A California liquor license is straightforward to get for beer and wine, and difficult to get for spirits. Beer and wine licenses accept applications year-round, with a $1,135 application fee in 2026.
General licenses, which cover spirits, are capped by county and awarded through a yearly lottery or bought from an existing holder.
Below, you’ll find the license types, the quota system, current ABC fees, the application steps, transfer rules, timelines, and renewal penalties.
Key Takeaways:
- Any business that sells alcohol needs a California liquor license from the state’s ABC.
- Filing for a beer and wine license costs $1,135 in 2026, with applications open in any month.
- Types 21, 47, and 48 cover spirits, and each county caps how many exist.
- A spirits license won through the lottery costs $19,840 to apply for, and an existing one sells for much more.
What is a California Liquor License?
Selling or serving beer, wine, or distilled spirits in California requires a permit from the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), known as a California liquor license.
Regulation sits with the ABC, which tailors each license to the business model, the address, and the category of alcohol on offer.
Each license is tied to one owner and one address. Handing the business to a buyer, relocating, or restructuring ownership triggers a separate ABC application, which the transfer section below walks through. City and county zoning rules form another layer that the ABC reviews before acting.
Types of Liquor Licenses in California
California issues more than 80 license types, sorted into two groups: non-general licenses for beer and wine, and general licenses for beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
The split decides how hard a license is to land, since non-general applications are accepted all year and county population limits the number of general ones.
Types 20, 41, and 42 are the most common non-general options; Types 21, 47, and 48 lead the general group. Here is what each one allows.
Type 20: Off-Sale Beer & Wine
Convenience stores, markets, and wine shops use the Type 20 to sell sealed beer and wine for consumption away from the premises. Applications for it stay open throughout the year.
Type 21: Off-Sale General
Liquor stores rely on the Type 21, which authorizes sealed sales of beer, wine, and hard liquor for consumption off the premises. Access runs through county quotas and the annual priority drawing.
Type 41: On-Sale Beer & Wine (Eating Place)
A Type 41 suits restaurants that pour beer and wine only for on-site consumption, provided the premises operate as a bona fide eating place with a kitchen and actual meal sales. No quota or lottery applies to it.
Type 42: On-Sale Beer & Wine (Public Premises)
Bars and taverns serving beer and wine without a kitchen requirement fit the Type 42. Applications arrive on a rolling basis, as with the Type 41.
Type 47: On-Sale General (Eating Place)
Full-service restaurants that serve beer, wine, and distilled spirits on-site need a Type 47. Eligibility hinges on a bona fide eating place: suitable kitchen facilities and substantial meal sales are required. The county quota and the priority drawing also apply.
Type 48: On-Sale General (Public Premises)
Bars and night clubs that want to serve beer, wine, and spirits on-site without food service need a Type 48. Guests under 21 are barred, with a narrow exception for musicians. Local planning rules often attach conditions. The quota applies here too.
What’s The Right Liquor License For You?
The right license depends on three questions: what you sell, where customers drink it, and whether you need spirits. Use these matches as a starting point.
- Liquor stores and markets should look at Type 20 for beer and wine, or Type 21 to add spirits.
- Restaurants need Type 41 for beer and wine, or Type 47 to serve spirits.
- Bars and taverns fit Type 42 for beer and wine, or Type 48 for the full range with no food requirement.
Settling on the correct type early spares you from delays and rejected filings.
Why General Licenses Are Hard to Get: Quotas & The Priority Drawing
Compare cost, availability, and timing before you pick a path.
Entry: a yearly lottery
General license
- What you get
- A new general license (Type 21, 47, or 48) for a specific premises.
- Cost
- $19,840 application fee, paid at filing and refunded, minus $100, if you are not selected. Annual fee of $985 to $1,545 depending on type and city.
- Availability
- Once a year, in eligible counties. The 2026 filing window (September 14 to 25) has closed, with drawings the week of October 26.
- Timing
- Winners get 90 days to complete a formal application, followed by a review benchmarked at 90 days.
- Watch for
- Entering guarantees nothing. Names are drawn only where applicants outnumber available licenses, and losing entrants keep their ranking until August 1 of the following year.
- Best for
- Planners who can wait for the next cycle and want the lowest state cost for spirits.
Entry: a willing seller
General license
- What you get
- An existing general license, moved to you through an ABC transfer.
- Cost
- Broker-reported resale prices run roughly $20,000 to $150,000 for a Type 21 and $50,000 to $400,000 or more for a Type 47. Add the $1,565 ABC transfer fee, the annual fee, and broker and legal help.
- Availability
- Any time a license is for sale in your county.
- Timing
- Benchmarked at 75 days for an uncontested person-to-person transfer. Consultants put contested cases at 120 to 180 days.
- Watch for
- The ABC still approves the buyer, and escrow must be open before filing if money changes hands.
- Best for
- Owners who need spirits sooner and can budget well beyond state fees.
Entry: any month
Non-general license
- What you get
- A non-general license: Type 20 for stores, or Type 41 or 42 for restaurants and bars. No spirits.
- Cost
- $1,135 application fee, plus an annual fee of $500 (Type 20), $565 (Type 41), or $705 (Type 42).
- Availability
- Open year round. No county quota or lottery applies.
- Timing
- A review benchmarked at 90 days for an uncontested application.
- Watch for
- Over-concentration review still applies in crowded census tracts, and local zoning approvals come first.
- Best for
- First-time owners who want the lowest cost and the quickest start.
Fees reflect ABC schedules effective January 1, 2026, and rise 3.31 percent on January 1, 2027. Resale prices are broker-reported and vary by county. Timelines are ABC benchmarks, not guarantees.
General licenses are hard to get because the ABC caps their number in each county by population and releases new ones only once a year, through a public lottery called the priority drawing. Beer and wine licenses escape both the county cap and the lottery, which is why the two groups diverge widely in cost and timing.
How The Quota System Works
State law ties the supply of general licenses to county population: one on-sale general license for every 2,000 residents and one off-sale general license for every 2,500. A new Type 21, 47, or 48 therefore requires an unclaimed license in the county.
Over-concentration review is a separate hurdle that reaches beer and wine licenses too. An application that would add to over-concentration in a census tract, or that sits in a high-crime area as measured by local law enforcement data, must be denied unless the city or county finds that the license would serve public convenience or necessity.
Counties with no available licenses are left out of the annual drawing altogether.
The Annual Priority Drawing
The priority drawing is the ABC’s yearly lottery for brand-new general licenses (Types 21, 47, 48, 57, and 75) and for general licenses moving from one county to another. Applicants file during a set period, after which the ABC draws names in any county where applicants outnumber available licenses.
For 2026, the ABC accepted priority applications from September 14 to 25 in eligible counties, with drawings scheduled for the week of October 26 and additional details due October 19. With the filing window now closed, anyone who missed it must wait for the 2027 cycle, which has followed the same September filing and October drawing pattern in recent years.
Entrants pay the $19,840 application fee at filing; each applicant is limited to one priority application per county for each license type.
Winners then have 90 days to complete a formal application for a specific premises. Unsuccessful entrants are refunded automatically within 90 to 120 days of the drawing, minus a $100 service charge.
They keep their priority ranking until August 1 of the following year. Where applicants do not outnumber the available licenses, the lottery is unnecessary and each applicant gets 90 days to submit their paperwork.
PRO TIP!
Confirm the announcement for your county before filing. The ABC’s priority instructions call for payment by certified check or money order.
Buying an Existing License on The Open Market
Buying an existing general license from its current holder is the second route in, with the steepest price tag of the options. According to licensing brokers, a Type 21 sells for roughly $20,000 to $150,000 depending on the county, and a Type 47 runs from around $50,000 to $400,000 or more in the priciest markets, such as Los Angeles. With supply fixed, prices swing widely by county and neighborhood. The sale still needs ABC approval as a transfer; buyers should budget separately for broker and legal help.
Starting With a Beer & Wine License Instead
A beer and wine license is the lowest-cost entry point: the ABC has no filing deadline for it, and neither a quota nor a lottery applies. A store opens under a Type 20, a restaurant or bar under a Type 41 or Type 42. Over-concentration review still applies in crowded census tracts; look into yours early. The trade-off is straightforward: spirits stay off the menu and the shelf.
How to Apply For a Liquor License in California
Applying for a California liquor license takes six steps, from choosing the right type through the ABC’s final approval.
Step #1: Choose The Right License Type
Review the ABC’s list of licenses and match your business to one. The gap between a Type 20 and a Type 47 decides what you can sell and where customers can drink it.
Step #2: Secure Local Zoning Approvals
Local approvals should come first, because the ABC asks applicants to obtain required county or city entitlements, such as a conditional use permit, before filing. Sacramento County, for example, advises Type 48 applicants to contact its planning office promptly, since bar-style licenses are typically subject to conditional use permits and location standards.
