Councils fear they won't meet the 6 August deadline
Some local councils already fear they will not be able to process the backlog of licensing applications before the 6 August deadline.
The LGA says vital time has been lost because so few applications were received during the first six weeks of transition.
Some authorities are still reporting that not a single application has been received while others say only a handful have been submitted.
"There is already a lot of ground for councils to try and make up," said LGA spokesperson Trish O'Flynn.
"We are approaching a very serious situation and it is very worrying," she said.
The country's biggest licensing authority, Westminster, has received only 27 applications out of 3,600 venues in the borough.
Neighbours Camden council has received just two out of a total of 1,700 licensed premises.
Blackpool council revealed it has received just 27 premises licence applications out of 2,000 venues. It says it will have to process 189 applications each week to keep up with the rate required to get all of them processed on time.
Licensees and trade groups have cited a whole string of reasons for the painfully-slow rate of licence conversion applications.
Some councils have insisted licensees use their own forms rather than ones downloaded from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport website.
Pub groups and hosts have experienced delays in obtaining and checking premises plans required to accompany each application.
Some licensees still believe they do not have to apply for conversions if they do not intend to change their hours or trading operation.
Bar Dance & Entertainment Association chief executive Jon Collins said the transition was lurching towards crisis.
"There is a whole host of different reasons for it. It's not just red tape because everyone is taking a leap into the unknown," he said.
"It's a very complex procedure and it's difficult to suggest what can be done to ease the administrative burden.
"Has the Government got a Plan B? I do not think there is one."
