One of the State Liquor Authority's main functions is issuing licenses and permits. The application review period can take approximately 50 days depending on the type of license you apply for, the volume of applications being submitted and how complete your application is. Any deficiencies in your application may result in delays or disapproval of your application. 

There are four main groups of liquor licenses:

• on-premises licenses (e.g., bars, restaurants, taverns, hotels); 
• off-premises licenses (e.g., liquor stores, wine stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores); 
• manufacturing licenses (e.g., breweries, wineries, distilleries, cideries); and
• wholesale licenses (e.g., beer wholesalers, wine wholesalers, importers).

Within each group are numerous types of licenses. Each license type has a different set of application requirements.

All on-premises, off-premises, manufacturing and wholesale applications are provided through New York Business Express as fillable forms.