Pub Compliance Checklist 2026

Last updated: 2 May 2026

Most pub licensees discover they’ve missed a compliance requirement when the inspector arrives — not because they’re careless, but because compliance isn’t taught to you when you take on a pub. Your pubco sends paperwork. Your accountant sends bills. But nobody hands you a single document that says “these are the things that will shut you down or cost you thousands.” I’ve been through the NSF audit process, the EHO inspection, the Marston’s CRP requirements, and the financial accountability that comes with holding a UK pub licence — and I can tell you that a pub compliance checklist isn’t a bureaucratic nice-to-have. It’s the difference between a smooth operation and a costly surprise.

This checklist covers the critical areas that regulators actually look at, the financial records they expect to see, and the operational standards that keep your licence intact. You’ll find specific, actionable items you can implement today — not generic hospitality advice that applies to every restaurant chain in the country.

Licensing and Legal Requirements

Your premises licence is your foundation. Without it, you don’t legally operate. This is the first thing an environmental health officer, trading standards officer, or licensing authority representative will ask to see. The licence document itself must be displayed in a prominent position in your pub — not filed away in an office drawer. I’ve seen pubs fined simply because the licence wasn’t visible to customers.

Check that your premises licence:

• Is current and has not expired
• Matches your current trading address and licensee name
• Lists the correct conditions (permitted hours, event restrictions, density of gaming machines, live music permits)
• Has been renewed (if required) or transferred to you (if you took over an existing licence)
• Is physically displayed in a public area of the pub

If you’ve changed the nature of your business — added a restaurant, introduced quiz nights, added a small hotel, or expanded your opening hours — you may need a variation to your premises licence. This is separate from renewal and can take 4-8 weeks. Do not assume your current licence covers your new activity. I’ve spoken to licensees who added food service, quiz nights and match day events simultaneously and didn’t realise they needed to inform licensing until an inspection.

Beyond the licence itself, you’ll need:

• Personal licence (held by you or a designated premises supervisor): Valid and held by someone who has completed the APLH qualification or equivalent. Trading standards will cross-check this.
• Public liability insurance: Usually £6–10 million cover. Your pubco may dictate the minimum, and your insurer will check your compliance record when renewing.
• Employers’ liability insurance: Legally required if you have staff. Display the certificate in an accessible location.
• Alcohol licensing documentation: Keep records of any notifications you’ve made to the licensing authority, any licensing conditions you’ve agreed to, and correspondence about your licence.

File all of these in one folder — physical or digital — and audit it every quarter. A licensing inspection can happen with minimal notice, and being unable to locate your documents looks worse than having a minor issue you’re already managing.

Health and Safety Compliance

The Environmental Health Officer (EHO) doesn’t just inspect your kitchen — they inspect your whole premises, including cellar, storage, and staff practices. An EHO visit typically happens unannounced, and what they’re looking for is not perfection on the day — it’s evidence that you have systems in place and that your staff understand them.

This is the area where I see the biggest gap between what licensees think is required and what actually gets checked. I achieved a 5-star EHO rating at Teal Farm Pub because we documented everything, not because our pub is flawless. Here’s what they assess:

Food Safety and Hygiene

• HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan in place and documented — even if you only serve snacks and crisps
• Temperature logs for fridges and freezers recorded daily
• Food stock rotation (first in, first out) visibly practised
• Staff understanding of allergen information and ability to communicate it to customers
• Documented cleaning schedules for food contact surfaces and equipment
• Evidence of pest control measures (or contract with pest control provider)
• Water supply documentation (if on mains, confirmation; if on private supply, annual testing records)

Many pubs don’t realise that food safety records don’t need to be complex — they need to be consistent and visible. A temperature log on the back of a till receipt is better than a sophisticated digital system that you don’t actually use. The EHO is looking for evidence of intent and practice, not technology.

Fire Safety and Emergency Procedures

• Fire risk assessment completed within the last year — this is statutory under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• Emergency evacuation plan documented and practised (staff should know the procedure)
• Fire extinguishers in place and serviced annually (date on each extinguisher)
• Emergency lighting tested and working
• Fire exits clear and unlocked during trading hours
• Fire alarm tested weekly (log kept)

A fire risk assessment isn’t a form you complete once and file — it’s a living document. If you’ve made structural changes, added storage, changed your layout, or increased capacity, you need a new assessment. I’ve seen pubs ordered to close temporarily because their fire risk assessment hadn’t been updated after building work.

