diff --git a/tournaments/utils/licence_validator.py b/tournaments/utils/licence_validator.py
index e3b51ef..4131192 100644
--- a/tournaments/utils/licence_validator.py
+++ b/tournaments/utils/licence_validator.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import re
 
 class LicenseValidator:
     def __init__(self, license_id: str):
-        self.license_id = license_id.upper()  # Ensure uppercase for consistency
+        self.license_id = license_id.lstrip('0').upper()  # Ensure uppercase for consistency
 
     @property
     def stripped_license(self) -> str: