How to get a California Beer and Wine License

There are two ways to get a California beer and wine license: directly from the state or purchase from a private seller.

if your business is located in an area that is not under a ‘cap' or ‘moratorium', you can apply for a new license at your local Alcoholic Beverage Control office. At present the state license fee for a beer & wine license is under $500, which is a bargain compared to the next option, which is, if your business is located in an area that the CA liquor licensing commission deems to be ‘over-concentrated' with licenses, then you must find a holder of a license who is willing to sell it to you.

In order to find out which of the two categories you fall into you can either contact your local Alcoholic Beverage Control board, or you can find a qualified liquor license firm such as The American Liquor License Exchange, www.amlex.com that specializes in license transfers. Whoever you contact, they'll have to know the exact address where you plan to operate in order to determine if you can apply directly with the state or if you'll be buying your license from a private seller.

So, assuming you have to buy one on the open market, the next question is, "How much does it cost for a liquor license?".

Here again, unless you personally know someone selling a license, your best option is finding a reputable license agent. Because prices vary from county to county, they are best qualified to tell you current market values throughout the state. The price of a beer and wine license can be as low as a few thousand dollars up to tens of thousands, depending on supply and demand.

As you can see, making sure your location is in the right area can save you tons of money when it comes to getting your beer and wine license.

And finally, whether you're getting a new license directly from the state or buying one from a previous licensee, the next step applicants must go through is a comprehensive process which includes, but is not limited to, a survey by a state investigator of your business, an FBI background check which includes fingerprinting as well as submitting detailed personal information about yourself and any partners you may have.

The first business project is getting a liquor license. This will allow your establishment to make good money & bring in many more people. Be certain to use a reputable company to help with completing the paperwork for your liquor license and making sure you will not have problems with you state and local governing bodies. I am Jon C Meija of The American Liquor License Exchange, call me today at 800-711-2114.