Speaking with a few entrepreneurs who are setting up a new F&B outlet here in Singapore, I found that a few shared similar problems- mostly about the liquor licence for their restaurant and how to go about getting it.
We though it will be helpful to provide a guide to getting the liquor licence for your new establishment.
Before Sending your Application
It’s good to have the required paper work in order before applying for the liquor licence. You will need to be in compliance with laws & regulations from the relevant authorities and get approval for your establishment. Find out if your premises are approved for F&B here.
Liquor Licence Fast Facts:
- License agency: Liquors Licensing Unit
- Cost Of Licence: S$220 – S$1,760 (2-year licence)
- Minimum Licence Processing Time: 14 working days
Got it? Great! Let’s get into the necessary details.
There are 2 types of liquor licences available in Singapore. If you are carrying out any of these activities:
- To retail intoxicating liquor which is consumed on your premises (e.g. pubs, clubs, discos and hawker stalls)
- To retail and/or wholesale intoxicating liquor that is consumed off your premises (e.g. wine specialty shops, alcohol importers and food caterers)
For more than 30 consecutive days, you will need to obtain liquor licence for your establishment.
If your activities is shorter than 30 consecutive days (1-30 days), you can apply for a temporary liquor licence instead.
Should your activities do not run on consecutive days, you will need to obtain more than one liquor licence for operation.
The Licence Fees
| Types Of Liquor Licences | ||
| Licences for liquor sold and consumed on your premises | ||
| Name Of Licence | Permitted Hours | Licence Fees (2-Year Licence) |
| Public House Licence | 1st Class (6am-12am) |
S$1,760 |
| 2nd Class (6am-10pm) |
S$1,320 | |
| Beer House Licence | 6am-12am | S$920 |
| Outdoor Beer Stall Licence | 6am-3am (Permitted hours to be decided based on the location) |
S$570 |
| Licences for liquor sold and consumed off your premises | ||
| Retail Liquor Shop Licence | 6am-12am | S$220 |
| Wholesale Liquor Shop Licence | 6am-12am | S$220 |
| Retail Beer Shop Licence | 6am-12am | S$220 |
| Wholesale Beer Shop Licence | 6am-12am | S$220 |
Note that the licences only permits you to sell liquor within the stipulated hours. If your establishment requires sale of alcohol past these hours, you will need to get the Liquor License (Extension of Operating Hours).
Application, Processing Time and Payment Method
All applications for liquor licence are to be submitted through electronic filing (e-filing) via the Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS) at http://business.gov.sg.
The processing time for these licences takes up to 12 working days.
There are three online payment modes available-
Credit card (Visa or Mastercard), Direct Debit through your internet banking account. Payment modes available at our counter are NETS or cheque.
If the amount payable is more than S$2000/-, payment by cheque is preferable.
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