Scope first: this page covers state ABC fees only — the amounts California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control publishes for applications, annual renewals, selected transfers, and miscellaneous items. It does not include ComplianceKitchen pricing, broker commissions, attorney fees, build-out costs, or private-market purchase prices paid to acquire an existing scarce Type 47 license from another party. Those private amounts vary and are not ABC schedule line items.
Figures below are cited as of ABC schedules effective January 1, 2026 for application and annual fees, with fingerprinting and license replacement amounts from the Other section effective July 1, 2026. Always re-check the live tables on abc.ca.gov before you budget or pay.
ComplianceKitchen helps operators track alcohol-service certifications and compliance deadlines. This article lists no ComplianceKitchen pricing — only ABC state fees.
New License Application Fees (Effective January 1, 2026)
From ABC’s application fee schedules:
- Non-General (except listed specialty types): $1,135 application fee; annual fee required with application. This is the common state fee path for a new restaurant Type 41.
- General — Priority (Types 21, 47, 48, 57, 71, 72, 75, 87, 88): $19,840; annual fee required; available only to priority drawing winners. This is the published state application fee for a new priority Type 47 among others.
- Type 47 — On-Sale General Eating Place on Public Property: $7,515; annual fee required.
ABC explains that application fees recover average processing costs, including premises investigation and applicant background work, and that application fees are generally non-refundable once an application is accepted. Online filers must also meet the 24-hour payment window described in ABC’s FAQ (covered step-by-step in how to get a liquor license in California).
Annual Fees for Type 41 And Type 47 (Effective January 1, 2026)
From the annual fee schedule:
- Type 41 On-Sale Beer & Wine Eating Place: $565 (no population restriction on that schedule row).
- Type 47 On-Sale General Eating Place: $1,545 (cities over 40,000); $1,260 (cities 20,000–40,000); $985 (cities under 20,000 and unincorporated areas).
ABC notes that when annual fees are required, they are collected at application submission in addition to the application fee and cover the first year’s license fee. Renewals follow the same schedule unless ABC updates it.
ComplianceKitchen
State fees are only part of alcohol compliance cost
After you pay ABC, RBS certifications still expire on a three-year cycle. ComplianceKitchen tracks server and manager deadlines — without mixing product pricing into this ABC fee guide.
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Transfer Fees When Buying Or Moving An Existing License
Restaurants that purchase an existing license (instead of winning a new priority draw) still pay ABC processing fees that are separate from whatever the seller charges privately. On the same application fee schedules effective January 1, 2026, ABC lists among others:
- Person to Person Transfer: $1,565 when the application includes a General license; $420 when it does not; annual fee required with the application.
- Premises to Premises Transfer: $975 application fee; ABC directs applicants to contact the district office to confirm whether an annual fee is required at filing.
Again: those are state filing fees. The private purchase price negotiated for a Type 47 in a restricted county is not published on this schedule and is intentionally omitted here.
Miscellaneous Fees (Effective July 1, 2026)
Under the Other heading on the application fee schedules page, ABC lists miscellaneous amounts effective July 1, 2026, including:
- Fingerprinting fees: $63
- License replacement fee: $25
Fingerprint costs typically appear during original applications and certain ownership changes when ABC requires prints for qualifying persons. Replacement fees apply when you need a new physical license document under ABC’s rules.
How To Read A Realistic State-Fee Budget
For a new Type 41 Non-General filing, operators often add the $1,135 application fee, the $565 Type 41 annual fee (as of the January 1, 2026 annual schedule), fingerprinting if required, and any local notice or zoning costs outside ABC. For a new Type 47 General Priority filing (drawing winners), the published application line is $19,840 plus the applicable Type 47 annual tier, again before local and professional costs.
None of those totals is a quote for ComplianceKitchen, and none is a forecast of what a seller might ask for an existing General license. If your finance model mixes broker ask prices into the “ABC fee” line, separate them so ownership can see state obligations clearly.
What This Article Intentionally Leaves Out
Three cost categories are easy to confuse with ABC fees and are excluded on purpose:
- ComplianceKitchen pricing: product subscription amounts are not ABC fees and are not listed here. Evaluate software separately from state schedules.
- Broker and advisory fees: consultants and license brokers charge privately for sourcing, paperwork, or negotiation help. Those invoices are not on ABC’s application or annual tables.
- Private market transfer purchase prices: when a scarce Type 47 changes hands, the amount paid to the seller can dwarf the $1,565 General person-to-person ABC fee. That seller price is a private bargain, not a state fee, and quoting invented market averages would be misleading.
If a spreadsheet merges those items into one “liquor license cost” cell, split it. Leadership needs to see which dollars go to the State of California versus which dollars go to a counterparty or vendor.
CPI Note And Why Schedules Change
ABC’s license-fees hub explains that application and annual fees are adjusted periodically (for example, ABC describes a consumer-price-index based adjustment reflected in the January 1, 2026 figures). That is why this post stamps every table with an effective date and links the live application and annual pages. Printouts from a prior year’s packet are not reliable for a 2026 filing.
Putting Fees Next To Privileges
Paying the Non-General $1,135 fee does not buy spirits privileges. Paying the General Priority $19,840 fee (as a drawing winner) does not waive bona fide eating-place duties under B&P § 23038 and § 23787. Fees purchase processing and the first year’s annual license fee when required; they do not replace RBS certification for servers and managers. Match the fee path to the privilege path using Type 41 vs 47, then follow the filing steps in how to get a liquor license in California.
Where Privileges And Enforcement Fit
Fee choice follows privilege choice: beer and wine versus spirits. Compare Type 41 vs Type 47 before you treat the General Priority fee as inevitable. After issuance, suspension risk is operational — see ABC license suspension — and opening still depends on the rest of the permits and licenses stack.
California Liquor License Cost FAQ
What does California liquor license cost mean in this article?
Here it means official Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control state fees only: application fees, annual fees, and selected miscellaneous or transfer fees published on abc.ca.gov. It does not include ComplianceKitchen pricing, broker fees, attorney fees, or private market purchase prices paid to buy an existing scarce Type 47 license.
How much is the Type 41 application fee?
As of ABC’s application fee schedules effective January 1, 2026, Non-General applications (the usual new Type 41 path) list $1,135, and the annual fee is required with the application. Confirm the live schedule before you pay.
How much is the Type 47 priority application fee?
As of the same January 1, 2026 application schedule, General Priority applications for Types 21, 47, 48, and related types list $19,840 plus the annual fee, available only to priority drawing winners. Type 47 on public property is listed separately at $7,515 plus annual fee.
What are Type 41 and Type 47 annual fees in 2026?
On ABC’s annual fee schedule effective January 1, 2026, Type 41 is $565. Type 47 is $1,545 / $1,260 / $985 depending on city population tier (over 40,000; 20,000–40,000; under 20,000 and unincorporated).
What miscellaneous ABC fees should restaurants expect?
ABC’s application fee schedules list Other miscellaneous fees effective July 1, 2026, including fingerprinting fees at $63 and a license replacement fee at $25. Person-to-person and premises-to-premises transfer fees are listed separately on the same page for operators buying or moving an existing license.