When you are choosing a drinks wholesaler for a busy bar, restaurant or hotel, it is natural to focus on the commercial essentials: the products you need, the price and the service. There is another basic check to make before you buy, though: is the wholesaler approved under the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS)?
For hospitality businesses buying alcohol from a UK wholesaler to sell on, checking that wholesaler’s approval is part of responsible purchasing. It is also a straightforward task. You can find the supplier’s Unique Reference Number (URN), enter it into the official GOV.UK checking service, keep a record of the result and repeat the check regularly.
Here is what AWRS means, why it matters to your venue and how to verify our registration.
What is AWRS?
AWRS is administered by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and was introduced to tackle alcohol fraud. At a high level, a UK business may need approval when it sells duty-paid alcoholic products to another business for onward sale or supply.
That means the scheme is relevant not only to wholesalers, but also to the businesses that buy from them. If you purchase alcohol from a UK wholesaler to sell in your pub, bar, restaurant, hotel or other hospitality venue, you have a responsibility to confirm that the wholesaler is HMRC-approved.
The precise rules depend on the circumstances of the business and transaction. For the full, current position, refer to HMRC’s guidance on whether a business needs approval to sell alcoholic products to another business. This article offers a practical overview for hospitality buyers, not legal advice.
Why does AWRS approval matter to a hospitality business?
The approval check helps you establish that a UK alcohol wholesaler is recognised by HMRC under the scheme. It is a simple due-diligence step that can sit naturally alongside your usual supplier decisions.
It matters whether you run a single venue or buy for a larger hospitality operation. Your team may be working quickly to secure stock, manage costs and keep service running smoothly, but AWRS should not become a one-off detail that is overlooked once the commercial terms have been agreed.
HMRC requires a business that buys alcoholic products from a UK wholesaler for onward sale to check that the wholesaler is approved. Buyers must also repeat the approval check regularly and retain records as evidence of due diligence. Approval is therefore not simply a number for a supplier to display; it calls for an ongoing check by the buyer.
The important distinction is this: where the scheme applies, the wholesaler is responsible for obtaining its approval, while you are responsible for checking that approval when the rules apply to your purchase. A supplier showing you a URN makes the check easier, but it does not replace using the official service yourself.
How to check whether an alcohol wholesaler is approved
Whether you are considering a new wholesaler or reviewing an existing supplier, the check comes down to four clear actions.
1. Find the wholesaler’s URN
Ask for the wholesaler’s Unique Reference Number, or look for it on the invoice. HMRC says the URN should be printed on invoices. A supplier may also make it available on its website, as we do.
2. Use the official GOV.UK checking service
Enter the URN into the official service for checking whether an alcohol wholesaler is approved. Using the government service gives you a direct way to verify the approval rather than relying only on information supplied by the wholesaler.
3. Retain a record of the check
Keep a record of your result as evidence of due diligence. The practical aim is to ensure your business can show that it carried out the required check, rather than treating approval as an informal question asked during a supplier conversation.
4. Repeat the check regularly
The responsibility does not end after the first order. HMRC says buyers must repeat the check regularly. Build it into your supplier-review routine, without assuming that an earlier result remains sufficient indefinitely.
Is Champers an AWRS-approved wholesaler?
Yes. Champers (Wholesale) Ltd is currently AWRS-approved under the following Unique Reference Number:
XWAW00000101903
Our URN appears on our current invoices and on our website, so hospitality buyers can identify it easily. You can verify it yourself through the official GOV.UK AWRS checker.
We serve the UK on-trade, including bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, caterers, events businesses and private members’ clubs. Making our registration clear gives buyers a practical starting point for their own due-diligence responsibilities.
Responsible supply goes beyond displaying a number
AWRS approval matters, but responsible supply is not communicated by a registration number alone. At Champers, we regularly verify the AWRS status of relevant UK alcohol suppliers and retain appropriate records.
We have direct relationships with all major brand owners, and we also source through established producers and authorised distribution partners. Appropriate supplier due diligence, including AWRS verification where relevant, supports confidence in product origin and the supply chain.
For buyers, the useful point is that AWRS forms part of a wider, responsible approach to sourcing and supply.
A separate guide to product traceability in the wholesale drinks supply chain will explore another part of that picture without duplicating the AWRS steps covered here.
Make the check part of choosing your wholesaler
Choosing a supplier will always involve commercial judgement. Availability, value and service all matter to the day-to-day running of a hospitality business. AWRS adds a clear compliance question: can you verify that your UK alcohol wholesaler is HMRC-approved?
For Champers, the answer can be checked using URN XWAW00000101903. Enter it into the GOV.UK checking service, retain a record and remember to repeat the check regularly.
Once you have verified our registration, you can open a Champers trade account or contact our team to discuss your venue’s drinks requirements.
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