How a Boston liquor license works, from the Licensing Board to the ABCC

Key takeaways

• A Boston liquor license needs two approvals: the Boston Licensing Board grants it and the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) approves it before the Board issues it.
• Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 17 caps Boston at 677 all-alcohol licenses for on-premises sale under Section 12, a figure raised from 665 by Chapter 202 of the Acts of 2024.
• Governor Maura Healey signed Chapter 202 on September 11, 2024, and the City of Boston counts 225 new licenses under it, most of them non-transferable and tied to 13 zip codes.
• Upfront costs listed by the Boston Licensing Board are a $200 ABCC application fee, a $100 Board hearing fee and a $170 legal advertisement fee.
• The Licensing Board estimates 8 to 20 weeks from submission to license: 4 to 12 weeks at the Board and another 4 to 8 weeks at the ABCC.
• Renewal applications are due online by November 30 each year, or the license expires.

If you plan to open a restaurant, bar or package store in Boston, you need a liquor license before you pour or sell a drink. A Boston liquor license is an annual retail alcoholic beverages license that the Boston Licensing Board grants and issues under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, after the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission approves it. State law fixes how many licenses exist in Boston.

The sections below cover the license types, the state cap, the 2024 law, who can apply, the steps at the Licensing Board and the ABCC, the fees and what to do when no license is open in your neighborhood. Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville are separate municipalities with their own licensing authorities.

What is a Boston liquor license?

A Boston liquor license is a retail license to sell alcoholic beverages at one business address in the City of Boston. The Boston Licensing Board is the local licensing authority for the city, and it describes three steps: the Board grants the license if one is available, the ABCC approves the grant, and the Board issues the license once you pay the annual fee.

Licenses come in two types. An on-premises license, also called a Section 12 license, covers restaurants, general on-premises businesses such as bars and nightclubs, innholders (hotels) and clubs. An off-premises license, also called a Section 15 license, covers package stores, convenience stores and supermarkets. Each is issued for all alcoholic beverages, for wine and malt, or for wine, malt and cordials.

A Common Victualler license is the City of Boston license to serve food to the public. The Licensing Board says a new restaurant typically gets a combined Common Victualler and liquor license.

Why is the number of Boston liquor licenses capped?

The number of Boston liquor licenses is capped because the Massachusetts Legislature, not the city, sets a quota for Boston in state law. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 17, the licensing board for the City of Boston may grant 677 licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages under Section 12 and 250 under Section 15, and wine and malt licenses in the city may not exceed 320. Other paragraphs of Section 17 add restricted licenses on top of those figures.

Every other Massachusetts city and town gets a quota from a population formula in the same section. Boston is written out of that formula, so adding a Boston license takes an act of the Legislature.

A transferable license can be sold to another business on the private market, with the Licensing Board and the ABCC approving the transfer. A restricted license is non-transferable: the Licensing Board says it holds no resale value and goes back to the Board when the business closes.

What did the 2024 state law add?

The 2024 state law added 225 Boston liquor licenses, by the City of Boston’s count. The law is Chapter 202 of the Acts of 2024, approved on September 11, 2024. The Licensing Board’s liquor license FAQ breaks the 225 down this way:

• 195 neighborhood-restricted, non-transferable licenses: each year for three years, three all-alcohol and two wine and malt licenses in each of 13 zip codes (02118, 02119, 02121, 02122, 02124, 02125, 02126, 02128, 02129, 02130, 02131, 02132 and 02136).
• 3 non-transferable all-alcohol licenses for the Oak Square section of Brighton.
• 15 non-transferable all-alcohol licenses for community spaces, including outdoor spaces, nonprofit organizations and theaters with an occupancy limit under 750.
• 12 transferable all-alcohol licenses, which is the change from 665 to 677 in Section 17.

The 13 zip codes fall in 10 neighborhoods, from Charlestown and East Boston to Mattapan and Hyde Park. Chapter 202 requires a business holding a zip code or Oak Square license to prepare food on site under a food establishment permit.

Who can apply for a Boston liquor license?

Anyone can apply for a Boston liquor license, according to the Licensing Board, if the business meets these state and city rules:

• The business is registered with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
• For an on-premises license, at least 50 percent of directors and LLC managers are U.S. citizens. For an off-premises license, all of them are.
• The proposed manager of record is a U.S. citizen or qualified alien, lives in Massachusetts, has food and beverage experience and knows the Licensing Board and ABCC rules.

