UK licences by category

Every licence we cover, written as a plain-English guide with the free official route always shown. Type in the search above to filter, or pick a category.

Security & SIA licences

HGV operator's licence

PSV (bus & coach) operator's licence

Driving instructor (ADI) registration

HMO & landlord licensing

Alcohol licences

Waste & environment

Taxi & private hire

Food hygiene certificate

Gambling licence

Scrap metal dealer licence

Street trading & highways permits

Animal activities licence

Tattoo & piercing registration

Firearms & shotgun certificate

Business & money

Taxi & PHV licensing by council

London (TfL) · Manchester · Birmingham · Leeds · Wolverhampton · Sheffield · Bradford · Liverpool · Bristol · Coventry · Leicester · Nottingham · Newcastle · Edinburgh · Glasgow · Cardiff · Swansea · Bolton · Kirklees · Sandwell · Walsall · Milton Keynes · Derby · Dudley · Stoke-on-Trent · Portsmouth · Rochdale · Plymouth · Barnsley · Knowsley · Sefton · Rossendale · Wakefield

HMO licensing by council

Manchester · Birmingham · Leeds · Liverpool · Nottingham · Bristol · Newham · Brent · Ealing · Haringey · Oxford · Cambridge · Brighton & Hove · Portsmouth · Southampton · Sheffield · Leicester · Coventry · Salford · Tower Hamlets · Waltham Forest · Barking & Dagenham · Croydon · Enfield · Redbridge · Bradford · Bournemouth (BCP) · Luton · Reading · Hull

How it works

Three steps, and the free official option is always shown alongside anything we charge for. Read the full breakdown →

01

Find the right licence

No legal terms - we explain in plain English what you actually need and why.

02

See the real cost and process

We show the statutory fee, who issues it, and what we could confirm about how long it takes, before you commit to anything.

03

Apply yourself, or let us help

Use the free official route directly, or, where we offer help, pay a clearly itemised fee shown next to the statutory one.