Licensees and potential licensees

If you are interested in becoming a water supply licensee you should read our guidance on Applying for a Water Supply Licence. This sets out:

• how to apply for a licence;
• the information and documents we will require from an applicant; and
• the criteria we use when assessing licence applications.

If you are considering setting up as a licensee, we would like to hear from you. We can provide you with the information you need to put together a good application. To find out more about making an application, please fill in the enquiry form or if you need more information on any aspect of the new competition opportunities you can contact us by sending an email to WSL query. Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) also has an important role in the assessment of an applicant's competency. It will advise us whether or not an applicant for a licence is aware of its responsibilities.

As a licensee, you must comply with regulations relating to drinking water quality set by the DWI in the same way as appointed water companies do. And you must also comply with standard licence conditions. These can be found on the Department of Food and Rural Affair's (Defra) website.

Our customer transfer protocol provides a clear, simple and standardised process for the timely and efficient transfer of customers between suppliers which you will need to follow when you become a licensee.

Once you become a licensee you can apply to an appointed water company for access to its supply system. The WSL Operations Advisory Group has developed a wholesale application proforma which the water industry has agreed and recommends that it should be used by licensees when applying for access to a water company's supply system. Licensees will then need to meet the standards and requirements set by the appointed water company in its access code.

If you cannot agree the terms and conditions of a proposed access agreement with the appointed water company, you can refer the dispute to us and ask us to make a determination. We can determine the following issues:

• the eligibility of a customer's premises;
• the terms and conditions of access where these cannot be agreed between parties;

where the appointed water company has refused a wholesale supply or refused to allow the introduction of water into its supply system on the grounds of not meeting the conditions set out in the WIA91.

It is then up to you whether you accept the determination and proceed to obtain access and supply the customer(s).

For more information about this, please see our WSL determinations procedure.

Copies of the water supply licences and contact details for the water supply licensees on our website.