Multiple TABC Violations: What Happens Next

A second or third violation draws a higher sanction under TABC’s rules when it repeats the same Code provision or rule, the business was given written notice of the earlier violation, and the new one falls inside a time window: 36 months for a public safety violation, or 24 months for a regulatory violation with a $1,000 base penalty. A repeat found through covert investigative activity also draws a higher sanction. Prior violations that do not meet those conditions can still be weighed as aggravating circumstances rather than as a second or third offense.

How TABC counts a repeat

The counting rule is TABC Rule 34.1(g). A subsequent violation “of the same Code provision or rule will result in a higher sanction if”:

1. the person has been given written notice of the prior violation, and the subsequent violation is

• a health, safety, and welfare violation occurring within 36 months of the prior violation, or
• a regulatory violation with a base penalty of $1,000 occurring within 24 months of the prior violation; or

2. the subsequent violation involves covert investigative activities (TABC describes its minor stings as undercover operations).

Three consequences follow from the wording:

• Same provision, not same category. A sale to a minor and a sale to an intoxicated person rest on different Code provisions, so one does not make the other a “second” violation under Rule 34.1(g).
• Written notice matters. The 36- and 24-month windows apply when the business received written notice of the earlier violation.
• Lower-tier regulatory violations have no window in this rule. Rule 34.1(g)(1)(B) names only the $1,000 regulatory tier.

TABC’s commission voted on September 22, 2026, to propose amendments to Rules 34.1 through 34.4, 34.10, and 34.20, for publication in the Texas Register on October 9, 2026. The rules described here are those in effect as of October 2, 2026.

What the escalation looks like

TABC’s public safety chart (Rule 34.2, amended effective June 6, 2022) sets the standard sanction for each step. Two rows show the pattern:

For sales to minors, Section 106.13 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code also sets statutory outer limits that rise with the second offense and with a third offense within a set period.

Both of those violations are also on the statutory list in Section 11.64 for which TABC decides whether to offer a civil penalty in place of suspension. For violations not on that list, Section 11.64 requires TABC to offer the civil penalty, and Section 11.641 directs TABC to consider the business’s previous violations in setting its amount.

How other prior violations count

A violation that is not a “second” or “third” under Rule 34.1(g) can still raise the sanction:

• Written warnings. Under Rule 34.1(d)(2), a written warning “may be used as an aggravating circumstance” when TABC sets the sanction for a later violation.
• Regulatory penalties. TABC’s Penalty Policy for Regulatory Violations lists “the respondent is a repeat violator” among its aggravating factors and states that a history of prior violations “of the same or similar regulations or demonstrating a pattern of disregard for the law or agency rules” is weighed as aggravation. For a business that has violated the Code before, the policy also allows TABC to add the economic benefit of the violation when it exceeds the calculated penalty.
• Deviations from the chart. Under Rule 34.1(i), staff may recommend a sanction above or below the public safety chart for aggravating or mitigating circumstances, but the executive director or a designee must approve it before the settlement is offered.

For Safe Harbor, repetition has a separate effect. Under TABC Rule 34.20, a cluster of incidents of the same type can create a presumption that the employer indirectly encouraged them and, once the presumption is established, shifts the burden of persuasion to the permit holder.

When several violations are pending at once

For regulatory violations, the Penalty Policy calculates each statute or rule violated on its own worksheet and then adds them. Suspension days are added across worksheets, and partial days are rounded up only after the total is reached. Under Rule 34.1(f), suspension days run consecutively, and TABC may divide a sanction between suspension days and a civil penalty.

Violation history can also reach the permit itself: Section 11.09(d) of the Code lets TABC shorten a permit’s term by rule because of the holder’s violation history.

What to check when a new notice arrives

1. Which Code provision or rule the new violation cites.
2. Whether there is an earlier violation of that same provision, and the date of the written notice of it.
3. Whether the new violation falls within 36 months (public safety) or 24 months ($1,000 regulatory) of the earlier one, or came from a sting.
4. Whether the violation is on the Section 11.64 list, which decides whether a civil penalty option is automatic.
5. For an employee’s sale to a minor or an intoxicated person, whether the Safe Harbor records are complete and how many similar incidents occurred recently.

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.