Self Storage Business Licence UK: Registrations and Duties

On 16 October 2026 we found no licence specific to running a self storage business in the national lists we searched: GOV.UK’s Find a licence index (451 licences), mygov.scot, Find Business Support, Business Gateway and Companies House’s SIC code list. What applies instead is the general set of duties for a business with premises, customers and perhaps staff, each with its own trigger, decider and nations.

That finding describes those lists on that date and nothing wider. GOV.UK’s finder says it “may not include all the licences you need”, and on 16 October 2026 we found no Security Industry Authority licence in its index. England is the default here, and each section says where a source covers the whole United Kingdom or another nation. This is general information, not legal advice and not tax advice, and it is not a complete list.

Here, licence means a permit or a registration. If you mean the licence to occupy that a customer signs, this guide does not cover agreement law; see our guides to the cooling-off period and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act for the consumer law around it.

Do you need a licence to run a self storage business in the UK?

On 16 October 2026 none of the national lists we searched named a licence for running a self storage business, and the duties we found are general ones that turn on premises, customers, turnover and staff.

GOV.UK’s Find a licence tool listed 451 licences that day, the newest record dated 12 May 2026. Searched for the phrase self storage in quotes, it returned 0 licences, and without quotes it returned 29, because it matches either word. We also searched every field of all 451 for self storage, self-storage and selfstorage and found 0 matches, and ten searches of the tool’s text index, including storage unit and warehouse, each returned 0 results.

On 16 October 2026 ten licences mentioned storage in their title or description (among them explosives, fireworks, petroleum and gas), and none of them concerned storing customers’ goods. One entry, the data protection fee, is listed as “Notification to process personal data” for all four nations; its tiers are £52, £78 and £3,763 a year, set out below.

Scotland’s lists give the same picture: on 16 October 2026 we found no mention of storage or warehouses on two mygov.scot pages, the Find Business Support page on local authority services or Business Gateway’s guide to local authority regulations.

Companies House’s list of SIC codes (the codes a company chooses to say what it does) names warehousing and storage facilities only for water, air and land transport activities (codes 52101 to 52103), and on 16 October 2026 we found no code or heading for self storage on it.

SSA UK’s Membership Standard is a condition of full membership of the trade association, not a licence, and on 16 October 2026 we found no statement on seven SSA UK pages that a licence or registration is required by law to run a self storage business.

A gap in an index is not proof that no regime exists: a police document we read refers to the Security Industry Authority’s licensing regulations, but on 16 October 2026 we found no such licence among the 451. We did not check whether any Security Industry Authority licence applies to a storage site.

Which duties and registrations apply to a new storage site, and who decides each?

A new site can meet twelve duties and registrations: company registration, Corporation Tax services, planning, building control, business rates, VAT, the data protection fee, fire safety and, with staff, employer registration, a workplace pension, cover for employees’ injury or illness, and health and safety. Each has its own trigger, decider and nations, set out in the sequence and table below.

The order is our arrangement, not an official order: on 16 October 2026 the only orders we found in the sources were GOV.UK’s steps for a limited company and for a first employee.

A limited company is not shown to be required: GOV.UK’s guide to setting one up begins with “Check if setting up a limited company is right for you”, and on 16 October 2026 we found no sentence on three GOV.UK pages about setting one up that says a business must be one. Our guide to starting a self storage business places these steps in the wider project.

Which duties start with your first member of staff, and which at five?

On the sources read on 16 October 2026, employer registration, a workplace pension and cover for employees’ injury or illness start with the first employee, while a written health and safety policy and recorded risk findings start at five or more employees.

Employer registration. GOV.UK says an employer normally registers with HMRC when it starts employing staff, that it “must register even if you’re only employing yourself, for example as the only director of a limited company”, and that it must do so before the first payday.

Workplace pension. GOV.UK’s undated page says employers have to provide a workplace pension scheme for eligible staff “as soon as their first member of staff starts working for them”: staff aged 22 to State Pension age who earn at least £10,000 a year and normally work in the UK.

Cover for employees. An Act of 1969 requires an employer carrying on a business in Great Britain to hold cover, under approved policies, against liability for bodily injury or disease sustained by its employees at work (section 1(1)). It extends to England, Wales and Scotland, and we did not check Northern Ireland. Section 2(2) lists exceptions, including close family members.

The Act prints no amount: on 16 October 2026 the 1998 Regulations made under it, held only in their original form, set “not less than £5 million”, and GOV.UK says “at least £5 million”.

