How to Get a Rhode Island Liquor License

Last updated: September 11, 2026

Rhode Island has no state liquor license for a bar or restaurant. The city or town council issues it, sets the fee inside a statutory range, and holds the public hearing; the Department of Business Regulation licenses only manufacturers, wholesalers and caterers and hears appeals from the local boards. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-15 the “right, power, and jurisdiction to issue” retail licenses sits with the town councils, license boards and city councils (in Providence, the Board of Licenses). The license a restaurant or tavern needs is the retailer’s Class B in § 3-7-7, sold to a “bona fide tavern keeper or victualer,” at an annual fee the municipality fixes between $400 and $2,000; a limited Class B for beer and wine only runs $200 to $1,500, and a 2 a.m. closing on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves costs another $200 to $500. Before granting any license the board must advertise it in a newspaper once a week for two weeks and mail notice to every property owner within 200 feet. Every server, supervisor, ID checker and valet must complete a certified alcohol server course within 60 days of hire, and the Rhode Island Liquor Liability Act makes a licensee liable for negligent service to a minor or a visibly intoxicated patron, with punitive damages available when the service was reckless.

Training: Mandatory Server Certification Within 60 Days, Recertified Every Three Years

Rhode Island writes the training rule into the license renewal statute. Under § 3-7-6.1, a Class B, C, D, J, N or P licensee applying to renew must first show it has complied with the Department of Business Regulation’s alcohol server training regulations, and the statute sets the floor: “all persons who sell or serve alcoholic beverages; anyone serving in a supervisory capacity over those who sell or serve alcoholic beverages; anyone whose job description entails the checking of identification for the purchase of alcoholic beverages; and valet parking staff” must be trained. Each eligible employee must complete a certified program within sixty (60) days of starting work and score at least 75 percent on the test; Pawtucket and Smithfield may require the certificate before employment. Servers are recertified every three years, the permit must be on the premises whenever the holder is selling or serving, and at renewal the licensee submits to its municipality proof that everyone in those roles employed more than 60 days in the past year holds a current certificate. Courses run between two and four hours and must cover the physiological effects of alcohol, the legal requirements of service, identifying impaired patrons, refusal techniques and detecting fraudulent identification; internet-based programs qualify if they verify the trainee actually reviewed the material.

The department certifies the providers and publishes the list; as of its April 2026 update it includes Rserving, STOP Inc., TIPS (360training), Responsible Alcohol Service, ServSafe, LIQUORexam.com, ABC Server Training, USERVE, TAP Series, A+ Server Education, TEAM Coalition and ServeSmart. Penalties for a licensee are graduated inside any three-year window: a written warning for the first violation, a second written warning, a fine of up to $250 for the third, and suspension after that. Separately, § 3-8-1 forbids any licensee from selling to an underage person or “to any intoxicated persons or to any person of notoriously intemperate habits,” and § 3-5-21 lets the local board, the department or the Division of Taxation fine a licensee up to $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense, or suspend or revoke the license, for breaching a license condition or any provision of the chapter.

Who Issues the License, and What the Classes Cost

The local licensing authority is the town council or license board, or the mayor and city council, and in Providence the Board of Licenses (§ 3-5-15). The Department of Business Regulation describes its own role narrowly: it licenses manufacturers, wholesalers, marine vessels, railroads, airplanes and Class P caterers, and “all other liquor license types are considered retail licenses and are issued by the city or town where the business is located.” A city or town decision can be appealed to the department’s director within ten days under § 3-7-21, and the director may confirm or reverse it after a hearing.

The class you need depends on the food. A retailer’s Class B license (§ 3-7-7) goes only to a licensed tavern keeper or victualer whose house is open and regularly patronized at least from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; it authorizes sales for consumption on the premises “but only at tables or a lunch bar where food is served,” with service between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. The annual fee is $400 to $2,000 for either a tavern keeper or a victualer, set by the municipality; in towns under 2,500 residents the council sets it but not below $300. A limited Class B restricted to malt and vinous beverages of 20 percent alcohol or less runs $200 to $1,500. A holder may pay an extra $200 to $500 for a permit to open at noon and close at 2 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and the night before a state holiday, after the board advertises the request. Fees are prorated to the licensing year ending December 1. A Class C license covers on-premises sales where no food is cooked, at $400 to $800, and a Class A package store license is $400 in a town under 10,000 residents and $500 elsewhere, per the department’s courtesy table of municipal license types. Nightclub (Class N), theater (Class T) and several Providence-specific classes carry fees the municipality determines.

