How Much Does a Liquor License Cost in California? (2026 Fee Guide)

In 2026, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), the state agency that licenses alcohol sellers, charges $1,135 to apply for a beer and wine license and $19,840 for a priority spirits license. An annual fee follows, and spirits licenses often add a resale price that reaches six figures.

Below, you will find ABC’s current fees, annual and transfer costs, the quota and drawing rules, resale prices, license types, extra expenses, sample first-year budgets, and the 2027 fee increase.

How Much Does a California Liquor License Cost?

Application fees for a California liquor license begin at $1,135 for beer and wine and reach $19,840 for spirits in 2026.

Annual fees ride on top of both. Spirits buyers face a third expense, the market price of a license from a current holder, which can pass $100,000. That price tends to dwarf ABC’s charges, so the final bill depends on license type, county, and route.

The Three Layers of Cost

A California liquor license can involve three layers of cost: the ABC application fee, the annual fee, and, for spirits licenses, the market price of a license purchased from its owner.

• Application fee: A one-time charge due when you apply, which ABC generally treats as non-refundable.
• Annual fee: Paid with the application for year one, then again at renewal time. ABC refunds the first payment if the application is withdrawn or denied.
• Resale price: Set by brokers and sellers, never by ABC. It applies mainly to general licenses, the category that allows spirits, and to Type 20 licenses where a jurisdiction has reached its cap.

Local permits, broker commissions, and legal help sit outside those three layers. The budgeting sections below cover them.

2026 ABC Application Fees by License Type

For new licenses, ABC’s 2026 fees span $125 to $19,840, and the licenses owners need most fall at either $1,135 or $19,840. The amounts below come from the ABC fee schedules effective January 1, 2026, a 2.72 percent bump over 2025.

Beer And Wine (Non-General) Licenses

Non-general licenses allow beer and wine only, and ABC prices nearly all of them at $1,135 in 2026.

The best-known are Type 20 (off-sale beer and wine), Type 41 (on-sale beer and wine, eating place), and Type 42 (on-sale beer and wine, public premises). A handful of specialty types (06, 26, 28, 82, and 94) cost $125.

General Licenses (Spirits)

General licenses allow beer, wine, and distilled spirits, and the priority versions carry a $19,840 application fee. Priority licenses (Types 21, 47, 48, 57, 71, 72, 75, 87, and 88) are awarded to priority drawing winners. Other general license fees:

• Non-priority general (Types 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 76, and 80): $1,135
• Type 47 on public property: $7,515
• Type 70 on-sale general restrictive service: $7,515
• Type 78 wine, food, and art museum: $15,035
• Type 90 on-sale general music venue: $19,840

Temporary, Catering, And Event Permits

Temporary permits cost $100, and one-day catering and event authorizations cost $100 to $1,000 depending on attendance. These authorizations attach to a permanent license, usually a Type 58 caterer’s permit or a Type 77 event permit.

• 0 to 999 attendees: $100
• 1,000 to 4,999 attendees: $325
• 5,000 or more attendees: $1,000
• Invitation-only events: $250

Qualified nonprofits pay daily rates for temporary licenses: $50 for beer and wine, $75 for general, and $100 each for special daily on-sale, off-sale, and auction licenses.

Annual Fees And Late Penalties

For the common retail licenses, annual fees range from $500 to $1,545 in 2026, set by license type and, for on-sale general licenses, by city population. The total pairs a base license fee with the surcharges ABC attaches to that license type.

Annual Fees by License Type

• Type 20: $500
• Type 41: $565
• Type 42: $705
• Type 21: $1,009
• Types 47 and 48: $1,545 in cities above 40,000 residents, $1,260 in cities of 20,000 to 40,000, and $985 in smaller cities and unincorporated areas

Late-Payment Penalties

ABC tacks on 50 percent of the license fee when payment arrives within 60 days of the deadline, and 100 percent when it is 60 to 90 days late. A license left unpaid past 90 days is revoked.

Why Spirits Licenses Cost So Much More

California caps general licenses county by county, which steers buyers toward a resale market where prices are negotiated.

County Quotas And The Priority Drawing

State law ties supply 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 needs an unclaimed license in the county, and ABC releases those once a year through the priority drawing.

ABC took 2026 filings from September 14 to 25, after a 2025 window of September 8 to 19. Applicants pay the $19,840 fee at filing and must have lived in California for at least 90 days before the drawing.

Where applicants outnumber licenses, ABC runs a virtual drawing, and winners then file a formal application for a specific premises. Counties with no available licenses are left out entirely.

Resale Prices by License Type

Broker listings in 2026 put a Type 21 at $10,000 to $50,000 in populous counties such as Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Clara, while counties short on licenses ask far more: $185,000 in Marin and $250,000 in Merced.

