A licence does not transfer with the business. Temporary authority is the mechanism that usually lets a new owner keep trading while a substantive application is worked through.
When a licensed business changes hands, the buyer is not automatically able to sell alcohol. The existing licence is held by the previous operator, and a change of ownership does not carry it across to the new entity, even where the premises, staff and trading hours stay exactly the same.
This catches operators out most often in a share-sale versus asset-sale discussion. If the entity holding the licence is not the entity you end up trading through, the licence does not follow you.
Temporary authority allows a prospective new owner to trade on the existing licence for a limited period while a substantive application in their own name is prepared and determined. It is a bridge, not a destination.
Applications are made to the District Licensing Committee for the district the premises sits in. The committee will want to be satisfied the applicant is suitable and that trading will continue in a compliant way.
The single most common problem is leaving the application until the week of settlement. Councils work to their own timeframes, and a temporary authority granted after your settlement date is no help for the trading days in between.
Work backwards from the settlement date and treat temporary authority as one of the first workstreams after the sale and purchase agreement is signed, alongside your lease, food registration and staffing.
A temporary authority does not remove the requirement for appropriate management on the floor. From your first day of trading you need a duty manager with a current certificate, and the appointment needs to be recorded properly.
If the previous owner held the certificate, that person is leaving with it. Confirm early whether an existing staff member is certificated, or whether someone needs to start the process.
Trading under a temporary authority means trading under the existing licence and its conditions: hours, designations, host responsibility requirements and any conditions imposed at the last renewal. Read the licence before you take over, not after your first busy Saturday.
If the conditions do not suit your intended operation, that is a matter for the substantive application, not something to be adjusted informally.
Temporary authority buys time. The substantive application in your own name is the piece that establishes your licence going forward, and it requires the usual material: plans, certificates, host responsibility policy and the relevant reports.
Starting that work while the temporary authority is running keeps the two processes from colliding.