Notting Hill Carnival 2025: street trading information FAQs

Read the information carefully and ensure you are able to comply with the requirements and street trading licence conditions, before applying to be added to the Street Trading Reserve List.

Trading and trading hours

What are the requirements for becoming a street trader at Notting Hill Carnival?

All traders must:

• be over the age of 18 years old
• have a National Insurance number
• have third party public liability insurance in the name the application is made under, not the company name. The insurance must be for the duration of the event, minimum value of £5,000,000 
• must not have any convicted offences of unlicensed street trading within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea or any criminal convictions
• have a Level 2 Award Food Safety in Catering (when cooking and re-heating food) valid within the last five years

When applying for a licence you will be required to provide this documentation.

National Fraud Initiative

Under Section 6 of the Audit Commissions Act 1998 the council is required to participate in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise. All information provided will be used for cross system and cross authority comparison purposes for the prevention and detection of fraud. 

Food Safety Award information 

A Level 2 Food Safety course teaches the essentials of food safety and is suitable for all workers who handle, prepare and serve food. The course covers the legal responsibilities of workers within a food environment and comprehensively addresses food safety threats and the good practice required to minimise them.

By law, all food handlers must have an understanding of the principles of food hygiene and know how to work safely to protect the food they serve from contamination.

If you would like to qualify for an Award in Food Safety, please contact an accredited provider.

Accredited providers

• Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety Course - The Safer Food Group
• Food Safety Level 2 - Highfield Online Training
• Level 2 Food Hygiene Course - The Nationwide Caterers Association

What commodities can I sell at Notting Hill Carnival?

Traders are able to sell food, non-food goods or both, this includes soft drinks.

What can I not sell at Notting Hill Carnival? 

Street traders are not permitted to sell alcoholic drinks of any type, such as spirits, ales, beers, lagers, stout, port, wine, cider, rum punch or alcoholic jellies. 

It is not permitted to offer or give away samples of alcoholic drinks.

Street traders are not permitted to sell illegal substances or legal highs. It is not permitted to sell nitrous oxide (laughing gas) at Notting Hill Carnival.

Second hand toys or electrical equipment, knives, solvents or any kind or real or imitation firearms are not permitted.

No counterfeit goods or unauthorised copies of copyright designs or labels.

Fortune telling, tattooing, body piercing, head massage, hairdressing or tarot reading are also not permitted.

What are the Carnival trading hours?

The street trading licence is valid only between 7am and 8pm. All traders must cease trading at 8pm each day.

Street trading applications

Once I receive my application form, what happens next?

Sites are allocated on a first come first serve basis once the reserve list applications are sent out. The quicker you return your completed application and supporting documents, the more likely you are to be offered a site. 

How does the application process work?

The application process works in three stages:

1. Traders who have complied with their licensing conditions from the previous year, will be given first refusal over their site. 
2. These traders are given the opportunity to transfer to an alternative location, subject to availability. 
3. All remaining sites are offered up to those on the reserve list, on a first come first served basis. These sites will be allocated in order of receiving a completed application, when the reserve list is activated.

What is the Carnival cancellation and refund policy?

Cancellation will be accepted in writing and a refund will be issued when notice is received four weeks or more prior to the Carnival Opening Day on Sunday 24 August 2025. Any cancellations requests received with less than four weeks’ notice will be considered on a case by case basis. Should the event be cancelled due to external factors, such as natural disaster to local danger to global pandemic, refunds will be issued to all license holders. 

If a license is revoked for failing to comply with licence standard conditions, no refund will be issued. Any trader found to be subletting their site will be evicted from the event.

If you require any further information on street trading at Notting Hill Carnival, email [email protected].

When will the reserve list receive a street trading application?

The street trading application will be sent out to the registered reserve list email addresses at the same time. This process begins once the Priority Bookings for past traders has started - traders on the reserve list.

What does the reserve list fee cover?

The reserve list fee simply covers the cost of administration and communications. Registering onto the reserve list does not guarantee you a trading site at Carnival.

How do I pay for the street trading reserve list fee?

A payment of £15 is made online in full via credit/debit card at the time of your reserve list registration.

Licences and insurance

When and how can I pay for the licence fee?

