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A hotel licence allows you to:
Under the Liquor Act 2007 there isn’t a patron limit on a hotel licence, but your local council can impose a limit.
Types of businesses that use this licence include:
Your application can take longer to review if we don’t have all the details we need to assess it. We will come back to you to obtain the missing information to progress your application. You can help us speed up the process by:
The information below will help you to prepare your application and gather all the necessary materials for your licence. However, if you're ready now...
Apply online
Some venues are not eligible for a hotel licence. Depending on your venue, you may require a:
A liquor licence freeze applies in the Kings Cross and Sydney CBD Entertainment precincts until 30 April 2021. While this freeze is in place, certain types of new liquor licences, including hotel licences, cannot be granted.
Precinct maps:
Before you apply for a hotel licence, you must prepare a Category B community impact statement(CIS).
A community impact statement (CIS) provides evidence that you’ve advised your local community of your intention to operate a hotel liquor licence, and provides them with an opportunity to provide comment.
This allows us to gauge the level of support for your application. You must:
Consult How to prepare a Category B CIS for more information.
Application Notices:
Once your application is lodged, you will be provided with a Public Site Notice which you will need to affix to your premises until the application is granted. Council and Police will be automatically notified of your application.
A paper form version of the site notices can be downloaded below if you wish to complete them manually at your convenience prior to lodgement of your application.
APP400 hotel liquor application site notice PDF, 580.02 KB
The licensee and all staff involved in selling, serving or supplying alcohol need to have completed an approved Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course and hold a valid NSW competency card.
This requirement also applies to security staff and promotional staff conducting tastings on the premises.
The Liquor Regulation 2018 introduced an additional two compulsory courses for licensees and managers:
Staff with gaming machine responsibilities also need to hold a current RCG competency card.
It is best practice to keep copies of your and your staff’s qualifications in a register on the premises.
You can sell alcohol at any time during the standard trading period - as shown in the table below.
On New Year’s Eve, you can sell alcohol until 2am the next day, or until a later time under an extended trading authorisation PDF, 938.23 KB.
You can apply for extended trading hours as part of your hotel licence application.
The table outlines standard and extended trading hours for a hotel licence.
5.00am - midnight
Midnight - 5.00am: Premises located in City of Sydney, Kings Cross precinct, Oxford Street, Darlinghurst precinct, and the Kosciuszko National Park only
An extended trading authorisation can only be granted to for takeaway alcohol services on Sundays:
10pm - 11pm on normal Sundays (not Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve)
10pm - midnight on Sundays that fall on 24 or 31 December.
* These hours are subject to the 6-hour closure period
A 6-hour closure period applies to all liquor licences, including those with extended trading hours. It usually starts at 4.00am and ends at 10.00am each day.
You can apply to change the 6-hour closure period:
In your application, you need to provide detail on:
The law requires that all types of licensed venues display liquor signs. This includes a number of compulsory signs, depending on which licence and authorisations you have.
Your application costs include:
Use our Liquor Fee Schedule to calculate your fee.
Pro-rata annual liquor licence fee
A hotel licence is subject to a pro-rata annual liquor licence fee depending on the time of year your liquor licence is granted.
The fee is calculated on a quarterly basis and reflects the amount of time you use the licence before the next billing cycle (on 15 March the following year). Calculate your pro-rata fee.
Annual liquor licence fee
A hotel licence is subject to an annual liquor licence fee, due in May each year. Read more about annual liquor licence fees.
You must be 18 years or older and authorised to lodge this licence application.
Create a OneGov account to apply online for a new licence or maintain your existing licence online.
Note: Processing times take longer with offline forms and do not attract the 10% discount for online applications.
Once your application is lodged, we will advertise it on the Liquor and Gaming Application Noticeboard for 30 days. The community can comment on your application, as well as people who were consulted as part of the CIS process, if applicable.
Use our online feedback form to send us your questions, suggestions or feedback. You can also:
Call: 1300 024 720 | Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm
Email: contact.us@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au
Visit: Level 6, 323 Castlereagh Street, Haymarket
Access the Liquor Act 2007 and the Liquor Regulation 2018 at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au
