The National Licensee's Certificate (usually
abbreviated to NLC) is a
qualification issued by the British Institute of Innkeeping which proves that the holder has basic
knowledge of the
alcohol licensing and
retail law in
England and
Wales.
The NLC is an umbrella term for three different qualifications. On-license (pertaining to public houses for example), Off-license (pertaining to Off-licences) and Part IV licenses (pertaining to restaurants, hotels and boarding houses).
The course leading to the NLC is covered in one or two days at a college finishing with a forty-five minute multiple choice examination. The first ten questions must be answered correctly in order to pass the examination and a mark of at least forty out of fifty must be obtained in order to pass and gain the NLC.
The NLC is usually a prerequisite for obtaining a license to sell intoxicating liquor from the Licensing Justices (the local Justice of the Peace at the Magistrates court) as it helps to show that the applicant is a "fit and proper" person to hold a license to sell intoxicating liquor.