The Florida DBPR ABT-6001 alcoholic beverage license application is the form you file with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to obtain a new license to sell alcohol in Florida. It covers your identity, every person connected to the business, your ownership structure, a hand-drawn floor plan of the premises, and sworn background disclosures, and it will not be processed until you have attached sign-offs from local zoning, the Florida Department of Revenue, and the health authority. If you won a quota license in the state drawing, you have 45 days from your selection notice to get a completed ABT-6001 on file.
Make Sure ABT-6001 Is the Right Form
ABT-6001 is the full application for any new alcoholic beverage license. It is not the quota drawing entry form. That one is DBPR ABT-6033, a short form submitted during the state’s annual entry period just to get your name into the drawing. If you have not yet entered a drawing, ABT-6033 comes first. ABT-6001 is what you file after you win, or whenever you apply for a non-quota license.
Who Can Hold the License
Every person directly connected to the business must be at least 21 and demonstrate good moral character. For a corporation, every officer meets the same standard.
Certain convictions disqualify an applicant automatically. Under the current statute, a license cannot be issued to anyone convicted of a beverage-law violation within the past five years, a drug or prostitution-related offense within the past five years, or any felony within the past ten years.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 561.15 – Licenses; Qualifications Required The same bars apply to corporate officers. A guilty plea, a no-contest plea, and a forfeited bond all count as convictions under the statute.
One wrinkle: the form itself asks about felonies, arrests, and license actions going back 15 years, even though the statutory felony bar is ten. The Division uses the longer window for its background investigation. Answer the questions as the form asks them.
Working Through the Application
You can download a fillable PDF of ABT-6001 from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s website. The form implements Florida Administrative Code rules 61A-5.010 and 61A-5.056. Complete every section. An incomplete form triggers a deficiency letter, and that letter eats into your timeline, especially if you are on a 45-day post-drawing clock.
Applicant and Business Information
Enter your legal identity at the top. Individuals use their full legal name. Business entities such as corporations, LLCs, and partnerships use the entity name as registered with the Florida Division of Corporations, along with the document number. Every applicant provides a Federal Employer Identification Number; sole proprietors without an FEIN enter their Social Security Number instead.2Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. DBPR Form ABT-6001 – Application for New Alcoholic Beverage License
Select the license series, type, and class. Quota licenses fall under the series authorized by Section 565.02(1)(a)–(f), the full-package series covering beer, wine, and liquor. If you want a temporary license to operate while the application is pending, check the appropriate box. Give a current mailing address and phone number where the Division can reach you throughout review.
Personal Details for Each Connected Person
Every person with a direct connection to the business completes a personal information section, unless that person already holds a current Florida alcoholic beverage license. For each person you’ll provide:
- Full legal name and Social Security Number
- Date of birth, citizenship status, and home address
- Race, sex, height, weight, eye color, and hair color
- Home telephone number
The physical descriptors feed the Division’s background investigation. For a corporation, every officer completes a section. For an LLC, every managing member does. The Division will catch omissions and send the application back.
Background Disclosures
Each connected person answers a series of yes-or-no questions covering current or past ownership, employment, or financial interests in other alcohol or tobacco businesses; whether any alcoholic beverage or tobacco license has been refused, revoked, or suspended in the past 15 years; any felony conviction in Florida, another state, or federal court within the past 15 years; beverage or tobacco law convictions within the past five years; and arrests within the past 15 years, whatever the outcome.
Answer honestly. The affidavit at the end is sworn under penalty of perjury, and the Division runs its own checks. A “yes” is not automatic denial. It triggers additional review. An undisclosed conviction that surfaces in the background check is a far worse problem than a disclosed one.2Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. DBPR Form ABT-6001 – Application for New Alcoholic Beverage License
Ownership Structure and Interested Parties
The Division wants a complete picture of who holds a financial or contractual interest. Depending on your entity type, you’ll complete different subsections: officers, directors, and stockholders for corporations; general partners; managers and members for LLCs; limited partners; or members of a limited liability partnership. List every person or entity in the ownership chain.
Beyond direct owners, disclose anyone connected through loans, revenue-sharing contracts, lease agreements, management or franchise agreements, and any arrangement in which you received money or equipment from an industry member such as a distributor or manufacturer. These disclosures let the Division enforce Florida’s tied-house restrictions on supplier control over retail.
Floor Plan
You must draw a floor plan of the premises in ink. It needs to show sidewalks and outside areas adjacent to the premises, all interior walls, doors, counters, sales areas, storage areas, restrooms, bar locations, and any other area that will be part of the licensed premises. A multi-story building that will be entirely licensed needs a separate diagram for each floor.2Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. DBPR Form ABT-6001 – Application for New Alcoholic Beverage License It does not need to be architectural quality, but it must be accurate and legible. Vague or mislabeled plans invite follow-up questions that slow processing.
Affidavit and Signature
The final section is a sworn statement under Sections 559.791, 562.45, and 837.06 of the Florida Statutes. By signing, you affirm that every interested party has been disclosed and that all information is true and correct. An individual applicant signs personally. For an entity, an authorized representative, typically a corporate officer or managing member, signs on its behalf. The signature must be handwritten and the form dated.
Approvals You Need Before You Submit
ABT-6001 is not a form you simply mail in. You have to collect official sign-offs confirming your location passes muster locally:
- Local zoning authority confirms the premises are zoned for the type of alcohol sales you’re requesting. Contact your city or county zoning office. Locations near schools, churches, or residential areas may face additional restrictions.
- The Florida Department of Revenue verifies your sales tax registration. You need an active sales tax certificate before this sign-off.
- The Division of Hotels and Restaurants or your local health authority confirms the premises meet health and safety standards, particularly if you’ll be serving food with alcohol.
Collecting these often takes longer than completing the form. Start early. Each agency runs on its own timeline, and none of them will hurry on your account.
Where to File and What It Costs
Submit the completed application to the ABT district office responsible for the area where your licensed premises will be located, not to the central office in Tallahassee. You can mail it, drop it off, or submit by appointment.2Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. DBPR Form ABT-6001 – Application for New Alcoholic Beverage License Florida has ten district offices: Tallahassee, Pensacola, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.3Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco – Contact Addresses are on the DBPR website.
For a new quota license won in the drawing, the initial license fee is $10,750, on top of the regular license fees under Section 565.02.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 561.19 – Quota Licenses; Procedure for Issuance It applies only to initial issuance, not renewals. Send payment with the application to the district office. The form instructions list accepted payment methods.
The 45-Day Clock for Quota Drawing Winners
If you were selected in the state’s quota drawing, the certified selection notice starts a strict 45-day clock. Within that window you must file a completed ABT-6001 with every required approval, supporting document, and fee. Miss the deadline and you forfeit the license. There are no extensions. The Division moves on to the next selected entrant in drawing order for that county.5Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code Ann R 61A-5.0105 – Selection of Applicants for Quota Alcoholic Beverage Licenses by Public Drawing
Preparation is what separates winners who get licensed from winners who scramble and lose the spot. Have the premises identified, zoning in progress, and the ABT-6001 substantially filled out before results are announced. Background disclosures, ownership details, and the floor plan can all be prepared ahead of time. The 45 days should be for collecting the final signatures and filing, not starting from zero.
Federal Registration After You’re Licensed
A Florida license does not end your paperwork. Federal law requires every retail alcohol dealer to register with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau before engaging in business. File TTB Form 5630.5d through the TTB’s Permits Online portal or by mail to the TTB office in Cincinnati.6Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Beverage Alcohol Retailers Registration is required for each location before you open. After initial registration, you only re-file by the following July 1 if your information changes, and within 30 days if you close the business.