An employer without the cover on any day commits an offence, with a fine not exceeding “level 4 on the standard scale” (GOV.UK’s page says an employer can be fined £2,500 every day it is without the cover), and a company’s directors and other officers can be guilty where the offence involved their consent, connivance or neglect.

Health and safety. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 makes it the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees (section 2(1)). The Employers’ Health and Safety Policy Statements (Exception) Regulations 1975 except an employer with fewer than five employees from the written policy statement that section 2(3) provides for; legislation.gov.uk holds them only in their original form.

HSE says that with five or more employees the policy must be written down, and that with fewer than five writing it down is not required “but it is useful to do so”. Regulation 3(6) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires an employer of five or more to record the significant findings of its risk assessment (England, Wales and Scotland).

What do the planning authority, building control and the Valuation Office decide?

In England the local planning authority decides planning applications, a building control body approves building work and the Valuation Office values the property for business rates, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own routes.

Planning turns on whether the work is development. Section 55(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (England and Wales) and section 26(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 define it as building, engineering, mining or other operations, or a material change in the use of buildings or other land.

The Valuation Office’s Rating Manual, which is guidance for valuers and not law, records that planning authorities “take differing views” on whether a self storage facility is Use Class B8 or sui generis. See our entry on Use Class B8 and our guides to storage containers, Class R permitted development, planning grant rates and timescales and Scottish planning.

For building work in England, GOV.UK says building regulations approval is different from planning permission (“You might need both”). For work that is not higher risk, it says approval comes from a building control body, the council’s department or a private registered approver, and that the person doing the work could be prosecuted and fined for not complying.

Section 35(1) of the Building Act 1984 makes contravening building regulations an offence in England and Wales.

In Scotland, section 8 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 requires a building warrant for work such as the construction or demolition of a building to which building regulations apply, and for “any conversion of a building”. Work without one is an offence, with defences, for the person doing it, the person it is done for and, if the owner is neither, the owner. Our guide to converting a building covers a conversion in England.

GOV.UK says business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties in England and Wales. The Rating Manual lists self storage under special category code 721 G, introduced in April 2021, and says it is “intended for Valuation Officers”, so it is guidance, not the law on who pays. HMRC’s page of 19 August 2026 says a duty to notify the Valuation Office of changes “will not become mandatory before 2029”.

Scotland has Assessors and a valuation roll, and Northern Ireland has Land & Property Services. Our guides cover who pays business rates for a storage site and the Valuation Office’s self storage category.

When must you register for VAT, and what is the current limit?

As at 16 October 2026 the VAT registration limit across the United Kingdom is £90,000 of taxable supplies. The Value Added Tax Act 1994 makes a UK-established person who makes taxable supplies liable to register at the end of any month if the supplies’ value in the year then ending has exceeded £90,000, or at any time if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the next 30 days will exceed £90,000.

Under paragraph 1(3) a person does not become liable under the 12-month test if HMRC is satisfied that taxable supplies in the year beginning when liability would otherwise arise will not exceed £88,000. The Act’s own notes date the sums to 1 April 2024 (S.I. 2024/307), and HMRC’s policy paper of 7 March 2024 says the registration threshold rose from £85,000 to £90,000 and the deregistration threshold from £83,000 to £88,000.

HMRC’s VAT thresholds supplement, updated on 5 August 2026, states the current limits as £90,000 for registration and £88,000 for deregistration. On 16 October 2026 its tables ended on 31 March 2026 with no row for 2026-27, so the current figures come from its text.

For the 12-month test, GOV.UK says registration is due within 30 days of the end of the month in which turnover went over the threshold; for the 30-day test, by the end of that 30-day period. A late registration means VAT is owed on sales since the date registration should have started, with a possible penalty.

The chart shows HMRC’s table from 2013: the limit was £85,000 for each of the seven years from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2024 (our count of seven rows) and is £90,000 from 1 April 2024. Whether a supply of storage is taxable is covered in our entry on VAT on self storage.

Do you pay the ICO’s data protection fee, and what do cameras add?

The regulator is the ICO, the Information Commission’s Office, which says organisations, including sole traders, that use personal information need to pay a data protection fee unless they are exempt. Regulation 2 of the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, which extends across the United Kingdom, binds every data controller unless all the processing of personal data it undertakes is exempt processing. The regulations have named the Information Commission as the payee since 30 September 2026.

From 17 February 2025 the charge is £52 a year for tier 1, £78 for tier 2 and £3,763 for tier 3, up from £40, £60 and £2,900, and £5 less by Direct Debit, paid within the first 21 days of each charge period.

