How to Get a Kentucky Liquor License

Last updated: September 11, 2026

Kentucky splits the room into two licenses, then taxes the pours on top of both. A restaurant uses a nonquota type 2 (NQ2) retail drink license at $830 a year — not quota-capped, but food has to be at least 50% of food-and-alcohol receipts. A stand-alone bar uses a quota retail drink license at $620, and those are limited in number. Either way, a city or county may add a regulatory license fee of up to five percent of gross alcohol receipts under KRS 243.075. That last one is not a filing fee. It is a running percentage of everything you pour.

Server Training: STAR, and It Is Not Mandatory

Kentucky does not impose a statewide server-certification requirement. Neither the licensing chapter (KRS Chapter 243) nor the general chapter (KRS Chapter 241) contains a server-training section, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control presents its course as education rather than as a condition of employment.

That course is STAR — Server Training in Alcohol Regulations, developed by the ABC itself:

• $40 per person, plus a 2.75% convenience fee on credit cards or $0.35 by ACH.
• Roughly three hours, delivered online.
• Certification is valid for three years.
• Kentucky-specific on alcohol law, and accepted statewide.
• Certificates of completion are now delivered electronically; the ABC no longer issues paper.

Among the goals the ABC lists for STAR is helping sellers and servers protect themselves from third-party liability lawsuits — which is the honest reason to take a voluntary course. Do not confuse STAR with AWARE: the Alcohol Wellness and Responsibility Education Corp. is a grant fund created by HB 439 that channels money to schools and colleges for alcohol-responsibility programs, funded by one percent of the malt beverage excise tax, one percent of the wholesale tax on malt beverage distributors and microbreweries, and the proceeds of the ABC’s confiscated-bourbon auctions. It is not a training program for your staff.

First Question: Is the Address Even Wet?

Kentucky runs a local option under KRS Chapter 242, and both KRS 243.060 and KRS 243.070 open the same way — a county or a city may issue alcoholic beverage licenses only where traffic in alcoholic beverages is permitted under KRS Chapter 242. Territory can be wet, dry, or moist, where limited categories are allowed, and the status is set locally rather than statewide.

This is a question to settle before you look at a lease, not after. The ABC publishes an address lookup for wet/dry status, and your local ABC administrator is the authority for what your specific jurisdiction permits.

Then the Class, Then Three Layers of Money

A restaurant and a bar are not the same Kentucky license.

• NQ2 retail drink — $830 a year. Issued to a restaurant, a hotel with at least 50 sleeping units and 50% food, an airport, a riverboat, a distiller, or a business in an entertainment destination center (KRS 243.084). Not quota-capped. A restaurant under KRS 241.010 must take at least 50% of its food and alcoholic beverage receipts from food.
• Quota retail drink — $620 a year. The bar license. Limited in number by county population. If a restaurant holding this license lets minors on the premises, the ABC still applies the 50% food test.
• Limited restaurant — $780 a year. At least 70% food, with seating floors of 50 or 100 depending on the subtype, and in some cases no open bar.

On top of whichever class you hold sit three bills:

1. The state license, at the fees set in KRS 243.030 (distilled spirits and wine) and KRS 243.040 (malt beverages).
2. A county and/or city license. KRS 243.060 and 243.070 cap what each may charge. Premises inside a city in a wet county can need both.
3. A regulatory license fee of up to five percent of gross alcohol receipts, under KRS 243.075, where the city or county has enacted one.

What It Costs

License (per year)	State fee	Local maximum
Quota retail drink (bar)	$620	Quota-capped; local max $1,600 consolidated / $1,000 other counties
Quota retail package (liquor store)	$570	Quota-capped; local max $1,200 consolidated / $1,000 other counties
Nonquota type 1 (NQ1) retail drink	$4,120	$2,000 city
Nonquota type 2 (NQ2) retail drink	$830	Restaurant path; food at least 50% of food-and-alcohol receipts
Nonquota type 3 (NQ3) retail drink, private club	$310	$300
Nonquota type 4 (NQ4) malt beverage drink	$210	$400 county / $200 city
Nonquota retail malt beverage package	$210	$400 county / $200 city
Limited restaurant	$780	Food at least 70%; seating floors of 50 or 100
Special Sunday retail drink	$520	$300
Caterer’s	$830	$800 city
Extended hours supplemental	$2,060	$2,000 city
Microbrewery	$520	$500 city
Small farm winery	$110
Qualified historic site	$1,030	$1,030
Cannabis-infused beverage retail package	$2,000
Regulatory license fee	Up to 5% of gross alcohol receipts, where enacted (KRS 243.075)
STAR server course	$40 per person, valid three years — optional
Kentucky LLC	$40 Articles of Organization

The Restaurant Path Is $830. The Five Percent Is Still the Real Number.