Step #3: Submit an Application to The ABC
Apply directly through your local office of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. You’ll complete the forms for your license type, supply business and personal information, and include fingerprints (the ABC lists a $63 fingerprinting fee) plus the filing fee. Filing also triggers collection of the first year’s annual fee.
Step #4: Post a Public Notice
A public notice must go up at your premises, opening a 30-day window for protests. Residents within a 500-foot radius also receive a mailed notice, as do nearby property owners in some cases. That protest period starts on the later of the posting or the mailing, so a delayed mailing pushes back the whole application.
What Happens if Someone Protests?
Unresolved protests lead to a hearing, as does a denial that the applicant chooses to contest. That hearing is set within 60 days, after which an administrative law judge has 30 days to draft a proposed decision. Further appeals go to the ABC Appeals Board and then the courts, which face no fixed deadline.
Step #5: Background Check and Investigation
Investigators verify ownership, zoning compliance, and community impact before approval.
Step #6: Receive Final Approval
Once the investigation clears and any protests are resolved, the ABC issues the license. Application fees are generally non-refundable, but the first-year annual fee is refunded if the application is withdrawn or denied.
For more details on alcohol regulations and business setup, check out:
🔗 What Are Alcohol Control States?
🔗 How to Start a Liquor Store
🔗 How to Start a Wine Shop
Cost of a California Liquor License
Applying for a beer and wine license costs $1,135 in 2026, and a priority general license costs $19,840 to apply for, with a yearly fee on top and, for general licenses, any resale price paid for an existing one. Liquor license costs in California fall into three layers, with the state-set portion covered in the breakdown below.
State Fees: Application and Annual
Each license carries two state fees: a one-time application fee and an annual fee. The table lists the 2026 figures for the most common types.
| License type | Group | 2026 application fee | 2026 annual fee | How to get one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 20: Off-Sale Beer & Wine | Non-general | $1,135 | $500 | Apply at any time |
| Type 21: Off-Sale General | General | $19,840 (priority) | $1,009 | Win the drawing or buy an existing license |
| Type 41: On-Sale Beer & Wine (Eating Place) | Non-general | $1,135 | $565 | Open filing, no drawing |
| Type 42: On-Sale Beer & Wine (Public Premises) | Non-general | $1,135 | $705 | Rolling applications |
| Type 47: On-Sale General (Eating Place) | General | $19,840 (priority) | $985 to $1,545, by city population | Priority lottery or purchase of an existing license |
| Type 48: On-Sale General (Public Premises) | General | $19,840 (priority) | $985 to $1,545, by city population | Drawing entry or resale purchase |
Together, the two fees make up the first-year state cost: $1,635 for a Type 20 and $1,700 for a Type 41. A Type 21 totals $20,849, and a Type 47 in a city above 40,000 residents totals $21,385.
On-sale general annual fees climb with city population, hence the ranges shown for Types 47 and 48. Priority entrants advance the $19,840 at filing, and the ABC returns it, less a $100 service charge, to those who are not selected.
Private-Market Prices
State fees represent one component of the bill for a general license, since resale prices for an existing Type 21 or Type 47 can climb well beyond the ABC’s charge.
Brokers report prices from tens of thousands of dollars up to several hundred thousand in the most competitive counties, as the quota section above explains. Local zoning and conditional use permits bring further expense at fees that each city or county sets.
2027 Fee Increase
On January 1, 2027, all ABC application fees and annual fees go up by 3.31 percent. Annual adjustments track inflation as a ceiling. The 2026 schedule already carried a 2.72 percent bump. Budget for 2027 by applying that percentage to the figures above.
Can I Transfer a Liquor License in California?
Yes, a California liquor license is transferable to a new owner, a new location, or both, and each transfer requires ABC approval and a background check. Transfers are the standard route when you buy an existing liquor store or restaurant. The same mechanism moves a purchased quota license to its new holder.
Types of Transfers and 2026 Fees
Transfers fall into three categories, depending on what changes hands:
- Person to person (a new owner at the same address): $1,565 when the application includes a general license, $420 when it does not, plus the annual fee.
- Premises to premises (the same owner at a new address): $975.
- Double transfer (new owner and new address): $1,565 with a general license, $1,135 without.
When a purchase price is involved, escrow must be open before the transfer application goes in. A buyer who wants the store running during the wait can request a temporary permit ($100), valid for 120 days if the premises held a license within the prior 30 days. An interim operating permit ($180) is also available, at the ABC’s discretion, during the review period.
