TYPES OF LIQUOR LICENSES IN NEW JERSEY. For many years people in New Jersey have referred to licenses as either “C” or Broad “C” liquor licenses. The fact is, liquor licenses types are currently identified by an identification number that is issued by the State. It consists of a 12-digit number divided into a 4 groups. The Liquor License Experts specializing in buying and selling liquor licenses for alcohol consumption. Contact us for the best consultation, valuation, appraisals, and brokerage.

Liquor License For Sale
Liquor License In Nj Cost
Liquor License Value In Nj Tax
Liquor License For Sale In Nj Craigslist

The location of New Jersey within the United States

The state laws governing alcoholic drinks in New Jersey are among the most complex in the United States, with many peculiarities not found in other states' laws. They provide for 29 distinct liquor licenses granted to manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and for the public warehousing and transport of alcoholic drinks. General authority for the statutory and regulatory control of alcoholic drinks rests with the state government, particularly the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control overseen by the state's Attorney General.

Under home rule, New Jersey law grants individual municipalities substantial discretion in passing ordinances regulating the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks within their limits. The number of retail licenses available is determined by a municipality's population, and may be further limited by the town's governing body. As a result, the availability of alcohol and regulations governing it vary significantly from town to town. A small percentage of municipalities in the state are 'dry towns' that do not allow alcoholic drinks to be sold, and do not issue retail licenses for bars or restaurants to serve alcohol to patrons. Other towns permit alcohol sales 24 hours a day. Retail licenses tend to be difficult to obtain, and when available are subject to exorbitant prices and fervent competition.

In addition to granting local governments wide latitude over liquor sales, New Jersey law has some other unusual features. Corporations are limited to two retail distribution licenses, making it impractical for chain stores to sell alcoholic drinks; this restriction, in conjunction with municipal ordinances, severely limits supermarket and convenience store chains from selling beer as they do in many other states. State law treats drunk driving as a traffic offense rather than a crime, and permits individual municipalities to define the scope of underage drinking laws.

2Controlling authority
3Liquor licenses and permits
4Municipal issues
5Alcohol production and distribution
6Legal drinking age
7Drunk driving
8Other alcohol-related legal issues
9Areas outside state ABC jurisdiction

History[edit]

New Jersey's history of taverns and alcohol production dates to its early colonial period. Colonial winemakers received recognition by the Royal Society of Arts for producing high-quality wine,^[1] and a local distillery owner was asked by George Washington for his recipe for 'cyder spirits' (applejack).^[2]^[3] Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the industry developed with the influx of European immigrants, specifically Germans and Italians, who presented a sizable market for alcoholic drinks and brought with them old world winemaking, brewing, and distilling techniques.^[1]^[4] With the rise of the temperance movement culminating in Prohibition (1919–1933), New Jersey's alcohol industry suffered; many breweries, wineries, and distilleries either closed or relocated to other states.^[5] The legacy of Prohibition restricted and prevented the industry's recovery until the state legislature began loosening restrictions and repealing Prohibition-era laws starting in 1981. New Jersey's alcohol industry is experiencing a renaissance, and recently enacted laws provide new opportunities for the state's wineries and breweries.

Controlling authority[edit]

Statewide statutes and enforcement[edit]

New Jersey's laws and regulations regarding alcohol are overseen by the Department of Law and Public Safety's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which is managed by the state's Attorney General.^[6]^[7] The current director of the Alcohol Beverage Control division is Dave Rible. State and municipal laws, including those that regulate alcoholic drinks, apply in all territorial waters which includes inland rivers, lakes, and bays, and tidal waters up to three nautical miles from the New Jersey shoreline.^[8]^[9]

Starting in 1738, towns in New Jersey began issuing liquor licenses to tavern keepers. Before federal Prohibition in 1919, despite many state liquor statutes, the regulation of alcoholic drinks in New Jersey was almost exclusively local, with wide variations among municipalities.^[10]^[11] In 1933, after the repeal of Prohibition, the states were again permitted to regulate alcoholic drinks.^[12]^[13] Immediately upon the end of Prohibition in 1933, New Jersey instituted the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law,^[7]^[14] which established and granted rulemaking powers to the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.^[11]^[15] The law also established a three-tier alcohol distribution system whereby, with minor exceptions, alcohol manufacturers may only sell to wholesalers, who may only sell to retailers, who may only sell to customers.^[16]

New Jersey's alcohol laws and regulations are codified in Title 33 of the New Jersey Statutes, and Title 13, Chapter 2 of the New Jersey Administrative Code respectively.^[17]^[18] After New Jersey's current state constitution was adopted in 1947 and some departments were consolidated, the department was incorporated into the Department of Law and Public Safety under the New Jersey Attorney General's office.^[15] The statutes define an alcoholic drink as 'any fluid or solid capable of being converted into a fluid, suitable for human consumption, and having an alcohol content of more than one-half of one per centum (1/2 of 1%) by volume, including alcohol, beer, lager beer, ale, porter, naturally fermented wine, treated wine, blended wine, fortified wine, sparkling wine, distilled liquors, blended distilled liquors and any brewed, fermented or distilled liquors fit for use for drink purposes or any mixture of the same, and fruit juices.'^[19]

Municipal control[edit]

Ocean City was founded in 1879 as a dry town, and it never has issued a liquor license, forbids the sale of alcohol, and prohibits BYOB at restaurants.

New Jersey has a strong tradition of municipal home rule.^[20] Local municipalities thus have considerable authority in the licensing and regulating of alcohol-related businesses. These powers include:^[21]

Liquor License For Sale

limiting the number of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages at retail (Class C licenses),
limiting the hours of retail alcohol sales,
prohibiting the retail sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday,
regulating the conduct of any retail establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages,
regulating the nature and condition of the licensed premises
limiting persons within the municipality to a single liquor license,
limiting a license to cover only the specific licensed premises; and
allowing municipalities with populations of 15,000 or more to appoint a municipal alcoholic beverage control board of three persons with terms for three years.^[22]

Retail licenses for consumption or distribution are allocated proportionally to a municipality's population. Licenses permitting on-premises retail sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages (i.e. bars and restaurants) are allocated at a ratio of one license for 3,000 residents. Distribution licenses are available at a ratio of one license per 7,500 residents.^[23] Small towns with populations less tha

Liquor License Value In Nj