General Health and Safety

• Health and safety policy documented (required if you have more than five staff)
• Accident book maintained and accessible
• Manual handling training for staff moving kegs, crates, or stock
• Slips, trips and falls risk — wet floors marked, trailing cables identified
• Beer line cleaning records documented — monthly minimum, more frequently during peak periods
• Glass disposal procedures (sharps containers, designated disposal area)
• Substance abuse and safeguarding awareness (especially if you host events or have customers under the influence)

Financial Records and Accounting

Your financial records are the second thing a pubco auditor, NSF inspector, or tax authority will examine — and the detail they expect is often higher than you’d anticipate. I passed my NSF audit in March 2026 because we treat financial compliance like a health and safety matter: not as an optional extra, but as the operating baseline.

Most UK pubs operate on a thin margin, and the moment your records become unclear, you’re vulnerable to:

• NSF (National Suspicion Framework) audit failure — which can result in licence suspension or termination under pubco agreements
• Tax under-reporting and penalties from HMRC
• Inability to prove you’re solvent if you need to raise finance or prove income for personal circumstances
• Disputes with your pubco over your trading position and entitlements

Your EPOS system records what sold. But it doesn’t tell you whether you actually made money. That’s where Pub Command Centre sits — giving you real-time visibility of labour costs as a percentage of revenue, VAT liability, cash position, and weekly profit and loss. Before you sign anything with a pubco, you need to know your numbers. £97 once gives you that clarity from day one.

Financial compliance checklist:

Daily and Weekly Records

• Daily sales log or till reconciliation — cash in, cash out, banking record, variances identified and explained
• Weekly accounts — total sales, cost of goods sold, labour, overheads, and gross profit calculated
• Stock take records — dated, counted, valued, and reconciled to your EPOS (minimum monthly, ideally weekly)
• Banking records matched to daily tills and lodgements

Monthly and Quarterly Records

• VAT reconciliation (if VAT-registered) — sales, purchases, and VAT liability calculated correctly
• Supplier invoices filed and reconciled to inventory and EPOS
• Payroll records — wages, tax, NI, pension contributions documented
• Business rates liability confirmed (check with your local authority annually)
• Utilities and fixed costs tracked

Annual Records

• Profit and loss statement (formal — not a rough estimate)
• Balance sheet showing assets and liabilities
• Accountant’s sign-off or tax return filing evidence
• Year-end stock take (full physical count and valuation)

The reason NSF audits fail isn’t usually fraud — it’s inconsistent or missing records. An auditor expects to see a pattern: daily till records feeding into weekly accounts feeding into monthly management accounts feeding into annual accounts. If any of those steps is missing or irregular, they can’t validate your trading position, and they’ll assume the worst.

Use a pub profit margin calculator monthly to check your gross profit percentage against your targets. If it’s dropping, investigate immediately. Don’t wait for an audit to discover that your costs have crept up or your stock control has failed.

Staff and Employment Compliance

Employment law compliance protects your staff and your licence — and it’s an area where ignorance genuinely isn’t a defence. One of the biggest mistakes I see is licensees treating staff compliance as something HR departments do at big chains, not something they need to worry about running a 15-person pub.

Your staff and how they’re managed are part of your licensing suitability. A poor record on employment practices can be raised during licensing reviews or referenced if there’s an incident at your pub.

Contracts and Written Terms

• Every member of staff has a written contract or statement of terms (required within two months of starting)
• Contract includes: role title, hours (or hours range), pay rate, holiday entitlement, notice period, sick pay arrangements
• Contracts reflect actual working conditions — if someone works flexible hours, that’s stated clearly
• A copy is held on file; the employee has a copy

Working Time Directive and Rest Breaks

• Staff work no more than 48 hours per week (averaged over 17 weeks) unless they’ve opted out in writing
• Daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours between shifts
• Weekly rest period of at least one day per seven days
• Rotas are planned and documented — not improvised on the day
• Staff entitled to paid breaks during long shifts (20 minutes for six hours-plus)

I see a lot of tied pubs and community pubs where the licensee and one or two staff members work most of the hours because budgets are tight. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t exempt you from working time law. If you can’t afford to staff your pub legally, you need to address the business model — not ignore the law.

Training and Competence

• Induction training documented — health and safety, till use, product knowledge, house rules, emergency procedures
• Level 1 or Level 2 Award in Alcohol and Licensed Premises (or equivalent) completed for at least one person
• Safeguarding and responsible service training for all staff (especially important if you serve young people or host vulnerable adult events)
• Food hygiene training (Level 2 minimum) if staff handle food
• First aid training for at least one staff member on every shift
• Training records retained for compliance and audit purposes

Safeguarding and Vulnerable Adults

• Designated safeguarding lead identified and trained
• Policy on refusal of service to intoxicated customers documented and staff trained
• Record of any safeguarding concerns raised or reported
• DBS checks (Disclosure and Barring Service) completed for staff if your pub hosts children’s events or vulnerable adult events
• Age verification procedures documented and staff trained (challenge 25 policy, for example)

Pay and Records

• Staff handbook provided at the start of employment covering house rules, sick pay, grievance procedures, disciplinary procedures
• Payroll records showing gross pay, deductions, tax, NI, and net pay for each employee
• Minimum wage compliance checked monthly (rates change April each year)
• Pension contributions (if you have fewer than five employees, you’re exempt, but confirm this with your accountant)
• Holiday pay calculated correctly (accrues throughout the year, not just paid at Christmas)

Operational Checks and Maintenance

The difference between a compliant pub and a failing one is often not dramatic — it’s in the consistency of small operational checks. These are the things that don’t make headlines but accumulate into either a track record of diligence or a pattern of neglect.