The Caps, the Notice and the Hearing

Section 3-5-16 lets the department limit the number of licenses of each class, not above any maximum a local board has fixed, and writes two ratios into law: Class C licenses may not exceed one for each 1,000 inhabitants, and new Class A licenses issue only up to one for each 6,000 inhabitants (one per 4,000 in a city or town under 20,000), though every municipality may issue two Class A licenses regardless of population. There is no statutory ratio for Class B; the local board’s own cap, if any, controls. Before granting a license, § 3-5-17 requires the board to publish notice once a week for at least two weeks in a newspaper in the city or town, naming the applicant and the street address, and to mail notice to all owners of property within 200 feet of the proposed premises, at the applicant’s cost; the notice states that remonstrants may be heard, and the board must give them “a fair opportunity” to object before acting. Under § 3-5-19 an existing license may be transferred to another person or relocated within the same city or town after the same notice, a new bond is posted, the licensee’s trade debts are paid or released, outstanding police detail bills are settled, and the transferee inherits any penalties the board imposed on the transferor.

What It Costs

License or requirement	Who sets it	Amount
Class B (tavern or victualing house, on-premises with food)	City or town council within the statutory range (§ 3-7-7)	$400 to $2,000 a year; towns under 2,500 residents not less than $300
Limited Class B (beer and wine only)	City or town within the statutory range	$200 to $1,500
2 a.m. closing permit (Fridays, Saturdays, holiday eves)	Local board, after advertising	$200 to $500
Class C (on-premises, no food cooked)	City or town; capped at one per 1,000 inhabitants	$400 to $800
Class A (package store)	City or town; capped at one per 6,000 inhabitants (4,000 in towns under 20,000)	$400 in towns under 10,000; $500 elsewhere
Newspaper notice and 200-foot mailing	Local board, at the applicant’s cost (§ 3-5-17)	Publication and postage
Alcohol server certification	DBR-certified provider; every server, supervisor, ID checker and valet within 60 days of hire, renewed every 3 years	Course fee; licensee fine up to $250 for a third violation
Fine for breaching a license condition	Local board, DBR or Division of Taxation (§ 3-5-21)	Up to $500 first offense; up to $1,000 each subsequent
Appeal of a local decision	DBR director, within 10 days (§ 3-7-21)	Transcript at the petitioner’s cost in Newport County cases
Rhode Island LLC	Articles of Organization (§ 7-16-65); annual report; annual charge to the Division of Taxation equal to the minimum corporate tax	$150; $50 annual report; $400 annual charge

A Local License With a State-Mandated Training Floor and a Real Dram Shop Act

Most of what Rhode Island does happens at the town level: the council sets the Class B fee inside the statutory band, decides whether to cap the class at all, advertises the application, mails the neighbors and hears the remonstrants. What the state adds is unusual in two directions. First, the legislature wrote the server training mandate into the renewal statute itself, so certification is not a condition a city may choose to impose but a prerequisite to renewing any Class B, C, D, J, N or P license, enforced by the municipality at renewal and by the department through graduated penalties. Several states leave server training to local ordinance or make it voluntary; Rhode Island makes it a statewide license condition with a 60-day clock, a passing score and a three-year recertification cycle.

Second, the Rhode Island Liquor Liability Act (chapter 3-14) is a full statutory cause of action, not an immunity. Under § 3-14-6 a licensee that negligently serves a minor or a visibly intoxicated individual is liable for the damages the drinking proximately causes, and service is negligent “if the defendant knows, or if a reasonable and prudent person in similar circumstances would know” the patron was underage or visibly intoxicated; serving someone under 21 without asking for identification creates a rebuttable presumption of negligence. Under § 3-14-7 service is reckless when the server knows the patron is a minor or visibly intoxicated and “consciously disregards an obvious and substantial risk” of physical harm, and the statute names the practices that prove it: actively encouraging an intoxicated person to keep drinking, serving someone the server knows is under 21, and service “so continuous and excessive that it creates a substantial risk of death by alcohol poisoning.” Punitive damages are available for reckless service and barred for merely negligent service (§ 3-14-8); liability is joint and several with the drinker, and § 3-14-12 makes proof of responsible serving practices, expressly including staff attendance at a server education course, admissible evidence that the server was neither negligent nor reckless. The training the state requires is therefore also the defense the state recognizes.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Start with the city or town clerk. Ask which classes the council issues, whether it caps Class B, what it charges inside the $400 to $2,000 band, and whether Sunday or 2 a.m. permits are available. In Providence, the Board of Licenses handles it.
2. Form the entity — Rhode Island Articles of Organization are $150 under § 7-16-65, the annual report is $50, and the LLC pays the Division of Taxation an annual charge equal to the $400 minimum corporate tax.
3. Secure the premises and the food license. A Class B license issues only to a licensed tavern keeper or victualer whose house is open at least 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., so the victualing license and the location come first.
4. File the application and pay for the notice. Under § 3-5-17 the board advertises once a week for two weeks and mails every property owner within 200 feet at your cost, then hears remonstrants at the time and place the notice names.
5. Attend the hearing and take the license at the fee the council fixes, prorated to the December 1 licensing year, and post the bond the statute requires.
6. Certify every server, supervisor, ID checker and valet through a DBR-certified program within 60 days of hire, at a 75 percent passing score, and keep the permits on the premises.
7. Calendar the renewal. Applications before October 1 for the next licensing year must include proof that every covered employee holds a certificate issued within the last three years.