Curious about opening a liquor store? Check out our post on whether opening a liquor store is profitable and how to ship alcohol.
How Long Does The Process Take?
Plan on close to 90 days for an uncontested original application and roughly 75 days for a person-to-person transfer, the benchmarks the ABC measures itself against. Those marks are targets, not promises: protests, hearings, and slow local permits push totals beyond them. Licensing consultants put contested applications at 120 to 180 days. The 30-day protest period is already baked into these estimates.
New Non-General License
A beer and wine filing gains momentum after local zoning approvals are in hand. No license can issue before the 30-day notice period ends. The investigation proceeds in parallel.
Priority General License
The drawing sits at the front of the priority route: filing happens in September, the lottery in October, and winners then get 90 days to file the complete application for a specific premises. The investigation therefore starts after the drawing and the winner’s formal filing.
Transfer
Transfers travel the same notice, investigation, and approval path as new licenses. An uncontested person-to-person transfer carries a 75-day benchmark. A protest may trigger a hearing, set within 60 days.
Renewals & Late-Payment Penalties
A California liquor license renews annually and is revoked automatically by the ABC when the annual fee falls more than 90 days overdue. Before the expiration date, the licensee receives a renewal notice that shows the amount due and the payment deadline.
Penalties climb with delay. Payment within 60 days of the deadline triggers a penalty of 50 percent of the license fee; payment between 60 and 90 days late raises it to 100 percent. Past 90 days, the license is gone and the process starts over.
And in Other States?
Liquor license processes differ across state lines. If you’re considering opening up shop in Florida, our post on acquiring a liquor license in Florida will help. Planning a Texas location instead? Our breakdown of how much a liquor license costs in Texas lays out the fees there.
Simplify Your Liquor Store Operations With KORONA POS
KORONA POS supports California liquor store owners once the license is approved. It prompts age verification at checkout, tracks inventory in real time, and integrates seamlessly with your payment systems while scaling with your business.
Approval is the starting line for daily operations, with the register as the first big choice after it. Our comparison of the best POS systems for liquor stores shows how the main options stack up. Stock accuracy across beer, wine, and spirits comes next, and our guide to liquor store inventory management walks through it.
Running a liquor store in California comes with enough red tape; managing sales shouldn’t add to it. Get started today and see how KORONA POS can help you save time, reduce costs, and boost your store’s efficiency.
Speak with a product specialist and learn how KORONA POS can power your business.
FAQs: California Liquor Licenses
How Hard is it to Get a Liquor License in California?
It depends on the license group: beer and wine licenses are manageable for most qualified applicants, but general licenses are a steep climb because supply is capped. Beer and wine applicants face no seasonal window. General-license seekers must win the annual lottery or buy an existing license. Protests or zoning problems may delay either route.
What is a Type 47 Liquor License in California?
A Type 47 license lets a restaurant serve spirits alongside beer and wine for on-site consumption, provided it operates as a true restaurant with suitable kitchen facilities and a meaningful volume of meal sales. As a general license, it falls under the county cap and the priority drawing.
How Much Does a Liquor License Cost in California?
In 2026, the application fee is $1,135 for a beer and wine license and $19,840 for a priority general license, plus an annual fee between $500 and $1,545 depending on type. Buying an existing general license on the resale market raises the total by a five-figure sum or more.
How Long Does it Take to Get a California Liquor License?
Agency targets are 90 days for uncontested original applications and 75 for person-to-person transfers. Protests, hearings, and local permit delays stretch those timelines. Consultants put contested cases at 120 to 180 days.
Can You Transfer a Liquor License in California?
Yes. Ownership, location, or both can change hands through a transfer. Fees in 2026 start at $420 for a person-to-person transfer without a general license and reach $1,565 when one is included.
What is The Difference Between a Type 20 And a Type 21 License?
Moving from a Type 20 to a Type 21 adds distilled spirits to sealed beer and wine sales. Access differs even more than privileges: a Type 20 filing costs $1,135 and can be submitted at any point, whereas a Type 21 is awarded through the quota-limited drawing at $19,840 or purchased on resale.
Why is a Type 21 License so Expensive?
Scarcity drives the price: each county’s cap holds the number of general licenses down. Drawing entrants put up $19,840 at filing and recover it, less $100, if they lose, and resale buyers pay a premium that can reach six figures.
Do You Need a License to Sell Only Beer & Wine?
Yes. Any alcohol sale in California requires an ABC license. A Type 20, 41, or 42 is the entry-level choice for beer and wine alone. Those applications are accepted at any point in the year.
