Liquor — Utah
Utah runs an quota system inside a control-state model (the state sells spirits wholesale). A restaurant license here typically takes 3–12 months. The quota math: Population quotas set by statute: full-service restaurant licenses at 1 per 4,467 residents, phasing to 1 per 3,167 over seven years from July 1, 2024; bar establishment licenses at 1 per 10,200 residents, phasing to 1 per 7,264 (2024 omnibus changes, DABS). The Alcoholic Beverage Services Commission meets monthly and grants licenses as quota space allows..
| License | Covers |
|---|---|
| Full-Service Restaurant Liquor License | Full liquor |
| Bar Establishment License | Full liquor |
| Limited-Service Restaurant License | Beer & wine |
State fee: $2,530 — DABS fee schedule (primary): Full-Service Restaurant - $330 application fee (not returned if the application is denied) + $2,200 initial license fee = $2,530 to file and issue (renewal $1,650). Bar Establishment: $300 + $2,750. Local business-license/consent fees are extra..
Open-market price (quota): No private secondary market - Utah retail liquor licenses are state-issued and are not bought and sold like quota-state licenses, so no market range applies..
The exception: Limited-Service Restaurant License (beer & wine) — Beer and wine (and wine-based) service with food, outside the full-service/bar population quotas that constrain spirits service - the standard entry route for many Utah restaurants. Run your floor plan and menu split through the Liquor Path Checker before you shop for a quota license.
3–12 months — Commission meets once a month and complete applications must be in by the 10th for that month's agenda; where the quota is full, applicants wait for population-driven quota space, which stretches timelines well past the processing minimum.. 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 are not transferable assets; a change of ownership requires DABS/Commission approval and typically a new license application - confirm treatment of the specific license type with DABS.
Don't read the table — run your verdict. Your sq ft, seats and food split decide exception eligibility — the checker does that math.
Utah, every door: Utah hub · sell from home in Utah · Utah restaurant permits · Utah 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 3–12 months for a restaurant, per the dated sources on this page. Transfers and protests run longer.
The state fee is $2,530. In quota territory the real price is the open-market range on this page — labeled secondary, because no official price exists.
Sources: Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) - fee schedule, licensing pages and 2024 law changes. 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.