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Persons who may be licensed

Under the terms of the WT Act, the licence is the instrument by which Ofcom authorises the use of radio apparatus to “a person” in a clearly defined way. In legal terms “a person” may be an individual operating a business from their own premises, or two or more people acting together in partnership, or a company or an incorporated association.

Sole proprietor or individual

A person may apply for a licence in his or her own name. If the person runs a business solely in their own name then that person is known as the sole proprietor. In legal terms, that person is wholly liable for all aspects of the business and all its obligations. If a person operates a radio system then they must hold a WT Act licence in their own name.

If a person changes their name (e.g. through marriage), the licensee must provide a copy of their marriage certificate to the appropriate local office before their licence can be amended. The process is the same for licensees who change their name by deed poll, in that the licensee needs to provide a copy of the certificate of deed poll to the appropriate local office prior to an amended licence being issued.

Partnerships

Partnerships of individuals acting together to form a business for profit are fairly common amongst WT Act licensees. The simplest form of partnership is two people forming a common trading business. In such cases it is usual to state full names of both partners as the licensee in this instance.

However, where there are a number of partners (e.g. accounting firms), the licensee will be expressed to be either named partners or partners at the time of the grant of a licence. The licence will expire either when all the licensees had ceased to be partners or when a new partner had joined the partnership after any licensee had ceased to be a partner in the same partnership.

Public corporations and public bodies

There are many statutory bodies who may hold a licence (e.g. Local Government Authorities, public regulators, transport authorities). The licence would be issued in the legal full name of the authority and issued to an officer of that corporation or body. Some public bodies may also govern public institutions like libraries, schools and colleges. If such institutions have a separate legal identity then they should be licensed in that identity. If not they should be licensed under the appropriate body. Private schools and colleges would depend on their legal constitution. Many private schools may be run by trustees (see below).

Trustees

In the case of Trustees, the licensee(s) are named as the trustees of the particular trust at the time of applying for the licence.

A new licence will be required when all the named licensees have ceased to be trustee. However, Ofcom will not charge from the renewal date.

Clubs and societies

The licensee(s) of Clubs and Societies are expressed to be either the named trustees or committee-members or the trustees or committee members at the time of the grant of the licence. The licence will expire either when all the licensees had ceased to be trustees or committee member.

Partnerships in Scotland

In Scotland only, under the Partnership Act 1890 partnerships have a different legal status in that they are regarded as a distinct corporate entity rather than two or more persons acting together.

General rule

It is important that any changes in the name or configuration of persons holding a licence are promptly notified to Ofcom. This may involve the need to re-issue licences. Licensees are reminded of this when licences are renewed.

Registered companies

Under UK Company Law, businesses may incorporate to form a company, which limits their liability to that of the business itself and not its owners. There are two main forms of registered company, these being (i) Limited Company (Ltd) or (ii.) Public Limited Company (Plc).

Registered companies must be registered at Companies House, where trading details are sent for filing and made available for public scrutiny. All companies must have a director and a company secretary.

For any registered company applying for a licence, the licence must be held in the full registered name of the company. All companies are issued with a certificate of incorporation, which includes a unique registration number that Ofcom requires for certain licence classes. Companies are also required to state their number and registered address on all company correspondence.

Joint ventures

A joint venture which may be granted a licence can be either:

A group of companies who have established a separate corporate vehicle for the purpose of carrying out a specific project; or

a partnership of a number of limited companies.

Where a joint venture is a separate corporate vehicle it would be the corporate vehicle, with a separate legal identity and registered as such with Companies House, that must be licensed.

In the case of the joint venture being a partnership of a group of limited companies, each of the individual limited companies would have to be named on the application form in the same way as a partnership of individuals.

Death of a licence applicant

Should a licence application be received along with the relevant licence fee but the applicant dies before the licence is issued, the payment will be returned on notification of death. Evidence of the licensee’s death in the form of a copy of a “Death Certificate” will be needed before a refund is made.

Discounts applied to certain charities

For some licence classes the licence fee may be reduced for charities. This applies to applicants where their sole objective is the safety of human life in an emergency.

Such applicants are referred to as “a qualifying charity” and as such are entitled to pay half the prescribed licence fee for their licence.

In order to ascertain that a charity is registered and has legal status, Ofcom requires a charity to supply both its charity and company/ charity registration numbers when applying for a licence.

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