Stage 5 of 7 · Penalized
TABC Penalty Chart Explained: Understanding Suspension Days and Fines
In this guide
TABC’s penalty chart is really two charts. Public safety violations, such as a sale to a minor or to an intoxicated person, are measured in days of suspension that rise from the first to the third violation, under Rule 34.2 of TABC’s rules (16 Texas Administrative Code). Regulatory violations, such as record, report, or sign problems, start from a base penalty of $250, $500, or $1,000 under Rule 34.10. Unless the violation is on a statutory list of serious grounds, the Alcoholic Beverage Code requires TABC to offer a civil penalty in place of the suspension.
Which chart covers a violation?
Rule 34.2 covers any act or failure to act that violates the Code or TABC’s rules and “represents a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.” The regulatory chart lists violations tied to running a licensed business: failing to display the permit, failing to post a required sign, late reports, invoice and record problems, credit law and inducement violations, and selling while a permit is suspended, among others.
Both charts are nonexclusive. A violation missing from a chart can still be enforced. TABC’s Penalty Policy states that the agency does not intend to penalize the same conduct under both charts at once. TABC posts both charts, the Penalty Policy, and a penalty calculation worksheet on its violations and penalties page. The posted regulatory chart and the 2021 policy refer to the regulatory rule as Section 34.3; the current rule text numbers it Section 34.10.
How to read a row on the public safety chart
Each row names the violation, the Code sections behind it, and a sanction for the first, second, and third violation. A range such as “8-12 days” is a suspension range. “Cancel” means cancellation of the permit or license, and “48 days-Cancel” means anything from 48 days of suspension up to cancellation. The public safety penalty chart TABC posts states “Amended Rule Effective: June 6, 2022.” Selected rows, as of October 2, 2026:
| Violation | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling an alcoholic beverage to a minor (Section 106.03) | 8-12 days | 16-24 days | 48 days to cancellation |
| Permitting a minor to possess or consume (Section 106.13) | 3-5 days | 6-10 days | 18 days to cancellation |
| Employing a minor to sell, serve, prepare, or handle alcohol | 5-7 days | 10-14 days | 30 days to cancellation |
| Selling or serving to an intoxicated person, no bodily injury or death | 8-12 days | 16-24 days | cancellation |
| Intoxication of the permit holder or an employee on the premises | 17-25 days | 34-50 days | cancellation |
| Selling, serving, or allowing consumption during prohibited hours | 8-12 days | 16-24 days | cancellation |
| Simple breach of the peace, no serious bodily injury or deadly weapon | 3-5 days | 6-10 days | 18 days to cancellation |
| Aggravated breach of the peace | 25-35 days | cancellation | cancellation |
| Failure to report a breach of the peace | 2-5 days | 4-10 days | 12 days to cancellation |
| Refusing inspection (Section 101.04) | 10-14 days | 30 days to cancellation | cancellation |
| Failure to timely provide records, no serious injury, death, smuggling, or trafficking | 8-12 days | 16-24 days | cancellation |
The chart also covers narcotics, lewd conduct, weapons, drink solicitation, prostitution, and human trafficking, which is cancellation on a first violation.
Three rules limit how these numbers apply. In a contested case, or in a matter referred to TABC’s legal services division, the chart “may be used as a guideline but adherence is not required” (Rule 34.2(d)). Violations of the general-welfare and rule provisions named in Rule 34.2(c) that are not listed on the chart are sanctioned “based upon all relevant facts and circumstances.” Whether a violation counts as a second or third one is set by Rule 34.1.
How suspension days become a fine
Rule 34.2(a) attaches an optional monetary penalty of $300 per day of suspension to every sanction on the chart except cancellation. At that rate a 10-day suspension corresponds to $3,000.
The statute sets the outer limits. Under Section 11.64 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, when TABC is authorized to suspend a permit it must give the holder the opportunity to pay a civil penalty instead, unless the suspension rests on one of the serious grounds the statute lists, such as a sale to a minor or to an intoxicated person; for those, TABC decides whether to offer the option at all. The same section sets a per-day range for the civil penalty and a payment deadline, after which the suspension is imposed.
How a regulatory penalty is calculated
TABC’s Penalty Policy for Regulatory Violations, effective March 1, 2021, uses a worksheet with four steps for each statute or rule violated:
- Base penalty. The chart assigns $250, $500, or $1,000. As the policy describes them, the $250 category generally covers daily operations such as record keeping, displaying the permit, or filing a report; the $500 category covers the core privileges of the permit; the $1,000 category covers conduct that affects another person or business, the marketplace, or TABC’s ability to regulate.
- Number of violation events. The base is multiplied by the number of separate instances or by how long the violation continued. A late required report can count as one event for each day after the deadline.
- Aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Staff may raise or lower the amount, at their discretion. Mitigating factors include those listed in Section 11.64(c), such as a violation that due diligence could not have prevented or one that was technical. Aggravating factors include repeat violations, knowing conduct, and refusing to provide requested records.
- Economic benefit. Only for a business that has violated the Code before: if the profit or avoided cost from the violation exceeds the calculated penalty, it is added.
The suspension days offered instead of the fine equal the total penalty divided by the base penalty. In a case with several violations, partial days are added together and the total is rounded up to the next whole day; the policy’s own example adds 2.5 and 2 days and rounds 4.5 up to 5. For example, imagine a $500-category violation counted as three events with no adjustments: the penalty is $1,500 and the alternative is 3 days of suspension.
The worksheet produces the penalty TABC’s executive director will recommend to the commission if the case does not settle. The policy states that a case can be settled at any time for any amount or number of days the executive director and the business agree on, and that the commission is not bound by the calculation and may impose any penalty within statutory limits.
Will the charts change?
Possibly. At its September 22, 2026, meeting, TABC’s commission voted to propose amendments to Rules 34.1, 34.2, 34.3, 34.4, 34.10, and 34.20, after drafts that reorganize both charts were discussed at a stakeholder meeting on August 6, 2026. TABC’s code and rules page states that the proposals will appear in the Texas Register issue published October 9, 2026, that comments are due by November 9, 2026, and that the proposals then become eligible for adoption at a later commission meeting. A proposed rule is not in effect until it is adopted. The figures above are the rules in effect as of October 2, 2026; check the current rule text before relying on a specific number.
This article is general information about Texas alcoholic beverage law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and TABC rules change; confirm current requirements with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the relevant city or county, or a licensed Texas attorney before acting.