The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) is the regulating body for alcoholic beverages in the state of Texas. To check for the latest regulatory updates, go to their web site, http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/index.asp.

TABC permits allow individuals or businesses to manufacture, transport, warehouse and sell alcoholic beverages. A separate permit is required for each location and in most cases for each type of alcohol. See Permit Types for a list of available permits.

All of the fees for the various permits and licenses are determined by the state.  Some permit types also have additional fees that can collected by counties. These county fees cannot be more than 50% of the state fees. The exact amount is decided at the local (county) level. These fees are payable when the application is made or a renewal is submitted. Beginning on January 1, 2009, liquor permits are for two years instead of one. Beer permits began to be issued for two years beginning September 1, 2009.

Surcharges and late fees are additional charges set by the state. Permit fees are paid directly to the state, although certain permit types may also have county fees that are paid to the county.

The state does not allow partial payment of permit fees. If a fee is being paid, it must be paid in full. The state does allow owners with multiple permits to pay for an individual permit or for a group of permits instead of requiring all permits that have similar application or renewal dates be paid at the same time

Permit renewals are time-sensitive. If the owner does not complete a renewal within 30 days of the expiration date; a new application and appropriate fees must be submitted and paid, as if the owner was applying for the first time. This can be costly to the person applying for the permit, as renewal fees are generally less expensive (they are currently $2.00) than the first-time application fees. Renewal fees are not collected for liquor permits in the Permits application.

All permit numbers that begin with a 'B' are usually beer permits. All others are usually liquor permits.

Counties receive 5% of all state fees. The state sends this money to each county.

Some counties also collect permit fees for cities. These fees are the same as the county fees. A separate receipt is issued for these payments. Prior to collecting for cities, the county must tell ACT the cities for which they will be collecting.