ABC Announces New Liquor License Authorizations

Sacramento – Jacob Appelsmith, Director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, announced authorization for the issuance of new on-sale general and off-sale general licenses and authorization for the intercounty transfer of on-sale general and off-sale general licenses.

This year, based on statutory authorizations and limitations, the following counties will be eligible for additional on-sale general and off-sale general licenses, as follows:

From September 9, 2019, through September 20, 2019, in counties where such licenses are available, applications for new original on-sale general and off-sale general licenses will be accepted at District and Branch offices.  During the same period, priority applications will be accepted for the intercounty transfer of on-sale general and off-sale general licenses, as authorized.

Only one priority application will be accepted from any one applicant per county for each type of license.  A fee of $15,835 is to be paid when filing an application for a new original general license and a fee of $6,000 is to be paid when filing a priority application for the intercounty transfer of a general license.  Only a certified check, cashier’s check or money order will be accepted for payment of the application fee, which should be made payable to Alcoholic Beverage Control.

If the number of applicants within a county for a particular type of license/transaction is equal to or less than the number of licenses available, all applicants will be notified that they have 90 days to complete a formal application for their specific premises.  

If the Department receives more applications than there are licenses available, a public drawing will be held.  To participate in such a drawing, an applicant must have been a resident of California for at least 90 days prior to the date of the scheduled drawing.  Successful drawing participants will be notified that they have 90 days to complete a formal application for their specific premises.

Unsuccessful drawing participants will be automatically refunded their application fee (minus a $100 service charge) within 90-120 days of the priority drawing but will retain their priority ranking until a new priority list is established in 2020.

Applicants are encouraged to file their applications early in the filing period to avoid a lengthy wait. 

In the coming weeks, additional information and instructions regarding application for original and intercounty transfer of general licenses will be made available on the Department’s website and at District and Branch offices.

Contact

Additional information may be obtained by contacting:

Public Information Office
3927 Lennane Drive, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834
Email: pio@abc.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 419-2525

Follow ABC on Twitter
Follow ABC on Facebook