Equipment and Maintenance

• All gas appliances (if applicable) have an annual safety certificate from a Gas Safe engineer
• Electrical installation condition report (EICR) completed every five years
• Portable electrical appliances tested annually (PAT testing)
• Refrigeration units maintained and serviced annually
• EPOS system and till roll backups maintained (loss of sales records is a regulatory red flag)
• Furniture and fixtures inspected for safety hazards (broken stools, loose railings, sharp edges)

Event-Specific Compliance

Match day events, quiz nights, and peak trading periods need specific planning. A packed pub on match day or during a quiz night is when licensing conditions are most likely to be breached — either through overcrowding, noise, or loss of control.

• Capacity limits observed (fire safety compliance)
• Adequate staffing for the event (not relying on one person to manage 200 customers)
• Door staff or security briefed if the event is likely to attract large crowds or be high-energy
• Post-event debrief and incident log updated if anything noteworthy happened (even if it was handled well, record it)

Cellar and Beverage Management

• Beer line cleaning schedule followed (minimum monthly, documented)
• Temperature logs for cellar fridges and drink storage recorded daily
• Keg invoices and empty keg returns matched to billing (tied tenants especially — your pubco will audit this)
• Spillage and waste recorded and accounted for in stock takes
• Optics and dispense measurements consistent (free-pouring is not acceptable in a compliant pub)
• Stock take template used consistently — same day of week, same person counting (or two people for larger pubs)

Audit Preparation and Record Keeping

You’ll know within weeks of taking on a pub whether you’re building a compliant operation or storing up problems. The difference isn’t huge effort — it’s consistent, small actions. I spend maybe two hours a week on compliance-related tasks at Teal Farm. That protects my licence and gives me confidence if an inspection happens.

Audits and inspections aren’t designed to catch you out; they’re designed to verify that you’re running a safe, honest, legal operation. If your compliance is strong, an inspection is almost a relief — you’ll pass and get confidence that you’re doing the right thing.

Documentation and Filing System

Set up a simple filing system (physical or digital) with these sections:

• Licensing: Premises licence, personal licence, insurance certificates, correspondence with licensing authority
• Health and Safety: Fire risk assessment, EHO reports, accident book, cleaning schedules, training records
• Financial: Daily till records, weekly accounts, invoices, payroll records, bank statements
• Staff: Contracts, training records, safeguarding records, disciplinary records (if applicable)
• Equipment: Gas safety certificates, electrical testing, maintenance logs
• Events: Event planning records, incident logs, post-event debriefs

This isn’t bureaucracy for its own sake — it’s protection. When an inspector arrives, you hand them one folder. When your pubco audits, you have everything to hand. When you need to refer back to something (why was there a variance last week, when was the last beer line clean, who signed off on staff training), you can answer in minutes.

Monthly Compliance Audit

Run your own compliance check once a month. Take 30 minutes and check:

• Licences and insurance still current (set a reminder three months before expiry)
• Financial records up to date and balanced
• Staff training records current
• Maintenance logs completed (temperature, cleaning, safety checks)
• No outstanding issues from previous inspections

If something’s missing, fix it immediately. Don’t wait for an inspection to discover you haven’t done the fire safety test for two months.

Audit-Specific Preparation

If you know an NSF audit or licensing review is coming:

• Pull your financial records for the last 12 months and have them in chronological order
• Reconcile till records to bank statements (auditors will do this, so you need to be confident it matches)
• Review your accounts against industry benchmarks — if your GP% is significantly below average, understand why
• Check that all documented claims (e.g. “we pay staff £X” or “we serve Y covers per week”) match your records
• Have a debrief with your accountant before the audit — they’ll flag any discrepancies you haven’t noticed
• Brief your staff that an audit might happen — they’re not witnesses to an interrogation, they’re part of demonstrating you run a legitimate operation

An audit failure isn’t the result of one missed detail — it’s the result of patterns. One week of missing till records is an oversight. Three months of missing records is negligence. Your compliance systems need to be boring and consistent, not perfect but occasional.

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