Caravan site and campsite licences

If you are a caravan site occupier, you should have a licence already but you should check that your name, the site name and address is correct and up to date. Also check that the licence corresponds with your planning permission. If not, you should contact us for further advice.

If you have recently become a caravan site occupier, licences are transferable to a new occupier but the law requires us to give consent for the transfer. You should contact us for further advice.

If you are a potential site occupier, you or your legal advisor should check that all the land used for siting caravans has planning permission and that the details correspond with the site licence. If you wish to change the use of the land to a relevant protected site (permanent residential) you must have planning permission before a licence can be issued. You should contact us for further advice.

Cases where a caravan site licence is not required

Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 – First Schedule:

a caravan is sited with the curtilage of a dwelling and its use is incidental to the dwelling (this means it cannot be occupied separately)
a single caravan sited for not more than two consecutive nights for a maximum of 28 days in any 12 months
up to three caravans on a site of not less than five acres for a maximum of 28 days in any 12 months
sites occupied by exempted organisations such as the Caravan Club and have an exemption certificate
sites used for a meetings (social get-together) of an exempted organisation such as caravan club members (a ‘rally’)
sites for building and engineering sites, travelling showmen or seasonal agricultural workers (like fruit pickers) and forestry workers
sites occupied by the local authority (these are usually gypsy traveller sites)

Temporary pop-up campsites

For additional information, please view our temporary pop-up campsites document.

Where a licence is required

How do I apply?

You must complete the relevant application form below:

Please return your completed application to us. Contact us for details.

How much does it cost to apply?

Holiday, touring and tent site licences are free. Charges only apply to park homes or permanent residential sites. View our licensing fees and charges.

You can find more information in our park home fees policy (pdf / 432 KB) and our fit and proper person fees policy (pdf / 212 KB).

Pay online

You can pay for your licence online using our secure payment system.

Pay online now

What happens next?

Once an application has been received into us and we determine it to be a valid application (we will notify you of this), we will then aim to complete the licence within 40 working days for caravan sites, or 20 working days for campsites.

Conditions

Each application will have to comply with the relevant site licence conditions. If you have dual-purpose sites i.e. tents and touring then you may have to combine conditions. Not all conditions will be relevant and an officer can assist you with what standards you will need to comply with.

Read the following conditions:

The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020

The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 introduced a fit and proper person test for the owners or appointed managers of certain mobile home sites (sometimes called park homes sites), unless exempted by the regulations.

Unless the site is exempt, the site owner must either:

be a fit and proper person to lawfully operate a park home site
have a fit and proper site manager in place

What must a site owner do?

Existing site owners operating a relevant protected site must submit an application for the ‘relevant person’ (either themselves or an appointed site manager) for consideration by the council.

The council must check that the ‘relevant person’ is a fit and proper person to manage the site and the council will consider several factors for example:

past compliance with the site licence
the long-term maintenance of the site
whether the relevant person has sufficient level of competence to manage the site
the management structure and funding arrangements for the site or proposed management structure and funding arrangements
resident complaints

We'll also consider whether the relevant person:

has the right to work within the UK
has committed any offence involving fraud or other dishonesty, violence, arson or drugs or listed in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (offences attracting notification requirements)
has contravened any provision of the law relating to housing, caravan sites, mobile homes, public health, planning or environmental health or of landlord and tenant law
has contravened any provision of the Equality Act 2010 in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
has harassed any person in, or in connection with, the carrying on of any business
has had an application rejected by any other local authority
is, or has been within the past 10 years, personally insolvent
is, or has been within the last 10 years, disqualified from acting as a company director

We also may consider the conduct of any person associated or formerly associated with the ‘relevant person’ (whether on a personal, work or other basis), if it appears that person's conduct is relevant.

Our fit and proper determination process (pdf / 307 KB) can be viewed to see what criteria must be matched while applying for the application.

Applications and cost

The current fee for a fit and proper person application can be viewed on the licensing fees and charges page here.

You will need to provide:

a completed application form
the fee
a copy of a criminal records check that is no more than six months old - learn more on the Government website
supporting evidence of site ownership and management as necessary for the individual site

Fit and proper person fees policy

Our fit and proper person fees policy can be found here (pdf / 212 KB).

Exempt sites

A site is exempt if it's "a non-commercial family occupied site". This is a site only occupied by members of the same family and not being run on a commercial basis.

The regulations provide further detail about this exemption. See The Mobile Homes (Requirement for Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper Person) (England) Regulations 2020 on the Government website for more details.

Park home site rules

The Mobile Homes (Site Rules) (England) Regulations 2014 lay out the procedure for making, varying and deleting site rules, as well as listing matters on which site rules can and cannot be made. The Regulations require formal consultation between the site owner and residents before the rules are ‘deposited’ with the local authority. You can read the Regulations on the Government website.

Information about park homes and the consultation process can be found on the Government website.

A clear appeal procedure is provided if a resident wishes to challenge any of the rules proposed.

These site rules are different from the licence conditions, which are enforced by the council. The site rules are a private agreement between the licence holder and tenants living on the site.

Once the site rules have been ‘deposited’ the regulations state that the local authority must establish and maintain a register of site rules of sites in its area and publish that register online. This will also apply to any future amendments or deletions.