Liquor — Massachusetts
Massachusetts runs an quota system. A restaurant license here typically takes 6–18 months. The quota math: Municipal quota under M.G.L. c.138, s.17: for most towns, 1 Section 12 all-alcohol license per 1,000 residents (or fraction), plus 1 additional per 10,000 residents above 25,000 (minimum 14); Boston has its own statutory allocation. Local Licensing Authorities issue within the cap, subject to ABCC approval..
| License | Covers |
|---|---|
| Section 12 On-Premises All-Alcohol License (restaurant/bar) | Full liquor |
| Section 12 Wine & Malt Beverages License | Beer & wine |
State fee: see note — State ABCC fees are modest and class-based; the real cost in capped towns is the private purchase price of an existing license. No single fee used here - verify ABCC fee for the class..
Open-market price (quota): no reliable published range — price is set by private negotiation in quota counties Boston and capped suburbs are known anecdotally for high prices, but no broker range was verified for this dataset, so the range is left null rather than estimated..
The exception: Special / home-rule and seasonal licenses — Cities/towns can obtain special legislation for additional licenses, and seasonal licenses exist - availability is town-specific and requires legislative or ABCC action. Run your floor plan and menu split through the Liquor Path Checker before you shop for a quota license.
6–18 months — Where the quota is full, the path is buying an existing license and winning LLA + ABCC transfer approval; where quota space exists, a new-license application is faster.. At typical rents, every month of that clock is dead money: the Wait-vs-Burn visualizer inside the checker turns your rent × this timeline into the dollar figure.
Temporary permit: not a standard feature here.
Transfers: Licenses transfer only with Local Licensing Authority and ABCC approval; in capped towns the license itself is the tradable asset.
Don't read the table — run your verdict. Your sq ft, seats and food split decide exception eligibility — the checker does that math.
Massachusetts, every door: Massachusetts hub · sell from home in Massachusetts · Massachusetts restaurant permits · Massachusetts liquor license · what it costs · your Opening Map
Included in the $49 Opening Pack: the filled templates, trackers, calendars and worksheets for this door — built from the same dated datasets as the free checker above.
Typically 6–18 months for a restaurant, per the dated sources on this page. Transfers and protests run longer.
The state fee is in the note above. In quota territory the real price is the open-market range on this page — labeled secondary, because no official price exists.
Sources: Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC); M.G.L. c.138, s.17. This row was verified against the primary source named below.. Dataset checked October 23, 2026. Where a fee or rule is set by a county or city, this page says so instead of guessing a number.