HOW TO HIRE · EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT

How to hire a stage in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Stage hire needs no licence in the UK. This page covers the checks, the questions and the quote.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a stage in five steps

  1. Check the floor or groundIt must take the stage's weight; level access for loading.
  2. Ask about edges and stepsHandrails, edge protection and safe steps for higher stages.
  3. Get the risk assessmentFrom the stage hire firm, for your venue.
  4. Outdoors, agree wind limitsAnd what happens if weather turns.
  5. Fix build and strike timesWith the venue's curfew and noise rules.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to stage hire firms in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no qualification is required by law. The firm's build plan for your floor or field, and its edge protection, tell you most.

Before any deposit, ask for two recent hosts you can contact and for the stage booking terms in writing.

Building the stage safely

HSE's event safety guidance treats stages, marquees and similar kit as temporary demountable structures, with its own good practice for putting them up and taking them down. A stage firm should plan the build for your ground and the wind, anchor or ballast it properly and give you a written limit for when it must be cleared.

Ask the stage firm for its risk assessment, its wind limit and how it will anchor on your surface. hse.gov.uk →

Public liability insurance for the stage

The law does not make public liability cover compulsory for this kind of booking, yet most venues write a minimum into their supplier rules. Venues and councils routinely ask the stage firm for public liability cover and a risk assessment.

Get the venue's minimum in writing and match it against the stage's current certificate.

Trader status and cancellation terms

A firm that hires out stage for money is a trader, and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the work must be done with reasonable care and skill. The usual 14-day right to cancel a distance or doorstep contract rarely helps here, because regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 leaves out leisure and catering services tied to a particular date; the stage's terms are what count.

Check, in writing, how much of the stage's deposit is refundable and by what date. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Stage hire, with the build and strike, is standard-rated at 20%. Stage hire firms whose taxable turnover passes £90,000 must register, charge VAT and show it as its own line on the quote and invoice.

Ask the stage firm for its VAT number and check VAT is shown under the hire and crew. gov.uk →

“Can the floor or ground take the stage?”

A good answer: A stage hire firm that asks about the floor and checks it.

“What edge protection and steps come with it?”

A good answer: Handrails, edge barriers and secure steps for the height.

“Can I see your risk assessment for this venue?”

A good answer: A written assessment covering build, use and strike.

“For an outdoor stage, what is the wind limit?”

A good answer: A figure and a plan.

“How long do build and strike take?”

A good answer: Times that fit the venue's access.

“Is skirting, carpet or a roof included?”

A good answer: Each priced on the stage quote.

“Is the stage firm insured?”

A good answer: Public liability cover named.

Getting the quote right

  • Stage size, height and deck type
  • Steps, handrails and edge protection
  • Skirting, carpet, roof or backdrop if wanted
  • Crew, build and strike times
  • The stage firm's VAT number, with VAT under deck, crew and delivery
  • Deposit and cancellation terms
  • Who actually attends to build and strike the stage, and whether the crew are employed or subcontracted

Walk away if

  • No edge protection on a raised stage
  • No risk assessment
  • No questions about the floor's load
  • No wind plan for an outdoor stage
LOW
£300
TYPICAL
£1,000
HIGH
£3,500

What a stage costs: £300–£3,500 per event

Stage hire is priced per event by size and height, with steps, skirting, a roof and crew time adding to it. Stage Hire price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Stage hire firms near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. SurveyThe stage hire firm checks the floor or ground and access.
  2. BuildDecks and legs set level and locked, steps and handrails fitted.
  3. FinishSkirting, carpet and any roof added.
  4. UsePerformers briefed on edges and steps.
  5. StrikeStage dismantled and removed at the agreed time.

Deck
A stage platform panel, joined to make the stage.
Strike
Taking the stage down.
Edge protection
Rails or barriers at open stage edges.
Skirting
Fabric around the base hiding the legs.
Stage roof
A cover over an outdoor stage.
Temporary demountable structure
HSE's term for event structures built and taken down.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the contractIt records the stage spec and times.
Check the floorMarks or damage raised promptly.
Note any incidentIn writing the same day.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked jobs, which is why one about the stage hire firm carries weight. If something went wrong, the make-it-right step comes first: the stage hire firm is asked to put it right before the review goes live.

STEP 1Put it to the stage in writingPut the problem — a late build, missing steps or rails, an unstable deck — to the stage in an email, with dates and what you are asking for. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats every service contract as promising reasonable care and skill (section 49), and section 56 lets you ask for an appropriate reduction where a repeat is impossible.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the stage below four stars and you are asked whether to send the problem to them first; we follow it through, then your review is published.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesComplaints about stage hire firms have no regulator to go to. If the trader will not engage, Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) covers England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) covers Scotland, and Consumerline (0300 123 6262) covers Northern Ireland; each can pass a complaint about stage hire firms to Trading Standards.
STEP 4Money the stage will not returnMoney still owed by the stage can be claimed through the small-claims routes: up to £10,000 on the small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in the sheriff court in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a stage: questions people ask

None applies anywhere in the UK. The protection is the written hire agreement for the stage, backed by the firm's public liability cover.

The law is silent; the venue usually is not. Most want public liability cover from every supplier, so ask both sides.

£300 to £3,500 per event, typically around £1,000. The stage hire price guide shows what pushes a quote up or down; enter your town above to see stage hire firms near you.

High enough to see performers, low enough to stay safe; higher stages need rails and steps. Ask the firm.

Yes, with the right base and levelling; ask about outdoor builds.

Usually the hire firm's crew; check the quote.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in events & entertainment

How to hire: PA & Sound System HireHow to hire: Event Lighting HireHow to hire: Marquee HireHow to hire: Live BandHow to hire: Backdrop & Drapery HireHow to hire: Furniture Hire for EventsHow to hire: Event PlannerHow to hire: Corporate Event PlannerAll 701 hiring guides →

Stage hire firms near you

Stage hire firms in LondonStage hire firms in ManchesterStage hire firms in BirminghamStage hire firms in GlasgowStage hire firms in BelfastAll stage hire firms on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. HSE — event safety: temporary demountable structures
  2. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  4. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  5. mygov.scot — make a court claim for money
  6. nidirect — small claims process
  7. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register