How to Get a Michigan Liquor License

Last updated: September 11, 2026

Michigan’s license fees are modest and its licenses are scarce — and those two facts together are the whole story. A Class C license, the bar and restaurant license for beer, wine and spirits by the glass, costs $600 a year by statute. But the Commission may not issue an on-premises license if it would exceed one for each 1,500 of population, so in most established communities there is nothing to issue and the license is bought from whoever holds it. On the staffing side there is no bartender card — the training duty falls on having trained supervisors present.

No Bartender Card — but a Real Training Duty on the Business

Michigan issues no individual server or bartender permit. The obligation in the Liquor Control Code runs to the licensee:

• New on-premises licensees, and transferees of more than a 50% interest, must have employed or present on the licensed premises, at a minimum, supervisory personnel who have successfully completed a server training program on each shift and during all hours in which alcoholic liquor is served. The commission can also put an existing licensee into that duty after violations. The requirement is about supervision coverage, not about certifying every employee.
• The 60-day clock is the responsible-vendor designation, which requires making a server training program available to all full-time and part-time retail employees within 60 days after hire, and a clean prohibited-sales record for 12 months before applying.
• Keep the paperwork on site. An on-premises licensee must keep a copy of the responsible vendor designation or proof of server-training completion on the licensed premises.
• Practical effect: a shift without a trained supervisor is the compliance problem, so most operators train broadly and schedule around it.

The Licenses and What They Cost by Statute

Michigan sets retail license fees in the Liquor Control Code itself:

• Class C — $600 a year. On-premises beer, wine and spirits by the glass. The standard bar and restaurant license, and quota-limited. A second public bar on the same license is $350.
• Tavern — $250 a year. On-premises beer and wine.
• Class A Hotel — a minimum of $250, plus $1 for each bedroom over 20, capped at $500 total.
• Specially Designated Merchant (SDM) — $100 for each location. Beer and wine to go: the grocery and convenience store license.
• Specially Designated Distributor (SDD) — $150 a year, plus an additional $3 for each $1,000 or major fraction of merchandise purchased from the commission above $25,000 in the previous calendar year. Packaged spirits to go, and separately quota-limited.
• Availability, not price, is the constraint — see the quota below before you budget anything.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Bartender/server card	$0	Michigan issues none; the duty is trained supervisors on the premises
Class C license	$600/yr	On-premises beer, wine and spirits; quota-limited
Tavern license	$250/yr	On-premises beer and wine
Class A Hotel	$250–$500/yr	Minimum $250, plus $1 per bedroom over 20, capped at $500
SDM — beer and wine to go	$100 per location	Grocery and convenience stores
SDD — packaged spirits	$150/yr + increment	Plus $3 for each $1,000 above $25,000 in commission purchases last year; quota-limited
Additional Class C bar	$350	Each extra public bar on the same Class C license
Existing license in a capped community	Private market price	No state fee produces a new license where the quota is met
Michigan LLC	$50	Articles of organization, LARA Corporations Division

One License Per 1,500 People Is the Whole Difficulty

Michigan’s statutory fees would suggest a cheap state to open a bar in. They are not the binding constraint. The Commission may not issue a public license for on-premises consumption if the issuance would result in more than one license for each 1,500 of population, or major fraction of 1,500. Packaged spirits are capped independently: one Specially Designated Distributor license for each 3,000 of population, or fraction of 3,000.

In a settled city or township, both numbers are usually already met. That means the $600 on the fee schedule is not what a Class C costs you — it is what the renewal costs once you own one. Acquiring the license itself is a private transaction with an existing holder, priced by how scarce licenses are in that specific local unit, and it is routinely the largest single line in a Michigan bar’s startup budget. This page does not quote a market figure because there is no official one; ask a Michigan liquor-license broker or attorney for recent comparables in your community.

Check the local unit before the lease, not after. Quotas run by city, incorporated village, or township, so an address a few minutes away can sit in a jurisdiction with a very different picture. And note the two quotas are separate systems: having a path to a Class C tells you nothing about SDD availability if part of your plan is selling bottles to go.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Check the quota for the specific city, village or township — on-premises at one per 1,500, SDD at one per 3,000.
2. Decide the license set — Class C or tavern for service, SDM and SDD for what you sell to go.
3. Line up the license: a new one only where quota allows, otherwise a purchase from an existing holder.
4. Register the entity with LARA so the license, lease and accounts sit behind a company.
5. Apply through the Liquor Control Commission, with local governmental approval as part of the process.
6. Get supervisors server-trained and schedule so a trained supervisor is present whenever alcohol is served.

