Owners of sites with residential usage must have a new licence in force before 1 May 2019.
If you intend to use land as a caravan site you need a licence.
To be eligible you must:
- be entitled to use the land as a caravan site
- have valid planning permission
More information is available in our Caravan licence conditions (Word, 93kb).
There are 3 types of site:
- residential - year round use, with permanent caravans used as the occupiers' sole, or main, home
- holiday - caravans on site for most of the year, but not continuously occupied as sole, or main, home
- touring - caravans not permanently on site, or occupied temporarily.
Mixed usage sites may need 2 licences.
Apply
Complete and return a Caravan site licence application (Word, 137kb).
You must include:
- 3 copies of the site layout plan
- evidence that the site has planning permission and any conditions applied
Please see our Additional notes for applicants (PDF, 116kb).
Fees
All fees can be found on our licence fees webpage.
There is no fee for holiday and/or touring only sites.
There is no fee to transfer a Licence, or to transfer it into the name of an Executor.
What happens next?
We will consult with colleagues, Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. We will consider things like; utilities, Protected Site Agreement and Discrimination to help us decide whether to grant a licence.
How long does the licence last?
A licence for touring and/or holiday sites is permanent.
A licence for residential sites lasts for up to 5 years. The licence holder should apply for renewal.
If the land is sold, the licence will only pass to the new owner if the previous owner applies to the council for consent under Section 10. Contact us for more information.
Licence conditions
If the licence holder breaks the conditions of a licence, or if the council thinks the licence holder or the site manager is not fit for purpose, the Counci can:
- revoke the Licence
- make an order to stop the licence holder collecting pitch fees and sale commissions
The Police can prosecute a licence holder who breaks the conditions of the Licence.
Please note: We follow National Fraud Initiative guidelines to protect against fraud.