A manager of record is the person named on the application as the licensee’s principal representative, responsible for how the license is run. You also need a location before you apply. The Board accepts a lease, a deed, or a letter of intent signed by you and the landlord as proof of your right to occupy the space. Check the zoning designation of the address too, because some parts of Boston restrict or prohibit alcohol service.

How do you apply to the Boston Licensing Board?

You apply to the Boston Licensing Board online, and the Board sends your file to the state for you. The Board’s guide, Apply for an alcoholic beverages retail license, sets out the steps in this order:

1. Complete the ABCC New Retail License Application, with a notarized Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) authorization form for every person with a financial interest and for the manager of record.
2. Pay the $200 ABCC application fee on the ABCC website and save the receipt.
3. Submit the application as one PDF, with the receipt, through the Licensing Board’s online Alcohol Petition Form.
4. Contact your Office of Neighborhood Services liaison, who tells you which community meetings and notices the City of Boston requires.
5. Place the legal advertisement the Board sends you at least 10 calendar days before your hearing.
6. Within 3 calendar days of the ad running, mail a copy by certified mail to all direct abutters and to schools, churches and hospitals within 500 feet, then file the notarized Affidavit of Notice to Abutters.
7. Pay the $100 hearing fee and present your plan at a virtual hearing, where you have about five minutes to present your concept and the public need for the license.

The Board judges two things at the hearing: whether the location needs a license of that type, and whether you are fit to run a licensed business. Only then does it check whether a license is available. The Board calls “deferred” the most likely result for a new application, meaning no license is open or the Board is not ready to vote.

What happens at the ABCC after the Licensing Board votes?

The ABCC reviews every Boston liquor license application that the Licensing Board approves, and the license cannot be issued until the state signs off. The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission is an agency under the Massachusetts State Treasury. The Licensing Board says ABCC review typically takes 4 to 8 weeks, and that a response of “returned no action” is a request for more information, not a rejection.

After ABCC approval, the Licensing Board issues the license once it has your Certificate of Inspection from the Inspectional Services Department, a Place of Assembly permit from the Boston Fire Department if capacity is more than 49 people, proof of liquor liability insurance and the annual fee. Renewal applications are due online by November 30 each year.

How much does a Boston liquor license cost?

A Boston liquor license costs $470 in upfront fees for a new application, plus an annual fee that depends on license type and beverage category. The $470 is the $200 ABCC application fee, the $100 Licensing Board hearing fee and the $170 legal advertisement fee. The annual fees below are from the Licensing Board’s license fee schedule as posted on November 13, 2026.

License type	All alcohol	Wine and malt
Restaurant (Common Victualler with alcohol)	$2,800	$1,800
General on-premises	$3,500	$1,900
Innholder	$5,600	$1,900
Club	$2,800	$1,700
Retail package store	$2,500	$1,500

Restaurants also pay the $100 Common Victualler fee and a capacity fee of $1 per person, up to $500. The price of a transferable license bought from another business is set privately, and the Licensing Board does not oversee that sale.

What if no license is available in your neighborhood?

If no license is available in your neighborhood, the Licensing Board gives you two paths: stay on file for two years after a deferred vote, or buy a transferable license on the private market and apply for a transfer. The Board says new licenses are rarely available in Allston/Brighton, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Downtown, Mission Hill, the North End, the Seaport, South Boston and the West End.

The quota does not apply to everything. Farmer series pouring licenses for breweries, wineries and distilleries are always available, according to the Board. Restricted airport licenses at Logan International Airport do not count against the Boston quota under Section 17. An existing on-premises wine and malt licensee can trade up to a non-transferable all-alcohol license through the Board’s beer and wine upgrade program.

What should you recheck before you act?

Each item below was checked on November 13, 2026, and can change:

• License availability by type and neighborhood: call the Boston Licensing Board at 617-635-4170 or email licensingboard@boston.gov before you sign a lease.
• The $200, $100 and $170 upfront fees and the annual fee schedule: confirm on the Licensing Board’s fee page.
• The Section 17 quota figures (677, 250 and 320): confirm on the Massachusetts Legislature’s website, since any new act changes them.
• How many Chapter 202 licenses remain in your zip code: ask the Licensing Board.
• The November 30 renewal deadline: confirm with the Licensing Board.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; confirm the current requirements with the agency named before you file or pay.

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