Florida requires licenses for all kinds of public liquor service.
The state of Florida does not restrict the number of licenses issued to sell beer and wine. However, Florida does limit the number of some alcoholic beverage licenses based on the population of each county. Businesses, nonprofits and houses of worship can apply for more than 80 kinds of liquor licenses depending on where the drinks will be consumed and for what purpose. All of them are regulated by Florida's Division of Alcohol Beverages and Tobacco, with annual fees ranging from $28 to $1,820.
Restaurants
Florida requires a special alcoholic beverage license, called an SRX license, for restaurants seeking to serve alcohol. The state does not base the number of these licenses on a county's population, but license holders must earn at least 51 percent of their revenue from the sale of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Quotas
Florida counties create new licenses by a population-based quota system. Each license covers 7,500 residents of that county. To get a quota license, applicants must either buy an existing license or enter a drawing to apply for a new license. On top of the annual license fee, quota licenses carry a one-time fee of $10,750. This comes from the Hughes Act, a law that requires license holders to help fund substance abuse and treatment programs.
Applications
The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco provides application forms at its local offices, and has them available for download online. Returned applications take different amounts of time to process, depending on the complexity of the license being purchased. The state must process completed applications within 90 days of receiving and accepting them.
Transfers
Beer-and-wine license holders can transfer them from county to county within the state of Florida. A change-of-location fee does apply. Liquor licenses, however, cannot move outside the county in which they originated.
Temporary Licenses
Florida restaurants may begin serving alcoholic beverages soon after applying for a liquor license. If the restaurant's license application appears in good order, the applicant can buy a temporary license for $100 or a quarter of the original license fee, whichever is greater. The temporary license allows restaurants to serve alcohol right away. Nonprofit civic organizations can also get temporary licenses to sell beverages on-premises only. Florida limits these licenses to three per calendar year per applicant, each one lasting up to three days.
Tags: license holders, alcoholic beverage, Beverages Tobacco, Florida does, Florida requires