Which TABC Permit Do You Need to Sell Alcohol in Your Restaurant?

In a wet area, the permit follows the drinks. A restaurant that serves cocktails or spirits needs a Mixed Beverage Permit (MB). One that serves only wine and beer can use a Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Permit (BG), and one that serves only beer can use a Retail Dealer’s On-Premise License (BE). Two add-ons then depend on the address and the business: a Food and Beverage Certificate (FB), which some areas require for any mixed beverage sales, and a Late Hours Certificate (LH) for service between midnight and 2 a.m.

Step 1: What will you serve?

Menu	Primary permit	What it allows
Cocktails, spirits, wine, and beer	Mixed Beverage Permit (MB), Chapter 28 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code	Mixed beverages, including liquor, for consumption on the licensed premises (Section 28.01)
Wine and beer only	Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG), Chapter 25	Wine and malt beverages of 0.5% to 17% alcohol for on- or off-premises consumption, plus certain fortified and flavored wines up to 24% on premises (Section 25.01)
Beer only	Retail Dealer's On-Premise License (BE), Chapter 69	Malt beverages (beer), under the terms of Chapter 69

TABC’s license and permit types page describes each one.

Step 2: What does the address allow?

Whether a permit is available depends on the local option status of the location, set by elections at the county, city, or justice precinct level. Section 501.035 of the Election Code lists ten ballot options, from malt beverages for off-premises consumption only to all alcoholic beverages including mixed beverages. TABC’s local option elections page states that “only the city or county clerk’s office can officially declare a location to be wet or dry,” and the clerk certifies the status during the application.

One ballot option is specific to restaurants: “the legal sale of mixed beverages in restaurants by food and beverage certificate holders only” (Section 501.035(b)(9)). Where that option is the one that legalized mixed beverages, an MB permit is available only with an FB certificate, a combination TABC calls “MB Permit With FB Required.”

What if the location is dry? A dry location does not always end the question. TABC’s license types page describes the Private Club Registration Permit (N) as authorizing “the storage and service of distilled spirits, wine and malt beverages for club members’ on-premise consumption, even in dry areas.” It is a membership model, not an ordinary retail permit: Chapter 32 of the Code sets requirements for the club’s members, governance, and premises, and in a dry area members’ liquor may be stored only under a locker system (Section 32.17(a)(6)). Whether a restaurant can operate as a qualifying private club is a separate question from the MB, BG, and BE choices above.

Step 3: Do you need, or want, a Food and Beverage Certificate?

An FB certificate can be added to an MB, BG, or BE (Sections 28.18, 25.13, and 69.16) when the business either:

is a “restaurant” as defined in Section 1.04: it operates its own permanent food service facility with commercial cooking equipment and prepares and offers multiple entrees for sale; or
keeps alcohol sales at the location at or below 60% of total sales.

Either way, the location must have a permanent food service facility for the preparation and service of multiple entrees. These are the rules since Senate Bill 911 took effect on January 1, 2022, carried out in TABC Rule 33.5, which also governs the records an FB holder must keep. TABC’s commission voted on September 22, 2026, to propose amendments to Rule 33.5, for publication in the Texas Register on October 9, 2026; the requirements above are those in effect as of October 2, 2026.

Outside areas where it is required, an FB certificate is optional, and the Code attaches several consequences to it:

With an FB certificate	Source
The conduct surety bond under Section 11.11 does not apply	Sections 28.18(f), 25.13(e)
The "51%" handgun warning sign does not apply	Government Code Section 411.204(e)
Mailed notice to nearby residences is not required for an application that includes an FB	Section 11.393
MB holders may sell drinks to go or for delivery with food, under the conditions in Section 28.1001	Section 28.1001(a-1)
The bar on on-premises permits after a violent-act cancellation does not apply to a location with an FB but no late hours certificate	Section 11.481(c)

Step 4: Will you serve after midnight?

A Late Hours Certificate extends service to 2 a.m. Under Section 29.01, it is available to MB, private club, and BE holders; TABC’s license types page also lists BG holders. Whether late hours are available at a given address depends on Section 105.03: in a city or county above the population thresholds in the statute, late hours apply by law, and elsewhere only if the city council or the commissioners court has adopted an ordinance or order allowing them.

Hours that affect restaurants on Sunday

Under Section 105.03, an MB holder may sell from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday only with food service, and Sections 105.04 and 105.05 apply the same food condition to on-premises wine and beer sales during those hours. Normal Sunday service starts at noon.

What the permits cost

TABC’s state fees for a two-year term, from its license and permit fees chart (fees effective September 1, 2021), as of October 2, 2026:

Permit or certificate	State fee
Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)	$5,300 original; $2,650 renewal
Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG)	$1,900
Retail Dealer's On-Premise License (BE)	$1,100
Food and Beverage Certificate (FB)	$1,100
Late Hours Certificate (LH)	$1,100

Cities and counties may add a local fee of up to half the statutory fee as of August 31, 2021 (Section 11.38).

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.