A Kentucky restaurant does not need a quota license. NQ2 at $830 is issued to a restaurant as such (KRS 243.084), without a county population cap, so long as food is at least 50% of food-and-alcohol receipts (KRS 241.010). That is the open door. A stand-alone bar still has to find a quota retail drink license at $620 — cheaper on the fee schedule, scarce on the ground.

Then the regulatory license fee sits on whichever class you hold. KRS 243.075 lets an eligible city or county levy up to five percent of the gross receipts of each establishment’s sale of alcoholic beverages, annually, and the 2025 amendments extend it to cannabis-infused beverages as well. Because it is a percentage of turnover rather than a flat charge, it grows with the business. Take five percent of whatever your own alcohol sales forecast says and compare that against $830 or $620. A city that levies it displaces the county fee in the manner the statute prescribes, credits are available in defined circumstances, and a fee imposed before 2019 may continue at its existing rate.

So the order of your questions matters. Wet or dry first. Restaurant or bar second — that picks NQ2 versus quota. Then whether your city or county has enacted a regulatory license fee, and at what rate. That last number will dwarf everything else on this page.

One more Kentucky-specific note: the 2025 fee schedule now carries cannabis-infused beverage licenses — $2,000 for a retail package license and $1,000 for a distributor’s — alongside the traditional categories, and the regulatory license fee reaches those sales too.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Confirm the address is wet for the category you intend to sell, using the ABC’s lookup and your local ABC administrator. Nothing else matters until this is settled.
2. Ask the city and county whether a regulatory license fee is in force, and at what percentage. This is the largest recurring number in Kentucky licensing.
3. Pick NQ2 if you are a restaurant (50% food, $830) or quota retail drink if you are a bar ($620, limited in number). Limited restaurant is the 70% food path at $780.
4. Register the entity with the Secretary of State — Articles of Organization are $40.
5. Apply for the state license through the ABC’s licensing portal.
6. Apply for the city and/or county license separately. Premises inside a city in a wet county commonly need both.
7. Consider STAR for your staff at $40 a head. It is not required, but the ABC pitches it partly as third-party liability protection.

Staying Licensed

State licenses run per annum at the fees above, and the local licenses renew on their own schedule — keep both diaries, because a lapsed city license leaves you unlicensed regardless of the state’s position.

Where a regulatory license fee applies it is levied annually on gross alcohol receipts, which means your books need to separate alcohol sales cleanly from food and everything else from day one. Retrofitting that split out of a year of mixed till data is painful and invites a dispute you will lose.

STAR certification lasts three years if you use it. Certificates arrive electronically now — the ABC stopped issuing paper — so store them somewhere you can produce them, rather than relying on a copy pinned in the office.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a liquor license in Kentucky?

A restaurant NQ2 license is $830 a year. A quota retail drink license for a bar is $620, and a quota retail package license is $570. A city or county license is charged on top, capped by statute at $1,600 for a quota retail drink license in a consolidated local government and $1,000 in other counties. A city or county may also impose a regulatory license fee of up to 5% of gross alcohol receipts.

What is an NQ2 license in Kentucky?

Nonquota type 2. It is the restaurant path: $830 a year, not limited by county population, issued to a restaurant, a qualifying hotel, an airport, a riverboat, a distiller, or a business in an entertainment destination center. A restaurant has to take at least 50% of its food and alcoholic beverage receipts from food.

What is Kentucky’s regulatory license fee?

Under KRS 243.075 an eligible city or county may impose a fee of up to five percent of the gross receipts of each establishment’s sale of alcoholic beverages, levied annually. Since 2025 it reaches cannabis-infused beverage sales too. Because it is a percentage of turnover rather than a flat charge, it scales with the business and on an established bar it can easily exceed the license fees themselves.

Do I need a city license as well as a state one?

Usually yes. KRS 243.060 and KRS 243.070 give counties and cities their own licensing power in territory where alcohol traffic is permitted under KRS Chapter 242, so premises inside a city in a wet county commonly need a state license, a city license and a county license.

Does Kentucky require alcohol server training?

No. There is no server-training section in KRS Chapter 241 or Chapter 243, and the ABC presents its course as voluntary education. The state course is STAR, Server Training in Alcohol Regulations: $40 per person, about three hours, valid for three years and accepted statewide.

