California Type 42 Liquor License for Beer and Wine Bars
Type 42 is, in the wording of California's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), the "On-Sale Beer & Wine - Public Premises" license. ABC issues it to bars and taverns, and it lets them sell beer and wine to drink on the spot or to carry out.
A Type 42 liquor license suits a bar that pours beer and wine and does not run a restaurant kitchen. Liquor License Agents helps the owners, buyers, and sellers of those bars decide whether to apply for one or buy an existing one.
What A Type 42 Liquor License Permits And Prohibits
ABC's description sets these terms:
- Beer and wine, on-site and to go. Customers may drink at the bar or buy to take away, unless a license condition says otherwise.
- No distilled spirits. ABC does not allow spirits to be on the premises.
- No meal requirement. ABC does not ask for food service. BPC 23039 lets a public premises sell or serve food only incidentally to the drinks.
- Adults only. ABC allows no person under 21 on public premises, apart from the musician exception below. A licensee who lets a younger person stay with no lawful business there commits a misdemeanor under BPC 25665.
- Trained staff. Alcohol servers and their managers need Responsible Beverage Service certification no later than 60 days after starting work.
Hours are not specific to Type 42: BPC 25631 stops sales by any on-sale or off-sale licensee from 2 a.m. until 6 a.m.
Where Type 42 Fits Beside A Restaurant Or General License
The nearest alternative is the Type 41 license for restaurants, which covers the same two drinks under different operating rules.
| Point | Type 42 | Type 41 |
|---|---|---|
| Issued to | Bars and taverns | Restaurants |
| Meals | None needed | Kitchen and substantial meal sales needed |
| Minors | May not enter and stay | Permitted |
| Original application fee, 2026 ABC schedule | $1,135 | $1,135 |
| Annual fee, 2026 ABC schedule | $705 | $565 |
ABC collects the first annual fee together with the application fee. It has announced that the annual fee for Type 42 becomes $730 and the non-general application fee $1,170 on January 1, 2027.
A qualified applicant can file for a beer and wine license at any time of year, ABC says, while general licenses are offered once per year. A bar that pours distilled spirits needs a Type 48 general license, and a new one carries a $19,840 application fee under the 2026 schedule.
Location matters too. For an original license or a premises-to-premises transfer in an area of undue concentration under BPC 23958.4, the local governing body or its designee has 90 days from notice of a completed application to determine that public convenience or necessity would be served. Failing that, ABC may issue the license if the applicant makes that showing to ABC.
What Liquor License Agents Handles On A Type 42 Project
We check the bar's plan, address, and floor plan against these rules, including ABC's policy on new retail sites closer than 100 feet to a home. We then advise whether to file for a new license or purchase one from a current holder.
A purchase adds requirements:
- Under BPC 24073, a notice of the intended transfer is recorded at the county recorder's office before the transfer application is filed with ABC.
- BPC 24074 calls for an escrow, set up before filing, holding the full purchase price.
- A person-to-person transfer with no general license involved costs $420 on ABC's 2026 schedule.
Valuation, price negotiation, and escrow coordination are part of our work, and a separate guide covers how a California license purchase works. Our team drafts the ABC application, the diagram of the premises, and the ownership disclosures, and raises zoning with the planning office of the city or county. During ABC's review we help answer investigator questions, protests, and proposed conditions.
California Type 42 Public Premises FAQs
1. May A Type 42 Tavern Send Customers Home With Beer Or Wine?
Yes. ABC's description covers drinking at the premises and away from them, and BPC 23401 extends off-sale beer and wine rights to any on-sale license for the beverages it names. Conditions attached to a particular license may narrow that.
2. Is Anyone Under 21 Allowed Inside A Type 42 Premises?
Generally no. BPC 25663.5 is the exception ABC points to: musicians aged 18 to 21 may be hired to perform during business hours, for entertainment only and on that section's conditions. Anyone else under 21 who enters and stays with no lawful business is fined $200 or more under BPC 25665.
3. Can A Type 42 Be Upgraded To A Type 48 Later?
No. BPC 23816 rules it out: giving up or cancelling a beer and wine license does not entitle the holder to an on-sale general one. ABC names two routes to a general license, the yearly priority drawing and the purchase of an existing license of that type in the same county.
4. Are ABC's Type 42 Fees Refundable If The Application Fails?
Partly. ABC describes application fees, here $1,135 on the 2026 schedule, as generally non-refundable. The first annual fee, collected with the application, is refundable if the application is withdrawn or denied.
5. What Timeline Does ABC Publish For A Type 42?
Roughly 90 days on average for an original license and 75 for an ownership transfer, by ABC's requirements page, which cautions that circumstances often lengthen the wait. Also, BPC 23985 keeps the license from issuing until the public notice has hung at the entrance for 30 days in a row.
6. Does The Bar Have To Close While ABC Reviews A Sale?
Not necessarily. ABC may, at its discretion, grant the buyer a temporary permit under BPC 24045.5 when ownership changes and the address does not. The bar must have traded under its license during the 30 days before the permit request. The fee is $100, and the first term is up to four calendar months.
To talk through a beer and wine bar you intend to open or acquire in California, reach our team on (800) 799-9081 or through the Liquor License Agents contact page. Have the address ready, and we will go over whether Type 42 fits.