This week, California ABC announced new priority and intercounty license authorizations for eligible counties. This year’s announcement includes five (5) new Type 87 licenses for specified census tracts in San Francisco, as well as new on-sale liquor licenses in Napa, Mariposa, Alpine, Shasta, and El Dorado counties. A full list of the new license authorizations can be found here.

Introduced in 2016, Type 87 licenses are known as Neighborhood Restricted Special On-Sale General Licenses, issued to applicants in specific neighborhoods in the city and county of San Francisco. Type 87 licenses are typically designated for bona fide eating places and authorize the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for consumption on the licensed premises, and generally subject to the same privileges and restrictions as a Type 47 license. These licenses require unique public notification and community interaction and approval during the formal application process and are generally non-transferrable. If there are more applicants than the five (5) licenses available in the specified
neighborhoods, a drawing will take place.

Another notable announcement includes a number of new on-sale authorizations in counties where priority licenses are generally unavailable. ABC announced new on-sales licenses in Napa County (10), Mariposa County (2), Alpine County (1), Shasta County (4), and El Dorado County (4). Priority license application form for all counties should be available August 23^rd.

Between September 11^th and 22^nd, 2023, ABC district offices will accept applications for priority and intercounty licenses in eligible counties. This year, priority license fees are $17,335 and intercounty license fees are $6,570, to be paid at the time of filing. If there are more applicants than licenses available, priority drawing will be held the week of October 23^rd. More information on specific dates and time for each drawing should be available October 16^th.

There are residency requirements to be eligible for these licenses and the priority application process has become more cumbersome in recent years, resulting in some priority drawing winners later being deemed ineligible. As such, we recommend having experienced alcohol counsel review your applications prior to submission. If you’re interested in applying for a new or intercounty priority license, or have additional questions about the drawing process, contact an attorney at Strike Kerr & Johns.

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