Staying Licensed

Renew every year with the training proof attached. Section 3-7-6.1 conditions renewal on documenting that everyone who sells, serves, supervises, checks ID or parks cars has completed a certified course within three years.

Watch the hours and the days. Class B service runs 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. unless the town sets an earlier close, 2 a.m. only under a paid extended-hours permit, and § 3-8-1 bars Sunday and Christmas sales except for taverns, clubs and victualing houses serving with food.

Treat a transfer as a new application. Under § 3-5-19 a change of owner or location requires the same newspaper notice, a new bond, settled trade debts and police detail bills, and the buyer inherits any penalties on the license.

Appeal fast if the board turns you down. The petition to the Department of Business Regulation director must be filed within ten days of the local decision under § 3-7-21.

Document responsible service. Under the Liquor Liability Act, training records and written service policies are admissible evidence against a negligence or recklessness claim; asking for identification defeats the statutory presumption that serving a minor was negligent.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a liquor license in Rhode Island?

For a bar or restaurant, between $400 and $2,000 a year. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-7 the retailer’s Class B license fee for a tavern keeper or victualer is set by the city or town within that range, with a floor of $300 in towns under 2,500 residents; a limited Class B for beer and wine only runs $200 to $1,500, and a 2 a.m. closing permit adds $200 to $500. The Department of Business Regulation’s table of municipal license types lists Class C (on-premises, no food cooked) at $400 to $800 and a Class A package store license at $400 or $500 depending on the town’s population.

Who issues liquor licenses in Rhode Island?

The city or town. Under § 3-5-15 the town councils, license boards and city councils issue retail licenses, and in Providence the Board of Licenses does. The Department of Business Regulation licenses manufacturers, wholesalers, marine vessels, railroads, airplanes and Class P caterers, and under § 3-7-21 hears appeals from local board decisions filed within ten days.

Is there a limit on the number of liquor licenses in Rhode Island?

For some classes. Section 3-5-16 caps Class C licenses at one for each 1,000 inhabitants of a city or town and new Class A package store licenses at one for each 6,000 inhabitants (one per 4,000 in municipalities under 20,000), while allowing every city and town two Class A licenses regardless of population. The statute sets no ratio for Class B restaurant and tavern licenses; a local board may fix its own maximum, and the department may not exceed it.

Do bartenders need a license in Rhode Island?

They need a server certificate. Under § 3-7-6.1 everyone who sells or serves alcohol, supervises those who do, checks identification or parks cars for a Class B, C, D, J, N or P licensee must complete a Department of Business Regulation certified alcohol server training program within 60 days of starting work, score at least 75 percent, and recertify every three years. The permit must be on the premises during service, and the licensee must document compliance to its municipality at each renewal.

How long does it take to get a liquor license in Rhode Island?

The notice period sets the floor. Under § 3-5-17 the licensing board must publish the application once a week for at least two weeks in a local newspaper and mail notice to all property owners within 200 feet before holding the hearing at which remonstrants are heard; the applicant pays for the notice. How quickly the council schedules the hearing and votes depends on the municipality.

Can a Rhode Island bar be sued for over-serving a customer?

Yes. The Rhode Island Liquor Liability Act, chapter 14 of Title 3, makes a licensee that negligently serves a minor or a visibly intoxicated individual liable for damages proximately caused by that person’s drinking (§ 3-14-6), and a licensee that recklessly does so liable for punitive damages as well (§§ 3-14-7 and 3-14-8). Service is negligent if the server knew or a reasonable person would have known the patron was underage or visibly intoxicated, serving a minor without asking for identification is presumptively negligent, and under § 3-14-12 proof of responsible serving practices such as server training is admissible evidence that the server was not negligent or reckless.