Tier 1 is turnover of £632,000 or less, or 10 or fewer members of staff, or a charity or small occupational pension scheme. Tier 2 is not tier 1 and turnover of £36 million or less, or 250 or fewer members of staff. Every other controller is tier 3, and each test alone is enough.

The ICO counts members of staff broadly, to include employees, workers, office holders and partners, and regards every controller as tier 3 “unless and until they tell us otherwise”.

A storage operator that keeps customers’ names, addresses and payment details is using personal information, so on our reading it is among the organisations the ICO says need to pay unless they are exempt.

On 16 October 2026 we found no mention of self storage on nine ICO fee pages. Whether an operator’s own records fall within the exemption for accounts and records is a question for the ICO’s self-assessment or an adviser.

On cameras, the ICO’s registration FAQs say “Any company using CCTV for crime prevention purposes is required to pay an annual data protection fee to the ICO, regardless of other aspects of your business and operations”, and that the answer to its self-assessment is then always yes. The question for a site is whether its cameras record people to prevent crime.

The ICO’s three CCTV pages we read each carry the banner “Due to changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act, this guidance is under review and may be subject to change”. Its guidance for small organisations also covers signs, a CCTV policy, retention and, where use “is likely to result in a high risk to people”, a Data Protection Impact Assessment.

Section 33 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (England and Wales) puts a duty to have regard to the surveillance camera code on a “relevant authority”, defined by a list in section 33(5) and a 2013 Order. Our reading is that a private storage operator is on neither list, so on the texts we read on 16 October 2026 the statutory duty does not bind it; we did not read whether another order or the code says otherwise.

The ICO’s penalties page and its registration FAQs gave different maximum fines on 16 October 2026, so ask the ICO for the current figure. Our guide to customer emails, texts and PECR covers the rules on messages to customers. Our guide to unstaffed sites covers cameras, fire safety and lone working where no one is on site.

What fire duty does a storage building carry in each nation?

Fire duties differ by nation: in England and Wales the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 puts the risk assessment and its record on the responsible person, Scotland has its own Act and Regulations, and Northern Ireland has its own Order and Regulations.

England and Wales. Article 3 of the 2005 Order makes the responsible person the employer for a workplace that is to any extent under its control and, for other premises, the person in control in connection with a trade, business or other undertaking, or the owner where that person is not. Article 9 requires a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, reviewed regularly and after significant changes, extensions or conversions.

Since 1 October 2023 article 9(6) requires the assessment to be recorded as soon as practicable. GOV.UK’s guide says “You must keep a written record of your fire risk assessment”, and the sentence we read on 16 October 2026 states no minimum number of employees.

Scotland. Section 53 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 requires each employer to assess the workplace for fire risks to its employees, and section 54 requires a person with control “to any extent” of relevant premises to assess them for risks to relevant persons.

The duty to record is regulation 8 of the 2006 Regulations, and regulation 9 lists the content. It applies where the person employs five or more employees, or a licence or registration is required for the premises, or an alterations notice requires it. Our Scotland guide covers this in depth.

Northern Ireland. Articles 25 and 26 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 require employers, and people with control of relevant premises, to assess fire risks. Regulation 3 of the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 requires a review regularly, and when there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid or a significant change has occurred. Regulation 8 requires a record on the same three conditions as in Scotland.

On 16 October 2026 GOV.UK’s list of fire risk assessment guides named none for self storage. The nearest is the guide to factories and warehouses, which applies to England, was last updated on 12 September 2023 and covers premises whose main use is a factory or warehouse, including “storage warehouses”. Whether it fits a self storage building is a question for a fire risk assessor, and our converting guide covers what fire safety requires once the site is open.

What does this guide not cover?

This is not a complete list of duties; these were not covered or not checked.

