Why You Need a Liquor Licensing Consultants Help to Get a Liquor License in BC

If you’re considering starting a liquor business and you’re wondering how to get a liquor license in BC, this article outlines the most important requirements. As liquor license consultants, we help business owners in British Columbia on a daily basis to obtain liquor licenses. Because requirements differ for each type of license, it takes the specialized, detailed knowledge of an experienced consultant to guide an applicant through the process, thus increasing the likelihood of their license approval.

Liquor licensing in British Columbia is complex because there are many types of liquor licenses, each with different requirements. When inquiring about how to get a liquor license in BC, would-be licensees sometimes mistakenly believe that regardless of the type of establishment they want to run, there is one license for all. Nothing could be further from reality.

The following is a list of requirements for each type of BC liquor license. A liquor license consultant works with applicants to help them meet all of the requirements, because the main cause of application rejection or delay is an incomplete application.

• Personal history summary and criminal record check
• Business type and business information
• Establishment proposal including proposed opening date
• Agreement to purchase or binding offer to lease the business premises
• Proposed layout and floor plan
• Liquor service hours
• Patron participation entertainment (e.g. dancing, karaoke)

• Personal history summary and criminal record check
• Business type and business information
• Establishment proposal
• Agreement to purchase or binding offer to lease the business premises
• Letter of intent
• Proposed service areas (floor or level, indoor or outdoor, occupant load)
• Floor plans
• Site Plan – Includes the location of the business, property features, parking, road access, and the location of other liquor establishments operating at the same location.
• Liquor service hours

• Personal history summary and criminal record check
• On-site endorsements – An addendum to the main license which permits manufacturers to sell their product on-site or from their online store
• Business type and business information
• Acreage information – For winery applicants who grow grapes, fruit or honey used in the production of wine.
• Site plan – The site plan must show buildings and building uses, other businesses operating on-site, location of vineyards, orchards, crops, beehives, private and public roads and parking.
• Floor plans – Floor plans of manufacturing facility.
• Location(s) of exterior signage
• Business plan – Includes financial statements, proposed product(s), agricultural sources. Breweries must indicate whether they’ll also have a liquor primary license.
• Agreement to purchase or binding offer to lease the business premises
• Business insurance certificate (Breweries and wineries only)
• Distribution plan – Breweries and distilleries must indicate how they intend to distribute their product.

• Personal history summary and criminal record check
• Business type and business information
• Driver’s abstract
• Legible copy of acceptable photo ID
• Application with the LDB including agreements and product registrations

• Personal history summary and criminal record check
• Business type and business information
• Business proposal
• Agreement to purchase or binding offer to lease the business premises
• Proposed signage
• Confirmation of physical business requirements – A liquor inspector will confirm that the caterer’s primary business is the preparation and serving of food, that the caterer has the necessary personnel and infrastructure.

• Personal history summary and criminal record check
• Business type and business information
• Establishment proposal
• Agreement to purchase or binding offer to lease the business premises

The BC government has placed a moratorium on licensee retail stores, wine stores, and speciality wine stores (BC wine in grocery stores). As a result, application requirement details aren’t available. Buying a BC liquor license from an existing operation is presently the only available option for starting any of these businesses.

There are other BC liquor permits available that we’ve excluded from the list above because they don’t always require the help of a liquor license consultant. These include permits for special events, charitable liquor auctions, non-beverage alcohol and ethyl alcohol purchases. View all BC liquor licenses and permits at the Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch. If you do need help with these types of permits, connect with us! We are happy to ensure you have the information and any help you need. 

If you need help getting a BC liquor license, contact Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors. We can guide you through the application process from end to end and can help your business achieve success after you’ve opened your doors. While we’ve helped hundreds of businesses get liquor licenses, our most valuable work starts after application approval.

We help businesses with:

• Operations setup
• Training
• Customized Procedures manuals
• Operations guidance
• Operational insight