Special Licences

Liquor Licensing

A Special Licence authorises the holder of the licence to sell and supply alcohol on the premise or conveyance described in the licence to any person attending a one-off occasion or event.

One of the requirements of a special licence is the provision of food at all times alcohol is for sale and supply. Timaru District hosts a number of large annual festivals and food stall holders are required to complete and return a food stall application form to the Timaru District Council. For single events please complete the Food Safety application form together with your application for a special licence.

Please note that the District Licensing Committee has a compulsory shut down between 20 December and 15 January. What this means is that any applications received during this period will not be processed until after 15 January and these are not counted as working days.  We are available in the office during this period to answer any enquiries.

Important – applications that are not submitted in full are unable to be processed and will be returned.   This includes submitting:

  • Every page of the application including the front cover, and even the pages that you have not filled in (i.e. pages 1 to 14)
  • Answering all relevant questions in full – “please see attached” is acceptable, however providing contact details for someone else to contact such as a food vendor, is not
  • ALL documents as per the checklist on page 14, even if you have submitted numerous applications previously
  • Information about when you have/will pay the fee (payment details on page 13) – we do not issue invoices

Please ensure that all required information is provided at the time of submission, as it is the applicant’s responsibility to supply complete documentation. We are unable to follow up on missing details.

Last updated: 08 Sep 2025