What is the difference between STAR and AWARE?

STAR is the ABC’s server training course. AWARE, the Alcohol Wellness and Responsibility Education Corp., is a grant fund created by HB 439 that gives money to Kentucky schools, colleges and organizations for alcohol-responsibility programs, funded by one percent of the malt beverage excise tax, one percent of the wholesale tax and the proceeds of the ABC’s confiscated bourbon auctions. AWARE does not train your staff.

What are quota and nonquota licenses?

Quota retail drink and quota retail package licenses are limited in number by county population. The nonquota classes are defined by the type of business instead: NQ1 at $4,120, NQ2 at $830 for restaurants (50% food), NQ3 for private clubs at $310, and NQ4 malt beverage drink at $210. A restaurant uses NQ2; a stand-alone bar uses quota retail drink.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
KRS 243.030 — Distilled spirits and wine and cannabis-infused beverages licenses: kinds and fees	State annual fees effective June 27, 2025: quota retail package $570; quota retail drink $620; nonquota type 1 $4,120; nonquota type 2 $830; nonquota type 3 $310; limited restaurant $780; special Sunday retail drink $520; caterer’s $830; extended hours supplemental $2,060; small farm winery $110; qualified historic site $1,030; winery $1,030; cannabis-infused beverage retail package $2,000; cannabis-infused beverage distributor’s $1,000
KRS 243.040 — Malt beverage licenses: kinds and fees	State annual malt beverage fees effective June 27, 2025: brewer’s $2,580; microbrewery $520; distributor’s $520; nonquota retail malt beverage package $210; nonquota type 4 malt beverage drink $210; malt beverage storage $260
KRS 243.060 — County and consolidated local government licenses	Counties may license only where traffic in alcoholic beverages is permitted under KRS Chapter 242. Maximum county fees: quota retail package $1,200 in counties containing a consolidated local government and $1,000 in all other counties; quota retail drink $1,600 and $1,000 respectively; nonquota type 3 retail drink $300; special Sunday retail drink $300; nonquota retail malt beverage package $400; nonquota type 4 retail malt beverage drink $400; qualified historic site $1,030
KRS 243.070 — City and consolidated local government licenses	Cities may license only where traffic in alcoholic beverages is permitted under KRS Chapter 242. Maximum city fees: quota retail package $1,200 and $1,000; quota retail drink $1,600 and $1,000; nonquota type 1 retail drink $2,000; nonquota type 3 retail drink $300; extended hours supplemental $2,000; caterer’s $800; microbrewery $500; nonquota retail malt beverage package $200; nonquota type 4 retail malt beverage drink $200; qualified historic site $1,030
KRS 243.075 — Regulatory license fee	An eligible city or county may impose a regulatory license fee of up to five percent on the gross receipts of each establishment’s sale of alcoholic beverages and cannabis-infused beverages, levied annually, with credits, rules on a county fee where a city levies one, and continuation of fees imposed before 2019 at their existing rate
KRS 243.084 — Nonquota type 2 or NQ2 retail drink license	NQ2 may be issued to a hotel with at least 50 sleeping units and 50% food, a restaurant, an airport, a riverboat, a distiller, or a business in an entertainment destination center
KRS 241.010 — Definitions	Restaurant means a facility that receives at least fifty percent (50%) of its food and alcoholic beverage receipts from the sale of food at the premises; limited restaurant seventy percent (70%) food with seating of 50 or 100
Kentucky ABC — Frequently Asked Questions	Restaurants generally hold NQ2, limited restaurant, or quota retail drink; an NQ2 restaurant must show prepared food receipts at least 50% of total net or gross and alcoholic beverage receipts
Kentucky ABC — Education (STAR)	Server Training in Alcohol Regulations (STAR) is a responsible beverage server course developed by the ABC: $40 per person plus 2.75% convenience fee for credit cards or $0.35 for ACH; approximately three hours; certification valid for three years; Kentucky specific and accepted statewide; certificates delivered electronically
Kentucky ABC — AWARE	The Alcohol Wellness and Responsibility Education Corp. (AWARE) was created by HB 439 to provide grants to Kentucky high schools, colleges, universities and outside organizations, funded by one percent of the malt beverage excise tax, one percent of the wholesale tax from malt beverage distributors and microbreweries, and proceeds from ABC public auctions
Kentucky Secretary of State — Business filing fees	Limited Liability Company (Profit, Non-Profit or Professional Service) Articles of Organization: $40.00