Licences - street trading

The council's Licensing Services in partnership with other council servcies and the Lothian and Borders Police administers the Street Traders' Licensing scheme.  If you plan to operate:

• Hot food take away vans (burgers, chips etc)
• Sell food (fish, fruit etc)
• Clean Bins (Wheeled Bin Cleaner)

You will need a Street Traders' Licence.

A street trader's licence is required where a person, whether on his/her own account or as an employee, or business, proposes to engage in the activity of  street trading.  This means that not only a street trader needs a licence as an employer but also each individual person who is employed in the street trading as well. 

Persons trading as a company or partnership will be required to ensure that each employee is licensed in his/her own right.

Definition of "street trading"
Doing any of the following things in a public place.

• Hawking, Selling, or Offering or Exposing for sale any article;
• Offering to carry out or carrying out for money or money?s worth any service.

Definition of "Public place"
Any place (whether a thoroughfare or not) to which the public have unrestricted access and includes:

• The doorways or entrances of premises abutting on any such place; and
• Any common passage, close, court, stair, garden or yard pertinent to any tenement or group of separately owned houses.

A street trader's licence is not required for:

• The sale of newspapers only;
• The sale of milk by or on behalf of a person registered under Section 7 of the  Milk and Dairies (Scotland) Act, 1914;
  
• The sale of coal, coke or any solid fuel derived from coal or of which coal or coke is the constituent;
  
• Any activity in respect of which a certificate under the Pedlars Act 1871 has been granted;
  (A Pedlar is any person who travels and trades on foot, carrying to sell or exposing for sale any goods or procuring orders for goods immediately to be delivered or selling or offering for sale a skill in handicraft).
  
• Any activity in respect of which a licence is required under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act, 1982, apart from Section 39 of that Act dealing with street trader?s licences;  
• Organising or participating in a public charitable collection within the meaning of Sub-Section (16) of Section 119 of the above Act in accordance with permission granted under that Section.
  

In addition, a street trader's licence is not required by roundsperson making pre-arranged deliveries.  A "Pre-arranged Delivery" is where only goods, which have been ordered by customers, are delivered by the roundsperson.  Other than those who are exempt in terms of Section 39 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act, 1982, who sells goods to the public and who is not carrying out pre-arranged deliveries does require a street trader's licence.

In terms of the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act, 1956, Food is defined to include drink, chewing gum and other products of a like nature and use, and articles and substances used in the preparation of food and drink or of such products.