Staying Licensed

Licenses renew annually at their statutory rate — $600 Class C, $250 tavern, $100 per SDM location, $150 plus the $25,000-and-up increment for an SDD. Quota status matters at renewal as much as at issuance: a license surrendered or lapsed in a capped community is not simply reissued on request, which is exactly why licenses hold private value there. Keep trained supervisory personnel on every shift that serves alcohol, and keep the training proof on the premises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Michigan require alcohol server training?

Partly, and the distinction matters. Michigan law does not require every server to be trained. A new on-premises licensee, or a transferee of more than a 50% interest, must have employed or present on the licensed premises, at a minimum, supervisory personnel who have successfully completed a server training program on each shift and during all hours alcohol is served. The commission can also put an existing licensee into that duty after violations. The 60-day clock is different: it is the responsible-vendor designation, which requires making training available to all retail employees within 60 days after hire.

How much is a liquor license in Michigan?

The Class C license — the standard bar and restaurant license for beer, wine, and spirits by the glass — is $600 a year. A second public bar on the same Class C license is another $350. A tavern license (beer and wine on-premises) is $250. On the retail side, a Specially Designated Merchant (SDM) license for beer and wine to go is $100 for each location, and a Specially Designated Distributor (SDD) license for packaged spirits is $150 a year plus $3 for each $1,000 or major fraction of merchandise purchased from the commission above $25,000 in the previous calendar year. Those are the statutory fees; the harder problem in Michigan is availability.

How many liquor licenses can a Michigan city have?

Michigan caps them by population. The Commission may not issue a public license for on-premises consumption if it would result in more than one license for each 1,500 of population, or major fraction of 1,500. Specially Designated Distributor licenses — packaged spirits — are capped separately at one for each 3,000 of population, or fraction of 3,000. Where a local unit is at its cap, a new business buys an existing license rather than applying for a fresh one.

What is a Class C license in Michigan?

The license most bars and restaurants want: it authorizes on-premises sale of beer, wine, and spirits by the glass. The statutory fee is $600 a year. It is also the license subject to the population quota, which is why Class C licenses trade privately in built-out communities rather than being issued on demand.

What is the difference between an SDD and an SDM license in Michigan?

Scope of what you can sell to go. An SDM license covers beer and wine for off-premises consumption — the license a grocery or convenience store holds — at $100 for each location. An SDD license covers packaged spirits for off-premises consumption at $150 a year plus $3 for each $1,000 or major fraction of commission purchases above $25,000 the previous year, and it is quota-limited at one per 3,000 of population. A store selling both beer, wine, and liquor holds both.

Do Michigan bartenders need a license?

No. Michigan issues no individual bartender or server card. New on-premises licensees and 50% transferees must have server-trained supervisory personnel on each shift while alcohol is served. Many Michigan employers train all staff anyway under the responsible-vendor program, but there is no state permit for the individual.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Michigan Compiled Laws § 436.1525 — License fees	Class C $600, additional bar $350, tavern $250, Class A hotel minimum $250 plus $1 per bedroom over 20 capped at $500, SDM $100 for each location, SDD $150 per year plus $3 for each $1,000 or major fraction in excess of $25,000 of merchandise purchased from the commission
Michigan Compiled Laws § 436.1531 — Population quota	No public on-premises license where issuance would result in more than one license for each 1,500 of population or major fraction
Michigan Compiled Laws § 436.1533 — SDD quota	Only one specially designated distributor license for each 3,000 of population, or fraction of 3,000
Michigan Compiled Laws § 436.1906 — Server training	New on-premises licensees and 50% transferees must have trained supervisory personnel on each shift and during all hours alcohol is served; responsible vendor designation requires training available to all retail employees within 60 days after hire
Michigan LARA — Articles of Organization, Form 700	$50.00 LLC articles of organization filing fee, printed on the form itself