Seven Steps to Getting a Liquor License in the Stanislaus County
In the Stanislaus there are seven steps to getting a liquor license. This process is known to take quite a bit of time but if done right you can be on your way to getting your license and starting your business. Below are the seven steps that you’ll need to take in order to get your liquor license in the Stanislaus County.
Step1 – Pre-Application Steps
The first step for a person who would like to apply for a liquor license from the ABC must first start with the nearest ABC District Office. For Stanislaus County the nearest ABC District office is located at 31 E. Channel St., Room 168 Stockton, CA 95202 and can be contacted at 408-277-1200. At the district office you will be advised on what application you will need to fill out based upon your needs and the fees associated with that application. Some applicants will have to obtain approval form local zoning officials, open an escrow, or receive a certified copy of a Notice of Intended Transfer from the County Recorder.
Step 2 – Application Filed at District Office
This is the step where you actually turn in your Liquor License application to the district office. This is not something that you can mail-in as the ABC requires you be there in person to turn in the application. All of the application fees are required to be paid upon you turning in your license application. The ABC will also require you to watch a video about all ABC laws before you leave.
Step 3 – Notification to Local Officials
Once the application has been turned in the ABC is required by law to mail a copy of the application to local officials. If the license is being applied for is within the city a copy will go to the police department, city council, and the city planning department. If the license is for within the county a copy goes to the sheriff’s department, board of supervisors, and district attorney. This will give the local officials the opportunity to review the license application and if they feel that there are any concerns they can request and/or impose restrictions on the business or, if they feel it necessary, file a protest.
Step 4 – Investigation for Liquor License in Stanislaus County
To ensure that the premises and applicant qualify for a liquor license in Stanislaus County, the ABC must conduct an investigation. During this time a Public Notice of Application and a Notice of Intention to Engage in the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages will have to be issued and posted by the applicant. Within 30 days of either notice a person may protest the issuance of a license with a written letter. If the license application has been protested your license can still be recommended for approval and the ABC can issue the applicant an Interim Operating Permit while reviewing the protest.
Step 5 – Applicant’s Responsibilities
Once you have submitted your application it is your responsibility to do the following; post the Public Notice of Application at the proposed place of business for 30 days and provide any information that the ABC needs for their investigation. The ABC may also require you to; place an ad in the local newspaper, mail a notice of application to everyone living within a 500’ radius of the proposed place of business, and/or provide proof of zoning permits from your local planning department.
Step 6 – Division Office Review
Now that you have full filed all of the application requirements it is now time for the Division Office to review your application. You application will only be review if there have been any protests, recommendations for denial from the District Office, or any non routine multilevel partnerships. If everything looks good from here you will move on to the Final Review.
Step 7 – Final Review
This is the final item that stands between you and your liquor license in Stanislaus County. The ABC Headquarters does a final review of your application and if they find no issues you will be issued your liquor license! If there are any issues you will be notified and you will need to take care of those items before you will be issued your liquor license.
For whatever reason, if there are any protests filed against your application there will be hearings that you must attend and settle before you will be issued your liquor license. After going through the hearings you are still not guaranteed to get your license as you may need to go through appeals boards and/or appeals courts. Ultimately if there is any need to go through this process the California Supreme Court will have the final say on if you will receive your license or not.
At Your Service
Liquor License Network is California’s leading premier liquor licensing brokerage and consulting firm. We specialize in the sale, purchase, and facilitation of liquor licenses. Liquor License Network’s professional team of experts offers more than 12 years of liquor licensing experience to many satisfied clients. Our network of experts takes the difficult task off of your hands of locating, negotiating, and acquiring or selling a liquor license for you.
Extensive Inventory
Liquor License Network leads the way in applying technology driven applications to the liquor license markets of today. We maintain a complete and extensive database of all recent liquor license sales within the state of California thereby enabling us to negotiate with the ease and viability available to us, ensuring that our clients are getting a fair and honest deal. In addition to the technology at our disposal, we are up-to-date in all the aspects of the processing of local and regional zoning applications and conditional use permits.
Find out more on liquor licenses by county here.