How to Get a Georgia Liquor License

Last updated: September 11, 2026

Georgia’s state alcohol license is cheap, and it is not the one that decides whether you open. The Department of Revenue charges $50 to $200 depending on what you sell, plus a $100 nonrefundable investigation fee. But you need two licenses — the state’s and one from your city or county — and the local jurisdiction sets its own fee, its own conditions, and often its own server permit. One application through the Georgia Tax Center now reaches both at once, which is convenient, but it does not merge the two decisions.

Server Permits in Georgia Are a Local Matter

Georgia does not issue a statewide bartender or server license. Many cities and counties do — usually called a pour permit or alcohol work permit, issued by the local police department or licensing office, often with its own fee and background check.

• There is no statewide card, so a permit from one jurisdiction does not necessarily travel to the next one.
• Ask the city or county where the establishment actually sits before your first shift — in the jurisdictions that require one, working without it is a problem for the employee and the license holder both.
• Employers commonly arrange it as part of onboarding, but the permit belongs to the individual.

The Business Licenses: State and Local, Both Required

Georgia’s Department of Revenue states it plainly — you will receive a local license issued by your local licensing jurisdiction and a state license issued by the Department of Revenue. State fees by type:

• Retail Dealer / Package Store: $200. Sales in unbroken packages for consumption off the premises.
• On-premises consumption: liquor with beer $150, liquor with wine $150, liquor with beer and wine $200.
• Retail Malt Beverage $50 and Retail Wine $50 for beer- or wine-only retail.
• Manufacturing: brewery, distillery, winery, or brewpub — $1,000 each.
• Investigation fee: $100, nonrefundable, on every application.
• Apply through the Georgia Tax Center, which routes the application to the state and the local licensing authority simultaneously — with separate fee payments to each.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Local pour permit (server)	Set locally	No statewide server license exists; many cities and counties require their own
State — Retail Dealer / Package Store	$200	Unbroken packages, off-premises
State — On-premises: liquor + beer + wine	$200	Liquor with beer only, or liquor with wine only: $150
State — Retail Malt Beverage / Retail Wine	$50 each	Beer- or wine-only retail
State — investigation fee	$100	Nonrefundable, every application
State — brewery / distillery / winery / brewpub	$1,000 each	Production licenses
Local license	Set by your city or county	Frequently the largest line item — ask the local authority directly
Georgia LLC	$100 + service charge	$105 filed online, $110 by mail or hand delivery

One Application, Two Licensing Authorities — and the Local One Decides

The number that surprises Georgia operators is not on the state’s fee list. A state package store license is $200; a full on-premises license is $200. Those are small figures for a business of this kind, and they can create a false sense of how cheap licensing is here.

The local license is the real gate. Georgia cities and counties set their own alcohol license fees, their own distance rules from schools and churches, their own hours, their own zoning conditions, and in many places their own pour permits for staff. Two addresses a mile apart can face materially different requirements and prices, and the state license cannot rescue an application the local authority declines.

What centralization actually changed: since Georgia moved retail alcohol licensing to the Georgia Tax Center, one online application is transmitted to the Department of Revenue and the local licensing authority at the same time, with instructions for paying each. That removes duplicated paperwork — it does not remove the second approval, the second fee, or the local conditions attached to it.

So sequence it correctly: talk to the local licensing authority before you commit to a location. Ask for their fee schedule, their distance requirements, and whether they require pour permits for staff. Then file through the Tax Center knowing both halves of the bill.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Call your city or county licensing authority first — fees, distance rules, hours, and pour permit requirements vary and they decide your address.
2. Register the entity with the Secretary of State.
3. Pick your state license type — retail dealer (package) or on-premises consumption, and which beverages.
4. File through the Georgia Tax Center; the application goes to the state and local authority together.
5. Pay both sets of fees — state license plus the $100 investigation fee, and the local fee to your jurisdiction.
6. Get staff their local pour permits where the jurisdiction requires them.

Staying Licensed

State licenses renew annually through the Georgia Tax Center at the same fee schedule, and your local jurisdiction runs its own renewal on its own calendar — missing the local one closes you just as effectively as missing the state one. Keep staff pour permits current where they are required locally, and re-check local ordinances periodically: hours, distance rules, and fees are set by the city or county and change more often than the state schedule does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a license to serve alcohol in Georgia?

The state does not issue an individual server license, but many Georgia cities and counties do — a local pour permit or alcohol work permit, obtained from the police department or licensing office where you work. Atlanta and other jurisdictions run their own programs with their own fees and background checks. Because it is purely local, ask the city or county where the establishment sits; there is no statewide card that works everywhere.

How much is a liquor license in Georgia?

The state portion is modest: a retail dealer or package store license is $200, retail malt beverage and retail wine are $50 each, and on-premises consumption licenses run $150 for liquor with beer or wine, or $200 for liquor with both. Add a nonrefundable $100 investigation fee to any application. But the state fee is only half the bill — your city or county issues its own license at its own price, and local fees commonly dwarf the state’s.

Do I need both a state and local alcohol license in Georgia?

Yes. You will receive a local license issued by your local licensing jurisdiction and a state license issued by the Department of Revenue. Since Georgia centralized the process, you file through the Georgia Tax Center and the application goes to the state and the local licensing authority at the same time — but the fees are paid separately to each, and the local authority sets its own additional requirements.

How do I apply for a Georgia alcohol license?

Online through the Georgia Tax Center. The centralized system sends your application to both the Department of Revenue and your local licensing jurisdiction simultaneously, with instructions for remitting the two sets of fees. Contact your local licensing authority separately for the additional local requirements, which vary widely by city and county.

What is the difference between a retail dealer and a retail consumption dealer in Georgia?

A retail dealer sells alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages to consumers for consumption elsewhere — a package store. A retail consumption dealer serves drinks for consumption on the premises — a bar or restaurant. They are different state licenses at different fees, and your local jurisdiction typically issues a matching local license for whichever you hold.

How much is the Georgia investigation fee?

A nonrefundable investigation fee of $100 applies to all alcohol license applications to the Department of Revenue. It is separate from the license fee itself, and you do not get it back if the application is denied.

Forming the company, taxes, insurance, and hiring are covered in our full guide to starting a business in Georgia.

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Georgia Department of Revenue — License Fees	State fees: retail dealer/package $200, on-premises $150-$200, retail malt beverage and wine $50, production $1,000, $100 nonrefundable investigation fee
Georgia Department of Revenue — Apply for a License to Sell Alcohol	Application through the Georgia Tax Center
Georgia Department of Revenue — Centralized Alcohol Licensing FAQs	Both a local license and a state license are issued; simultaneous routing; separate fee payments; contact the local authority for additional requirements
Georgia Department of Revenue — Retail Dealer	Definition of retail dealer
Georgia Secretary of State — Corporations Division Filing Fees	$100 LLC filing fee; $105 online, $110 paper with service charges