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.

STEP 3 OF 7 · ELIGIBILITY SIA LICENCE

Do you already hold a valid enhanced DBS check?

This affects which SIA licence category you need and how long it takes.

Yes, within the last 12 months
No, I'll need to apply for one
I'm not sure

Preview of our guided application tool, in development.

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.

Start with the licences most people get wrong

We're building this out licence by licence, starting with the ones where the official process is genuinely confusing, not because the fee is high.

SIA · Security

Door supervisor & security licence

Working as a security guard, door supervisor or CCTV operator? Here's exactly which licence class you need, what it costs, and what the SIA's own data says about processing times.

Statutory fee£204
Licence lasts3 years
Guide + apply →
DVSA · Transport

HGV operator's licence advert generator

Every standard operator licence application needs a statutory newspaper advert with the wording set out by the DVSA. Our free tool generates it for you, correctly formatted, in minutes.

Statutory fee£257 + £401
Our toolfree to use
Generate your advert →
Coming soon

HMO & selective landlord licensing

Whether your rental property needs a licence depends on your council. We're building the guide and the council-by-council lookup for this now.

Statutory feevaries by council
Guide in progress

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.