• Nations not checked. We did not search a Welsh or Northern Irish government site for business licences, and we did not check Wales and Northern Ireland building control, Northern Ireland planning, health and safety, cover for employees or the pension statute, or Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s waste and energy certificate rules.
• Waste. Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 puts a duty of care, in its text for England and Wales, on anyone who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste, or has control of it as a dealer or broker. GOV.UK’s page on digital waste tracking from 1 October 2026 is addressed to organisations licensed or permitted to receive controlled waste.
• Goods left in a unit. On 16 October 2026 we found nothing on four GOV.UK and Defra waste pages about goods left in a storage unit, so whether such goods are waste is a question for a solicitor.
• Energy certificates. On 16 October 2026 we found nothing on the GOV.UK pages we read on energy performance certificates and the minimum energy standard that says whether a licence to occupy a storage unit falls within them.
• Money laundering supervision. HMRC’s page lists nine sectors it supervises and, on 16 October 2026, did not mention storage, so whether the Regulations reach a storage operator is a question for an adviser.
• Council licences for particular activities. Section 1 of the Licensing Act 2003 lists four licensable activities in England and Wales, and on 16 October 2026 we found no storage activity among them; a bar or entertainment on site is a separate question.
• Alarm response. The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Word document of February 2026 sets keyholder conditions for police response to an alarm (at least two keyholders, attendance within 20 minutes and a police unique reference number) for forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our reading is that they are conditions of police response, not a licence.
• Not checked. Street trading, signage and advertising consent, weights and measures, sector rules for the goods a customer stores, and cover a broker arranges for buildings, contents, customers’ goods or employees beyond the Act of 1969.

Questions to put to your adviser

• Planning authority and building control (or your council in Scotland): is the work development, and which approval or warrant does it call for?
• Council rates team, Valuation Office or Assessor: what rateable value applies, and who is named as the occupier of the site?
• Accountant or HMRC: when does the business reach the VAT limit, does its supply count as taxable, and which employer duties start with the first hire?
• ICO self-assessment: which fee tier applies, and does any exemption cover the operator’s own records?
• Fire risk assessor or the fire and rescue authority: who is the responsible person, and must the assessment be recorded?
• Solicitor: which of these duties bind the company and which its directors, and do any apply in Northern Ireland?
• Broker: what cover does the business hold for employees, the building, contents and customers’ goods?

Sources

All read on 16 October 2026.

• National lists: GOV.UK’s Find a licence and the search API behind it; mygov.scot’s Get a licence for your business and Licences and regulations.
• Scotland and companies: Find Business Support’s local authority services; Business Gateway’s local authority regulations and inspections; Companies House’s SIC code list.
• Trade body: SSA UK’s Membership Standard, about us, membership, membership terms, legal resources, Trading Standards campaign and mythbusting pages.
• Company and employer steps: GOV.UK on registering a limited company, setting up a limited company, Register as an employer, Workplace pensions for employers and Get ready to employ someone.
• Planning: the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55; the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, section 26; GOV.UK’s planning guidance, When is permission required?
• Building: GOV.UK’s Building regulations approval; the Building Act 1984, section 35; the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, section 8.
• Business rates: GOV.UK’s Introduction to business rates; HMRC’s business rates duty to notify page; the Valuation Office’s Rating Manual page on self storage hereditaments; the Scottish Assessors Association’s valuation roll; Land & Property Services’ non-domestic valuation page.
• VAT: the Value Added Tax Act 1994, Schedule 1, paragraph 1 and paragraph 4; HMRC’s policy paper of 7 March 2024 and VAT thresholds supplement; GOV.UK’s Register for VAT.
• Data protection fee, law and first pages: the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018, regulation 2 and regulation 3; the ICO’s data protection fee page, guide, exemptions and paying the fee.
• Data protection fee, other ICO pages: penalties, changes to the fee, self-assessment, registration FAQs and the transport and storage sector page.
• Cameras: the ICO’s CCTV for your organisation, checklist for limited CCTV systems and video surveillance guidance; the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, section 33, and the 2013 Order.
• Fire, England and Wales: GOV.UK’s Workplace fire safety: your responsibilities, fire risk assessments, factories and warehouses and legal duties pages; the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, article 3 and article 9.
• Fire, Scotland and Northern Ireland: the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, section 53 and section 54; the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, regulation 8 and regulation 9; the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, article 25 and article 26; the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, regulation 3 and regulation 8.
• Cover for employees: the 1969 Act on cover for employees, with the 1998 Regulations made under it, regulation 3 as made, on legislation.gov.uk.
• Health and safety: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2; the Employers’ Health and Safety Policy Statements (Exception) Regulations 1975, as made; the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3; HSE’s health and safety policy page.
• Waste: the Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34; GOV.UK’s business waste, waste transfer notes, duty of care code of practice and digital waste tracking pages.
• Other duties: GOV.UK’s energy performance certificates for commercial property, with two GOV.UK pages on the minimum energy efficiency standard that are not linked here; HMRC’s money laundering supervision page; the Licensing Act 2003, section 1.
• Alarms: the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s security systems policy page and its police requirements document.