Locate nearest shops selling booze all night near me

The 24 Hour Alcohol database contains details of all retail premises in England & Wales licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours. Just because a shop is listed as having a 24 hour alcohol licence doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are many shops licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours that have chosen not to open all night.

Where possible, we’ve listed opening times of stores in our database but as trading hours of individual shops may change from time to time, this data is for guidance only. We’ve tried to list the phone number for each 24 hour off licence so you can confirm opening times before setting off on your quest for 24 hour booze. It’s always worth checking if you are going out of your way to buy booze late at night, as even 24/7 shops may occasionally close for maintenance/refurbishment or due to unforeseen circumstances. If you’re planning to visit a 24 hour supermarket operated by one of the large grocery chains, you may prefer to use their store locator to check opening hours, especially on public/bank holidays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday & Easter Monday, when trading hours are likely to vary.

Asda is the only large supermarket chain with superstores still open 24 hours but please note that large supermarkets (such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose & Partners, Marks & Spencer, Iceland) are not legally allowed to open 24 hours on Sundays, due to Sunday trading laws in England and Wales, so even if open 24 hours, are only an option during the week and on Friday night – they aren’t any use in the early hours of Sunday morning, AKA Saturday night. Smaller convenience stores, corner shops, mini-markets, newsagents, carry-outs and petrol filling stations/service station forecourts are not restricted by Sunday trading regulations so are free to open 24/7. Read more about what time 24 hour supermarkets are allowed to sell alcohol and open on Sundays.

It’s also worth noting that some shops in the 24 Hour Alcohol database marked as “not currently open 24 hours” may still open late into the night, or open early in the morning, so it could be worth giving them a quick call to check if they are open at the time you are planning to visit, if there are no other 24 hour shops open in the vicinity.

The majority of 24 hour petrol stations, along with some 24 hour convenience stores, shut their doors at night and serve only through a night pay hatch/window. Licensing conditions at some premises require specific minimum staffing levels or SIA-licensed security, while others are mandated to use a serving hatch with no customers allowed inside – meaning larger crates of beer simply won’t fit, although some stores will break them up to fit through the hatch, others won’t.

Other shops may be prohibited from selling single cans, spirits miniatures or even multipacks overnight. Because there are over 300 licensing authorities, conditions vary widely based on each council’s specific Licensing Policy and the personal perspectives of the councillors sitting on the sub-committee. We do not keep records of these specific conditions in our database, as they are frequently updated and often modified without the public notice required for full grant or variation applications.

Since these committees have the discretion to interpret policy and impose bespoke restrictions, the rules often depend on who is presiding over the hearing on the day. If you’re after something specific, it’s always worth calling ahead to ensure your local 24 hour store can meet your requirements at the time you plan to visit.

It’s worth noting that the specific wording on a shop’s license can sometimes lead to minor confusion. While most 24 hour alcohol licenses use 00:00 to 00:00 or 00:00 to 24:00 for a seamless loop, some are mistakenly written as 00:00 to 23:59, 00:01 to 00:00 or 00:01 to 23:59. Although no licensing authority would realistically take action over a few seconds when it was clear the intention of the application was for 24 hour alcohol sales, very occasionally some store staff misinterpret this literal wording and briefly pause sales for a minute or two. It’s a rare quirk that usually comes down to how a store’s computer or manager interprets the paperwork, rather than a strict council rule.

The law which permits 24 hour drinking (the Licensing Act 2003) doesn’t apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland – only shops in England & Wales have the option of applying for a premises licence to sell alcohol all night. See Alcohol Sales Times in Scotland and Alcohol Sales Times in Northern Ireland for details of the permitted times shops and carry-outs can sell alcohol, along with closing times for pubs, bars & nightclubs, plus special rules for airports and hotels (where 24 hour alcohol is permissible!) and general details of liquor licensing laws and how they vary across United Kingdom.

You must be over 18 years of age to buy alcoholic beverages in the UK, however, some shops operate “Challenge 21” or “Challenge 25” schemes, where anyone that appears to be aged under 21/25 is asked for proof of age, so if that’s you, don’t forget your ID!

We know how annoying it is to come across a shop that’s open 24hrs but not licensed to sell alcohol all-night, which is why we compiled, and continue to maintain, the 24 Hour Alcohol Database of 24 Hour Off Licences in England & Wales. We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure the information published on this website is accurate but 24 Hour Alcohol assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions. Please help us keep our database up to date by letting us know if you do spot incorrect data. You can drop us a message or give us a call on 020 8144 2424 (London) or 0161 818 2424 (Manchester) and leave a voicemail if nobody is available to take your call – lines are open 24/7/365.