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Auto-Approval for Stage Licences: How to Set Rules That Don't Burn You

Auto-approval cuts request-to-licence time from days to minutes. Here's the rule framework that keeps risky requests out and routine ones flowing.

ITIndependent Theatre Licensing··7 min read

Most licence requests are routine — a community theatre, a small venue, a flat amateur fee. Auto-approving these frees your team to negotiate the genuinely interesting ones. The trick is defining the right guardrails.

Safe auto-approve criteria

  • Performance type = amateur
  • Venue capacity ≤ a tier threshold (e.g. 400)
  • Territory = within your default catalogue list
  • Org compliance docs verified and current
  • No active blackout overlapping requested dates
  • No nearby exclusivity window for a professional production

Always-manual triggers

  • First-time producer with no licence history
  • Requests for alterations (cuts, transpositions, gender swap)
  • Professional productions
  • Capacity above your tier threshold
  • Tour or multi-venue runs

See it in action

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