Sports safety licensing

You must have a safety certificate for sports grounds that can hold:

• more than 10,000 spectators
• more than 5,000 spectators for Premier League or Football League matches

You may apply for either:

• a general safety certificate to allow the sports ground to be used for a specified activity or activities over an indefinite period
• a special safety certificate to permit the sports ground to be used for a specified activity or activities on specified occasions

You must return your application to us with detailed information about the structure, capacity and your safety management systems. You may also have to provide a scale plan of the ground and additional information as required.

You must comply with the terms and conditions attached to the certificate, such as keeping safety maintenance or attendance records.

You may apply to have your safety certificate amended, replaced or transferred to another suitable person.

If you hold a general safety certificate, you must notify us before extending, or altering the sports ground or installations - for example, by changing the entrances or exits.

You must allow us to inspect your sports ground and take copies of your records at any reasonable time.

Failure to comply with the safety certificate requirements may result in a fine and possibly imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Application forms are available upon request.