3PS Liquor License: Who Qualifies, Fees, and Operating Rules

A 3PS liquor license in Florida is a quota-limited package store license that authorizes the sale of beer, wine, and liquor in sealed containers for off-premises consumption only.¹ Because the state caps how many exist in each county, you typically get one in one of two ways: win the state’s annual public drawing, or buy an existing license from a current holder. Secondary-market prices run from roughly $20,000 in rural counties to well over $1 million in South Florida.

Two Paths to Getting a 3PS License

Florida limits package-store licenses to one per 7,500 residents in each county, using population estimates from the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Every county has at least three licenses regardless of size.² A new license becomes available only when population growth opens a slot or when the state revokes an existing license.

The Annual Drawing

The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco holds a public drawing to award new quota licenses. The entry period opens on the third Monday in August and stays open for 45 days. You can submit one entry per county, and the entry fee is a non-refundable $100.³ Being drawn gives you the right to apply; it doesn’t guarantee approval. If selected, you have 45 days from the date the division mails the notice to file your full application. If you aren’t ready to operate at a physical location yet, the license can be held in inactive status.⁴

Buying an Existing License

In populated counties, the drawing is heavily oversubscribed, and most new package-store operators acquire a license by purchasing one from a current holder. Florida law allows quota licenses to be transferred, and prices track local demand:

Rural counties: roughly $20,000 to $80,000.
Suburban counties: roughly $100,000 to $400,000.
Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach: regularly above $400,000, sometimes over $1 million.

That acquisition cost sits on top of the state’s annual license fee, so budgeting for a 3PS goes well beyond what the fee schedule shows.

Who Qualifies

Every applicant, and every officer of a corporate applicant, must be at least 21 years old and demonstrate good moral character.⁵ Criminal history triggers automatic disqualification within specific lookback windows:

Beverage law violations under any federal, Florida, or other state law within the past 5 years.
Convictions within the past 5 years for controlled-substance violations, solicitation for prostitution, pandering, or maintaining a disorderly place.
Any felony conviction in any jurisdiction within the past 10 years.

A guilty plea, a no-contest plea, or a forfeited bond all count as convictions.⁵ The division can also refuse a license to anyone whose prior license was revoked or was abandoned during revocation proceedings, and that disqualification extends to officers and to people with a direct or indirect interest in the applicant business.

One narrow exception: a corporation convicted of a felony unrelated to beverage law is not automatically barred, and the division has discretion to weigh mitigating factors such as the circumstances of the offense and whether the responsible individuals have been removed.⁶

Where You Can Locate the Store

A common misconception is that Florida’s 500-foot setback from schools applies to package stores. It does not. The 500-foot distance rule in Section 562.45 applies to locations where alcohol is consumed on the premises, not to sealed-container package sales.⁷ That said, counties and cities have broad authority to write their own zoning ordinances, and many do impose setbacks from schools, churches, or residential areas on package stores. Confirm the local rule with your zoning department before you sign a lease.

The store itself must be a permanent, fixed structure with a clearly defined retail area. If you plan to operate inside a larger commercial building, the division generally expects a separate entrance or physical partition so that liquor sales remain distinct from other retail activity. Your application must include a floor-plan sketch showing entrances, storage areas, and service counters, which the division uses during its on-site inspection.

What You File

The primary application is Form ABT-6001, filed with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.⁸ It calls for detailed information about the business entity, Social Security numbers for all individuals with an interest in the business, and a Federal Employer Identification Number. If you are forming a new entity, apply for an EIN using IRS Form SS-4 before filing the license application. The NAICS code for a package liquor store is 445310.

Supporting documents include:

Proof of premises control, meaning a signed lease agreement or property deed covering the license term.
A floor-plan sketch of the entire premises, drawn as a bird’s-eye view.
Electronic fingerprints from every individual listed on the application, submitted through an approved Livescan vendor.
Sign-offs from local zoning authorities and the health department, or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services if you will also sell food, confirming the site meets land-use and sanitation codes.