Type 47 asking prices sit at roughly $60,000 to $150,000 in the larger markets, and rare licenses reach $300,000 or more. A Type 20 in a capped area is offered at $7,000 to $20,000.

Those are asking prices, and closing prices differ. No official price exists, so any quote is open to negotiation.

Another route is a CDTFA liquor license auction: the agency sells licenses to the highest bidder, the buyer must open escrow within 48 hours, and the sale still depends on ABC approving the transfer.

Transfer Fees For Existing Licenses

Ownership transfers cost $1,565 in 2026 when the application covers a general license and $420 when it does not, with the annual fee payable alongside. ABC sorts transfers by what changes hands:

• Person to person (new owner, same address): $1,565 with a general license, $420 without
• Premises to premises (same owner, new address): $975
• Double transfer (new owner and new address): $1,565 when a general license is included, $1,135 when it is not
• Exchange (swapping one license type for another, commonly Types 47 and 48): $125
• Intercounty transfer of a general license: $7,515, limited to priority drawing winners

Paid sales go through an escrow that ABC requires, and the escrow stays open until ABC approves the buyer.

What Type of Liquor License Should You Apply For?

Match the license to what you sell and where customers drink it: Types 20 and 21 for stores, Types 41 and 47 for restaurants, and Types 42 and 48 for bars.

Liquor Stores And Markets

• Type 20 (off-sale beer and wine): Beer and wine for drinking off the premises. Convenience stores, gas stations, and wine shops use it. Hard liquor stays off the shelf, and an applicant in a full-cap area may have to buy an already-issued license.
• Type 21 (off-sale general): Beer, wine, and spirits for drinking off the premises. It is the standard liquor store license, so customers cannot drink on site.

Restaurants

• Type 41 (on-sale beer and wine, eating place): Beer and wine for restaurants. The premises must operate as a bona fide eating place with a kitchen and substantial meal sales.
• Type 47 (on-sale general, eating place): Beer, wine, and spirits poured on site, under the same eating place standard plus the county quota and priority drawing.

Bars And Nightclubs

• Type 42 (on-sale beer and wine, public premises): Beer and wine at bars and taverns, with no kitchen requirement. Minors cannot enter.
• Type 48 (on-sale general, public premises): Beer, wine, and spirits at bars and nightclubs, with no food requirement. Minors cannot enter, and the quota applies.

What Determines The Price of a Liquor License?

Five factors set the final price of a California liquor license: license type, county demand, whether the license is new or transferred, city population, and local zoning rules.

License Type

Beer and wine licenses cost $1,135 to apply for; priority general licenses cost $19,840 and pick up a resale cost when the license changes hands.

County Demand

Counties hold a set number of general licenses, so prices track supply within each county more closely than population. A Type 21 is offered at $12,000 in Los Angeles County and $185,000 in Marin.

New License Versus Transfer

A drawing winner pays the flat $19,840 fee. A buyer pays the seller’s asking price and a $1,565 transfer fee.

City Population

Types 47 and 48 have annual fees tied to city size, rising from $985 to $1,545 once a city passes 40,000 residents.

Local Zoning And Concentration Rules

Cities and counties can require a conditional use permit for alcohol sales. In crowded census tracts, ABC must deny an application that adds to over-concentration unless the local government finds that the license serves public convenience or necessity.

Other Costs to Budget For

Beyond ABC’s fees, plan for $63 in fingerprinting, a $100 temporary permit, and an $180 interim operating permit. City and county permits, broker fees, escrow, legal help, and insurance vary by deal.

• Fingerprinting: $63. The number of people ABC fingerprints depends on your ownership structure.
• Temporary permit: $100. New owners use it to operate while ABC reviews a transfer, and it remains valid for 120 days.
• Interim operating permit: $180, issued at ABC’s discretion while an application is pending.
• Zoning approvals: Conditional use permits and related sign-offs, with fees set by the city or county.
• Broker, escrow, and legal help: Billed by the professionals involved.
• Insurance: Liquor liability coverage, quoted by the carrier.

Ask for written quotes on the last four items before you sign a lease.

Sample First-Year Budgets by Business Type

A first-year license outlay stretches from $1,635 for a beer and wine store to $153,110 or more for a restaurant that buys a Type 47.

The examples below use ABC’s 2026 schedule and recent broker listings, and the totals leave out city and county permits, broker, escrow, legal, and insurance costs. Add $63 for fingerprinting to any of them.

Beer And Wine Store (Type 20)

A beer and wine license suits owners who plan to start a wine shop or add a small beer and wine section to a market, and the cost remains modest:

• Application fee: $1,135
• First annual fee: $500
• Total: $1,635

Those figures assume your area has room under the Type 20 cap. Where the cap is full, a Type 20 from a current owner is listed at $7,000 to $20,000, and the $420 transfer fee and $500 annual fee get added, bringing the bill to $7,920 to $20,920.