What does a Rhode Island LLC cost?

Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-65 the Secretary of State charges $150 to file articles of organization and $50 for the annual report. Under § 7-16-67 an LLC that is not taxed as a corporation also pays the Division of Taxation an annual charge equal to the minimum corporate tax, which § 44-11-2(e) sets at $400 for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-7 — Class B license	A retailer’s Class B license is issued only to a licensed bona fide tavern keeper or victualer whose tavern or victualing house may be open for business and regularly patronized at least from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., provided no beverage is sold or served after 1:00 a.m. nor before 6:00 a.m.; the license authorizes sales for consumption on the premises but only at tables or a lunch bar where food is served; any holder may, upon approval of the local licensing board and for the additional payment of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500), open at 12:00 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays and the night before legal state holidays close at 2:00 a.m., after the board advertises the request; the annual license fee for a tavern keeper shall be four hundred dollars ($400) to two thousand dollars ($2,000), and for a victualer four hundred dollars ($400) to two thousand dollars ($2,000); in towns with a population of less than two thousand five hundred (2,500) the fee is determined by the town council but not less than three hundred dollars ($300); a limited Class B for malt and vinous beverages of not more than twenty percent (20%) alcohol runs two hundred dollars ($200) to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500); fees are prorated to the year ending December 1
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-6.1 — Renewal of Class B, C, D, J, N and P licenses; alcohol server training	The holder of a Class B, C, D, J, N or P license who applies before October 1 for renewal shall demonstrate compliance with the alcohol server training regulations; all persons who sell or serve alcoholic beverages, anyone serving in a supervisory capacity over them, anyone whose job entails checking identification, and valet parking staff shall receive training; any eligible employee shall complete certified training within sixty (60) days of the commencement of employment and attain a minimum score of seventy-five percent (75%); the city of Pawtucket and the town of Smithfield may require training prior to employment; servers are recertified every three (3) years; as a condition of renewal each licensee must submit to its municipality information verifying that covered persons employed more than sixty (60) days in the past year have completed a certified program within the last three years; permits must be on the premises; training shall entail no less than two (2) hours and no greater than four (4) hours; graduated penalties for licensees begin with a written warning, a written warning for a second violation, a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a third violation, and a license suspension for subsequent violations
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-15 — Local licensing authorities	The right, power, and jurisdiction to issue all other licenses authorized by this title within the maximum number fixed under § 3-5-16 are in the town councils or license boards of the several towns, and in the mayors and city councils in the several cities; in the city of Providence the right, power, and jurisdiction are in the bureau of licenses
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-16 — Maximum number of licenses	The department of business regulation shall have the right and power to limit the number of licenses of each class, not to exceed the maximum fixed by the licensing boards within their towns or cities; the number of Class C licenses in any town or city shall not exceed one for each one thousand (1,000) of its inhabitants; no further new Class A licenses shall be granted until the number outstanding has been reduced to less than one for each six thousand (6,000) inhabitants (one for each four thousand (4,000) in any city or town with less than twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants); two (2) Class A licenses may be issued by every city or town irrespective of population
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-17 — Notice and hearing on licenses	Before granting a license the board shall give notice by advertisement published once a week for at least two (2) weeks in some newspaper published in the city or town, containing the name of the applicant and a description by street and number of the location; notice shall also be given by mail to all owners of property within two hundred feet (200′) of the place of business; the cost shall be borne by the applicant; the notices shall state that remonstrants are entitled to be heard and name the time and place of the hearing, at which a fair opportunity shall be granted the remonstrants to make their objections
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-19 — Transfer or relocation of license	The issuing body may permit the license to be used at any other place within the town or city or transferred to another person, but shall first give notice of the application in the same manner as an original application, and a new bond shall be given; indebtedness incurred in operating the licensed premises shall be paid to or released by an objecting creditor before the transfer; the transfer is contingent upon full payment of outstanding police detail bills; the transferee assumes all penalties the license board has imposed upon the transferor
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-21 — Revocation or suspension of licenses; fines	Every license is subject to revocation or suspension and a licensee is subject to fine by the board, body, or official issuing the license, or by the department or by the division of taxation, for breach of the conditions on which it was issued, violation of any applicable rule, fraudulent act or material misrepresentation, breach of any provision of this chapter, or operating in any manner inconsistent with the license; any fine shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense and shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent offense; an offense committed three (3) years after a previous offense is considered a first offense
