California Liquor Licenses
Liquor License Agents helps restaurants, bars, nightclubs, breweries and retailers across California find qualified buyers and sellers for liquor licenses, and handles consulting, brokering and license applications with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). We offer liquor license brokering across all counties in California.
How California liquor licensing works
California liquor licenses are managed by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). Depending on the type of business you run, there are many different kinds of licenses. Some require no less than half of your income to come from food sales; others are only for selling closed containers to be consumed off the premises.
The process can take up to 4 months. After you apply, a notice is served in the area where you intend to open, and the local population has 30 days to submit a complaint. If there are no noteworthy complaints, the ABC examines the people listed on your application, the location and the business.
Some counties in California are oversaturated with licenses, so you may have to buy yours on the open market instead of getting it from the ABC. This route is more expensive, but it may be the only choice in the market you intend to operate in. Your city or county may also require a separate application to serve alcohol.
Common California license types
- Type 20: off-premises sale of packaged beer and wine, for grocery and convenience stores. Minors are allowed on the premises
- Type 21: off-premises sale of general packaged alcohol, including spirits, for liquor, grocery and convenience stores
- Type 41: beer and wine on the premises of a bona fide eating place, where 51% of total sales come from food
- Type 47: beer, wine and spirits on the premises of a bona fide eating place
- Type 48: for bars and nightclubs that are not primarily eateries. Liquor may be served until 2:00 AM, and closed containers of beer or wine may be sold for off-premises consumption
- Type 40: a beer-only license for bars, taverns and taprooms
- Type 42: beer and wine bars, where minors are generally not permitted to remain
- Type 23: small breweries, combining brewing, tasting and limited distribution under one manufacturer license
- Type 75: brewpubs, meaning bona fide eating places that serve beer, wine and spirits and brew a limited amount of beer on site
- Type 85: wine sold from a non-public premises through remote ordering, for online and direct-to-consumer wine
Buying, selling and transferring a license
- Finding the right buyer or seller, with every buyer and seller vetted and qualified first
- Presenting only licenses that are free of liens, transferable and secure
- Compiling and filing the paperwork with the ABC, and consulting at every step, including after you have your license
- Help with conditional use permits
- Corporate applications for LLCs, corporations, partnerships and joint ventures, including stock, equity and ownership changes
Read our guides on how to buy a California liquor license and how to sell a California liquor license, or see all of our California liquor license services.
California markets we serve
We help clients in every California county. County guides for key markets:
City guides: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco. Browse all counties and all cities.
Schedule an appointment: (800) 799-9081