Public · free template

Business License Application

Two-page business licence application: the business and its owners, the premises and activity, opening hours, and the checks a council needs first.

A ready-to-use government & public sector form for councils, agencies and public bodies: 26 questions, 2 pages, 4 conditional rules.

Questions
26
Pages
2
Layouts
classic · card
Time to complete
≈ 8 min
Conditional rules
4
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Live preview and test console

This is the real form. Answer it to test the 1 conditional rule — nothing is sent or stored.

Page 1 of 2 — The business

About the business

Legal structure

Include your country code.

Every question on this page is currently visible.

Compliance checklist

Ready to publish
  • Payment items priced — passingEvery payment question charges a real amount, so a submission always records a payment.
  • Conditional logic resolves — passingEvery rule points at a question or page that exists in this template.
  • Legal text not required — passingThis template collects neither health nor regulated financial information.
  • Question labels unique — passingLogic and exports address questions by label, so duplicates are ambiguous.

What happens after submit: nothing is stored in this preview. On your own copy, every response triggers an instant email notification and lands in your response dashboard, ready to export or forward.

Happy with it? Take a copy into your workspace — every question, rule and setting comes with it.

Who this template is for

Business License Application is built for councils, agencies and public bodies who need to run a public request or application to a consistent standard.

  • Councils, agencies and public bodies working in government & public sector.
  • Teams who need to run a public request or application to a consistent standard without writing code or paying for a custom build.
  • Anyone replacing paper forms that are slow to process and hard to audit with one structured record per enquiry.
  • Respondents are residents and applicants — the form asks them 26 questions across 2 screens.
  • Mobile-heavy audiences, thanks to the one-question-per-screen card layout.

Why this form is useful

It removes the cost of paper forms that are slow to process and hard to audit and turns each submission into a record your team can act on immediately.

  • 16 questions are required, so submissions arrive complete instead of needing a follow-up email.
  • It collects a verified email address so replies and confirmations land.
  • It captures a phone number for urgent follow-up.
  • It accepts a document or photo upload as evidence.
  • It captures a full postal address.
  • It allows multiple selections without free text.
  • It captures a numeric value you can filter and sort on.
  • Conditional logic hides 4 questions until they are relevant — shorter forms convert better than long ones.

How to use this template

From copy to live form is a few minutes of work, and every step is reversible.

  1. 1Press “Use this template” — a fresh copy of Business License Application lands in your workspace, ready to edit.
  2. 2Rename or delete any question, and change what is required. Nothing here is fixed.
  3. 3Open Notifications and add the email addresses that should be alerted on each submission; add an auto-reply to the respondent if the form collects an email address.
  4. 4Check the upload limits on the file question so respondents can attach what you actually need.
  5. 5Publish it, then either share the link directly or paste the embed snippet into your site — the embedded form resizes to fit and loads no marketing or advertising trackers.
  6. 6Watch responses land in Submissions, where you can filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF.

Logic and conditions blueprint

Exactly how this form behaves as it is answered — 4 conditional rules ship with it.

  • Features conditional validation: if “Will food be prepared or sold?” is Yes, “Who is responsible for food safety?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Will alcohol be sold?” is Yes, “Who will hold the alcohol licence?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Has a licence ever been refused or revoked for you or your business?” is Yes, “What happened, and when?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features advanced show logic: if “Are the premises owned or leased?” is Leased, the form dynamically exposes “Landlord name and lease end date”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • All 4 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other.

About this template

A licence application is a conversation between a business owner who has never done this and a department that reviews hundreds. This two-page form is written for the owner. The first page covers the business: trading name, legal structure, the owners or directors with dates of birth, the registered and trading addresses, and contact details for whoever will answer questions during the review. The second page covers what the business will actually do and where: the type of licence being applied for, the activity described in plain words, the premises and whether it is owned or leased, proposed opening hours including any late trading, how many staff will work there, whether food is prepared or alcohol sold, whether music will be played, and how waste is handled. It asks about any previous licence refused or revoked, which is a routine question, and invites the documents most authorities ask for. Licence categories, conditions and fees are set locally, so check your own council's list before applying.

What this form asks

Every question is editable — rename it, make it optional, or delete it entirely.

Page 1 — The business

  • Trading namerequired
  • Legal structurerequired
  • Registered company or charity number
  • Owners or directors, with dates of birthrequired
  • Registered address
  • Main contact namerequired
  • Contact numberrequired
  • Email addressrequired

Page 2 — Premises and activity

  • Which licence are you applying for?required
  • Describe what the business will dorequired
  • Address of the premises
  • Are the premises owned or leased?required
  • Landlord name and lease end date
  • Proposed opening hoursrequired
  • Will you trade after 11pm?required
  • How many staff will work there?
  • Will food be prepared or sold?required
  • Who is responsible for food safety?
  • Will alcohol be sold?required
  • Who will hold the alcohol licence?
  • Will music be played?required
  • How will waste be stored and collected?
  • Has a licence ever been refused or revoked for you or your business?required
  • What happened, and when?
  • Upload your plans, insurance and any certificates
  • Declarationsrequired

26 questions in total.