Payment for the street trading licence is made online on approval of the application by the Notting Hill Carnival Street Trading Team. Payment is made in full via credit/debit card (we do not accept American Express cards). On approval, traders will also be required to select and book onto a mandatory Carnival training course. Only once the above has been successfully completed will the trader be issued their licence for their site.

Information about the Carnival training course will be sent out on approval of the application. This course will include information from Environmental Health, Metropolitan Police ACT Awareness and London Fire Brigade.

Where can I obtain third party public liability insurance?

All traders must obtain public liability insurance before their application can be processed. Your insurance must have a minimum cover of £5,000,000 which is a standard cover.

Any insurance documentation under a company trading name, will have to be supported with proof of the named trader of that company, i.e. a Companies House confirmation of named owner of the company. 

As a local authority we are unable to recommend any third party services. For your convenience, below is a list of insurance companies that street traders have used in the past. You may wish to use a company below or find your own:

• NCASS telephone 03001246866
• NMTF  telephone 0800 592 225
• Marketline  telephone 01342 327250
• Combined Markets (CMTIA) telephone 020 8102 9400
• G M Imber & Sons telephone 01342 32725
• your own insurance broker

Trading pitches

What are the pitch sizes and what can they be used for?

There are five types of pitch sizes at Notting Hill Carnival (sizes shown as width x depth).

4m x 2m

No cooking or reheating is allowed on these sites.

4m x 3m and 4m x 4m

These sites are recommended traders selling a small amount of goods or concentrating on a particular product, with minimal equipment and stock. This site is available for smaller scale cooking.

6m x 3m and 4m x 5m

These sites are recommended for traders who require a lot of space for equipment and stock. Traders wanting to bring large jerk pans and BBQs advised to apply for these larger-sized sites.

Ice cream/mobile units 10m x 2m

These sites are for ice cream vans or mobile units only. No trading stalls other than those listed on the Licence are able to use the site. Ice cream sites are positioned at key exit points within the Notting Hill Carnival area. The unit must be able to move immediately if needed. Tow bars and generators must fit within the traders designated site.

How much does it cost to have a trading pitch at Notting Hill Carnival?

Sites for Notting Hill Carnival 2025 are £65 per square metre. There are no discounts available.

Vehicles and parking

Is parking provided for street traders?

No, all traders' vehicles must be removed from the Carnival area by 8.30am (this time is subject to the event schedule and may be liable to change).

Can I bring a vehicle into the Carnival area to store stock?

No, all vehicles must be removed from the Carnival area. The stall, stock and trading must be kept fully contained with the designated pitch size.

What vehicle access is at the Carnival?

Vehicle Access Pass (VAP)

In order to enter the Carnival footprint with a vehicle, you will require a Vehicle Access Pass (VAP). Vehicle access is only possible at the allocated entry points between the times of 6am and 8.30am on Sunday and Monday of the Carnival event.

To apply for your VAP, the following mandatory documents must be submitted by Friday 1 August 2025:

• driver's name
• driver's address
• driver's date of birth
• driver’s driving licence number
• vehicle registration number (if not hired)

Ultra Low Emission Zone 

We would like to gently remind all Street Traders that the Notting Hill Carnival sits within TfL’s Ultra Low Emission Zone which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year (except Christmas Day). For more information about the daily charge and whether your vehicle meets the ULEZ emissions standard, please visit the TfL website.

Facilities

Are traders provided with electricity?

Currently the Council does not provide electricity for Carnival street traders. Traders will need to provide their own power supply by a generator.

What type of generator do I need and where can I get one?

The London Fire Brigade recommend all traders use diesel generators as they generally require less refuelling and the fuel is more stable. Generators can be hired from any reputable hire company. Your annual generator certificate will need to be provided on request.  Petrol generators are not permitted. All generators must fit within the trader allocated pitch size.

Are traders provided with water?

There are currently 26 static drinking water units, positioned in the Carnival Footprint for the sole use of our traders. We advise all traders to provide their own water provision, supplementing it via the provided water units. The water units are refilled each morning of Carnival weekend.

Are traders provided with stalls?

No, traders must provide their own stalls, ensuring that they have stalls suitable to conduct their trading. The stall, equipment and canopy, if using one, must fit within the designated area given. Stalls must be of metal construction, capable of bearing the weight of all equipment and products. It must have a roof cover on the top and ideally three sides.