Submit the package to the regional district office or through the DBPR online portal.⁹ A division investigator reviews the documentation, runs background checks, and conducts an on-site inspection to confirm the physical layout matches your submitted sketch. If problems surface, the state issues a Notice of Deficiency with a deadline to correct. Plan on roughly 60 to 90 days from filing to license in hand, assuming no deficiencies. Changing the layout, ownership structure, or business address mid-review can restart the clock.

Annual State Fees

Florida scales the 3PS annual fee by county population. Effective October 1, 2025, the fees are:¹⁰

Counties over 100,000 residents (3PS): $1,365 per year.
75,001 to 100,000 residents (3APS): $1,170 per year.
50,001 to 75,000 residents (3BPS): $975 per year.
25,001 to 50,000 residents (3CPS): $643.50 per year.
Under 25,000 residents (3DPS): $468 per year.

These are state fees only. They do not include the cost of acquiring a quota license on the secondary market, the $100 drawing entry fee, or any local permits and surcharges. If you win a license through the drawing, the state license fee is due once your application is approved, before the license is issued.⁴

Operating Rules Once You’re Licensed

Hours of Sale

Florida’s default legal hours are 7:00 a.m. to midnight daily. Counties and cities can adopt different hours by local ordinance, and many do. Some allow sales until 3:00 a.m., and a handful of jurisdictions, including Miami-Dade County, permit 24-hour sales.⁷ Verify the hours in your specific county and city before setting a schedule.

Minimum Operating Days

You cannot win a quota license and sit on it. Licensees issued a quota license after September 30, 1988, must keep the premises open for retail sales at least 8 hours a day for at least 210 days in any 12-month period, starting 6 months after acquiring the license. Falling short is grounds for revocation.¹¹

Employee Age

Florida sets a minimum employment age of 18 for vendors licensed under the Beverage Law.¹²

Federal Registration

Beyond the state license, retail liquor dealers must register with the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau by filing TTB Form 5630.5d before opening. The form requires your EIN, trade name, exact premises location, and ownership and management details. There is no federal fee, since the special occupational tax that once accompanied this registration was repealed, but the registration itself is mandatory and must be renewed annually by July 1 unless your information has not changed since the last filing.¹³ Federal law also requires retail dealers to keep complete records at the business showing the quantity, source, and date of receipt for all distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Purchase invoices satisfy the requirement.¹⁴

Renewal and What Can Cost You the License

Florida alcoholic beverage licenses renew annually on a license year that depends on the county. Northern and central counties, including Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Pinellas, and Seminole, run October 1 through September 30. Southern counties, including Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Lee, run April 1 through March 31. The division opens a 30-day renewal window before expiration and needs roughly 20 days to process the payment and issue the renewed license. Paying on time keeps you authorized to sell during processing.¹⁵

The division can suspend or revoke a 3PS license for a range of violations, including:¹¹

Selling outside permitted hours under state or local ordinance.
Selling to minors or intoxicated persons, or any violation of state or federal law by you or an employee acting within the scope of employment.
Failing to maintain sanitary premises approved by the applicable regulator.
Allowing the licensed premises to become a public nuisance.
Failing to meet the 210-day minimum operating requirement.
A determination that any person with a direct or indirect interest in the license is not qualified.

Employee violations on the licensed premises count as violations by the licensee, so training staff on age verification and refusal of sale to intoxicated customers protects the license itself.

1
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. 3PS – Package Store
2
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 561 – Section 561.20
3
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Quota Beverage License Drawing Entry Form
4
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 561 – Section 561.19
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 561 – Section 561.15
6
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 561 – Section 561.15
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 562 – Section 562.45
8
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Application for Alcoholic Beverage License
9
Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
10
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco – Annual License Fees
11
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 561 – Section 561.29
12
Florida Senate. Florida Code 562 – Section 562.13
13
eCFR. Registration of Retail Alcohol Dealers
14
eCFR. 27 CFR 31.181 – Requirements for Retail Dealers
15
Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code 61A-3.0101 – License Renewals