Example of a completed business license application

This sample shows how a new café applies for the licences it needs to open.

Trading name
The Copper Kettle Cafe
Legal structure
Sole trader
Which licence are you applying for?
Food business registration
Describe what the business will do
Serve coffee, tea and light lunches to sit-in and takeaway customers.
Address of the premises
6 Market Square, Durham, DH1 3NJ
Proposed opening hours
8am to 5pm, seven days a week
Will you trade after 11pm?
No
Will food be prepared or sold?
Yes
Has a licence ever been refused or revoked for you or your business?
No

Sample data — no real people, addresses or records are shown.

How the form changes as it's filled in

This template ships with 4 conditional rules, grouped into 4 behaviours driven by 4 questions. Everything below is already set up — edit or delete any rule once the template is in your workspace.

Driven by “Will food be prepared or sold?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Will food be prepared or sold?” is Yes, “Who is responsible for food safety?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Will alcohol be sold?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Will alcohol be sold?” is Yes, “Who will hold the alcohol licence?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Has a licence ever been refused or revoked for you or your business?”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Has a licence ever been refused or revoked for you or your business?” is Yes, “What happened, and when?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Are the premises owned or leased?”

  • Reveals questions

    If “Are the premises owned or leased?” is Leased, the form reveals “Landlord name and lease end date”.

Set it up step by step

  1. 1

    Name the licence types you issue

    The dropdown should match your own list exactly, because a mismatched category is the most common reason an application is returned.

  2. 2

    Ask about hours and music together

    Late hours and live music usually trigger the same consultation step, so capturing both up front sets the timeline honestly.

  3. 3

    List required documents above the form

    Applicants gather documents once; telling them what to bring before they start avoids two weeks of correspondence.

  4. 4

    Route food and alcohol answers onward

    Those answers usually involve another team, so send them there automatically rather than by hand.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Using statutory language in the questions, so a first-time applicant answers about the wrong activity.
  • Not asking about previous refusals, which is a routine check and awkward to raise later.
  • Printing fee amounts in the form when they are reviewed every year.

What it pairs with

Most teams don't run this form on its own. These are the forms and systems it sits next to.

What to do with the responses

Acknowledge with a reference and the expected review time, refer food, alcohol and noise answers to the right teams, and confirm in writing before trading starts.

Works in both layouts

Browse classic templatesBrowse card templates

Forms that overlap this one

These pages cover the same subject ground as the business license application, matched on the words people actually search for.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the general permit form?

The Permit Application Form handles short one-off permissions. A business licence involves premises, hours, owners and checks, which is what this form gathers.

Can trading start while the application is reviewed?

No, and the declaration states it. Starting before a licence is granted is what turns a routine application into enforcement.

Why ask for directors' dates of birth?

Most authorities run identity or suitability checks on the people behind a licence, and a missing date of birth stalls that check.

What if the business is mobile?

Choose the mobile option and leave the premises fields blank; the activity description and hours usually carry the assessment for street and mobile trading.

Is the Business License Application template free to use?

Yes. You can preview and test Business License Application on this page without an account, and take a copy into your own HelloForms workspace on the free plan. There is nothing to install and no card required to publish it.

What does the Business License Application template ask for?

It asks 26 questions across 2 pages, 16 of which are required. Every question is listed in full further down this page, and each one can be renamed, reordered, made optional or deleted after you copy the template.

Can I edit the Business License Application form after copying it?

Yes — the copy is entirely yours. Change wording, add or remove questions, switch between the classic and card layouts, restyle it to match your brand, and set who gets notified on each submission.

How does the conditional logic in this government & public sector form work?

4 conditional rules ship with the template: Features conditional validation: if “Will food be prepared or sold?” is Yes, “Who is responsible for food safety?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features conditional validation: if “Will alcohol be sold?” is Yes, “Who will hold the alcohol licence?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features conditional validation: if “Has a licence ever been refused or revoked for you or your business?” is Yes, “What happened, and when?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. All rules are editable in the Logic tab.

Where do responses to the Business License Application form go?

Submissions land in your workspace under Submissions, where you can search, filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF. You can also email a notification to your team on every submission and send the respondent an auto-reply.

Can I embed the Business License Application form on my own website?

Yes. Publish the form and paste the embed snippet into any page or share the direct link. The embedded form resizes to fit its container and loads no advertising or marketing trackers inside the iframe.

Can respondents upload files?

Yes. This template includes a file upload question, so respondents can attach documents or photos with their answers. You can adjust the accepted file types and size limits on that question.

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