Liquor Store Buying an Existing Type 21

Owners who want to open a liquor store on a tight timeline tend to buy an already-issued Type 21, since the priority drawing happens only once a year. That route breaks down as follows:

• Resale price: $10,000 to $50,000, where supply is ample, $185,000 or more in scarce markets such as Marin
• Person-to-person transfer fee: $1,565
• Year-one annual fee: $1,009
• Combined cost: $12,574 to $52,574 in the cheaper counties, $187,574 and up in the scarcest

Liquor Store Winning the Drawing (Type 21)

• Priority application fee: $19,840 (refunded minus $100 if not drawn)
• Annual fee at filing: $1,009
• Bottom line: $20,849

Restaurant (Type 41 Versus Type 47)

• Type 41: $1,135 application and $565 annual, adding up to $1,700.
• Type 47 through the drawing: $19,840 application and $985 to $1,545 annual, a $20,825 to $21,385 outlay.
• Type 47 through resale: $60,000 to $150,000 in the larger markets, a $1,565 transfer fee, and a $985 to $1,545 annual fee, which adds up to $62,550 to $153,110, and more in counties short on licenses.

Planning For The 2027 Fee Increase

ABC will raise all application and annual fees by 3.31 percent on January 1, 2027. The 2026 increase was 2.72 percent and 2025 brought 3.65 percent, so build a yearly adjustment into any multi-year plan.

ABC’s posted 2027 schedule lists $20,495 for a priority general license, $1,170 for a beer and wine license, and $1,620 for a person-to-person transfer that includes a general license.

The ABC 2027 fee schedule covers the full set of new amounts, with the Appeals Board, CHP, and Business Practices surcharges added to the adjusted base fee.

The priority filing window has opened in September in recent years, so anyone planning to enter the 2027 drawing should plan around the 2027 level.

KORONA POS For Liquor Stores And Wineries

KORONA POS handles daily operations once ABC approves your license. The software shows an age verification prompt at checkout, and you can customize the prompt to fit your store’s workflow.

The cloud-based system supports liquor store inventory management: it tracks every bottle, case, and keg, sets automatic reorder levels, and works with the payment processor you choose.

It scales to franchise and multi-location operations, and integrations with Bottlecapps, City Hive, bLoyal, and QuickBooks cover eCommerce, loyalty, and accounting.

Owners still comparing vendors can read the roundup of the best liquor store POS systems. Schedule a demo to see how KORONA POS fits a liquor store or winery.

FAQs: California Liquor License Cost

What Does a California Liquor License Cost in 2026?

Expect $1,135 on the beer and wine side and $19,840 for a spirits license won in the priority draw, plus a $500 to $1,545 annual fee. Purchasing a spirits license from a holder also means paying the seller, from $10,000 to $150,000 or more.

How Much Does a Beer And Wine License Cost in California?

A beer and wine application costs $1,135, followed by a yearly fee of $500 (Type 20), $565 (Type 41), or $705 (Type 42). Year-one ABC charges therefore come to $1,635 through $1,840, and a Type 20 also needs room under its cap.

What Does a Type 21 License Cost?

A Type 21 won in the drawing comes to $20,849 in ABC charges: $19,840 to enter and $1,009 for year one. Buying secondhand swaps the $19,840 for a $1,565 ABC charge plus the seller’s price, from $10,000 to $185,000 or more by county.

How Much Are California Liquor License Renewal Fees?

Retail renewals cost $500 to $1,545 a year in 2026, with city size setting Types 47 and 48. Paying up to 60 days late draws a 50 percent penalty, 60 to 90 days late draws 100 percent, and past 90 days the license is revoked.

What Makes a Spirits License Cost More Than Beer And Wine?

Supply is the driver. Counties are capped at a 1-to-2,000 ratio for the on-sale general category and 1-to-2,500 for off-sale general licenses, with new licenses issued through the yearly drawing alone. That scarcity feeds a resale market; Types 41 and 42 face no county quota.

Can You Get Money Back After Losing The Priority Drawing?

Yes. Unsuccessful entrants are refunded automatically, less a $100 service charge, 90 to 120 days after the drawing, and anyone who withdraws before the drawing can ask for the same refund. They also keep their ranking until the following year.

How Many Days Does a California Liquor License Approval Take?

Processing takes 55 to 90 days or longer by ABC’s own estimate, and no transfer can close in under 30 days. Protests, hearings, and slow zoning approvals stretch either timeline, so leave breathing room before a lease or opening date.

What Separates a Type 47 License From a Type 48 License?

Both authorize on-premises sales across the full spectrum of alcohol at the $19,840 priority fee. Type 47 requires restaurant operations, meaning a suitable kitchen and meaningful meal sales; Type 48 skips the food requirement, excludes minors, and fits bars and nightclubs.