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-21 — Appeals from the local boards to director	Upon the application of any petitioner for a license, or of any person authorized to protest against the granting of a license, or of any licensee whose license has been revoked or suspended by any local board, the director has the right to review the decision of any local board and, after hearing, to confirm or reverse the decision in whole or in part, but the application shall be made within ten (10) days after the making of the decision
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-8-1 — Sales on Sundays and holidays; sales to underage and intoxicated persons	Licenses issued under this title shall not authorize the sale or service of beverages on Sunday, nor on Christmas day, excepting licensed taverns, clubs, victualing houses, and retail Class F licensed places when served with food to guests; nor shall they authorize the sale or delivery to any underaged person, or the sale of beverages to any intoxicated persons or to any person of notoriously intemperate habits
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-14-6 — Liability for negligent service of liquor	A defendant who negligently serves liquor to a minor is liable for damages proximately caused by the minor’s consumption of the liquor; a defendant who negligently serves liquor to a visibly intoxicated individual is liable for damages proximately caused by the individual’s consumption; service is negligent if the defendant knows, or if a reasonable and prudent person in similar circumstances would know, that the individual being served is a minor or is visibly intoxicated; proof of service to a person under twenty-one (21) years of age without request for identification forms a rebuttable presumption of negligence
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-14-7 — Liability for reckless service of liquor	A defendant who recklessly serves liquor to a minor or to a visibly intoxicated individual is liable for damages proximately caused by that individual’s consumption; service is reckless if a defendant intentionally serves liquor to an individual when the server knows that the individual is a minor or is visibly intoxicated, and the server consciously disregards an obvious and substantial risk that serving liquor will cause physical harm to the drinker or to others; specific serving practices admissible as evidence of reckless conduct include active encouragement of intoxicated individuals to consume substantial amounts of liquor, service to an individual under twenty-one (21) when the server has actual or constructive knowledge of the age, and service so continuous and excessive that it creates a substantial risk of death by alcohol poisoning
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-14-8 — Damages	Damages may be awarded for all injuries recognized under Rhode Island common or statutory law; punitive damages may be awarded in all actions based on reckless conduct as set forth in § 3-14-7(c) and may not be awarded for actions based on negligent conduct as set forth in § 3-14-6(c)
R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-14-12 — Evidence of responsible serving practices	Proof of defendant’s responsible serving practices is admissible as evidence that the server was not negligent or reckless; responsible serving practices include the defendant’s and defendant’s employees’ attendance at a server education training course and the implementation at the time of service of responsible management policies, procedures, and actions
Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation — Courtesy information sheet, Rhode Island municipal retail license types (PDF)	These licenses are issued by the municipality in which the business will be located; Class A, sale of sealed container beverages, $400 for municipalities smaller than 10,000 and $500 for remaining; Class B, sale for consumption on premises for tavern or victualing house, $400 – $2,000 (set by the municipality), $200-$1,500 for beer and wine only; Class C, sale for consumption on premises where no food is cooked but prepared foods allowed, $400- $800; Class N nightclub and Class T theater, determined by municipality
Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation — Liquor Enforcement and Compliance	The Department issues licenses to manufacturers (breweries, distilleries, wineries, rectifiers), wholesalers, marine vessels, railroads and airplanes, and to class P caterers; all other liquor license types are considered retail licenses and are issued by the city or town where the business is located; city/town decisions on liquor licenses may be appealed to the Department in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-21; certified alcohol server training programs updated 04/06/2026 include Rserving, STOP Inc., 360training.com d/b/a TIPS, Responsible Alcohol Service, National Restaurant Association ServSafe, LIQUORexam.com, ABC Server Training, USERVE, TAP Series, A+ Server Education, TEAM Coalition and ServeSmart LLC
R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-65 — Filing, service, and copying fees (LLC)	The secretary of state shall charge and collect for filing the original articles of organization a fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and for filing an annual report a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00)
R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-67 — Filing of returns with the tax administrator; annual charge	An annual charge shall be due on the filing of the limited liability company’s return with the tax administrator; if the limited liability company is not treated as a corporation for purposes of federal income taxation, it shall pay a fee in an amount equal to the minimum tax imposed upon a corporation under § 44-11-2(e); the annual charge is delinquent if not paid by the due date and an addition of one hundred dollars ($100) is then due
R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-11-2 — Imposition of tax (minimum tax)	For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, the tax imposed shall not be less than four hundred dollars ($400)