TITLE 4

Alcoholic Liquors and Marijuana

CHAPTER 5. Licenses and Taxes

Subchapter IV. Certificate of License, Term of License and Fees

§ 551. Issuance of certificate.

If the Commissioner grants the license and payment therefor has been made, a certificate to that effect shall be issued. The certificate shall set forth the name, the kind of license granted, the date of expiration of the license, and if a license to manufacture or to sell or to keep in stock, the place or places in which it is to be manufactured, sold or kept.

38 Del. Laws, c. 18, §  23;  Code 1935, §  6152;  4 Del. C. 1953, §  551;  59 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4072 Del. Laws, c. 486, §  9

§ 552. Term and expiration date of licenses.

All licenses issued under this title shall be valid for a period of 2 years, unless it is specifically stated in this title or by the Commissioner to be for a shorter period of time, or unless the license shall be cancelled, revoked or suspended by the Commissioner, or unless the license shall be surrendered by the licensee, or unless the license shall expire. The Commissioner shall determine the precise dates of the validity of a license issued under this title. A license issued by the Commissioner, which is not a renewal of a former license, within 3 months of the date the license would have to be renewed under the rules of the Commissioner may be made to terminate by the Commissioner 2 years after the first applicable biennial expiration date.

38 Del. Laws, c. 18, §  25;  Code 1935, §  6154;  4 Del. C. 1953, §  552;  57 Del. Laws, c. 404, §  367 Del. Laws, c. 273, §§  1, 2672 Del. Laws, c. 486, §  9

§ 553. Rate of payment for license issued for other than 2 years.

A license issued for a time other than 2 years shall be paid for when issued at the rate of one twenty-fourth of the biennial fee for each month of the term.

38 Del. Laws, c. 18, §  25;  Code 1935, §  6154;  4 Del. C. 1953, §  553;  67 Del. Laws, c. 273, §§  2, 3

§ 554. License fees.

(a) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in a hotel or restaurant the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(b) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor on a boat the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(c) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in the passenger cars of a railroad the biennial license fee shall be $600 for each railroad.

(d) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in a club, to members of that club, the biennial license fee shall be $300 if the club has an active membership in good standing of less than 400 members; or $600 if the club has an active membership in good standing of 400 or more members.

(e) For a license to sell beer and/or wine only in a restaurant the biennial license fee shall be $500.

(f) For a license to sell beer only in a tavern the biennial license fee shall be $500.

(g) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors in a taproom the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(h) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor from a hotel, restaurant, taproom, or store, not for consumption on the premises, the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(i) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors at gatherings of persons, the license fee shall be as follows:

(1) For a group-type gathering license, the license fee shall be $5.00 for each such license granted, unless the said license shall be for a period of more than 2 days in which case the license fee shall be $5.00 plus the additional sum of $2.00 for each such additional day or unless the said license shall be for a Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, in which case the license fee shall be an additional $5.00 for each such day.

(2) Biennial license. — a. For a biennial premises type gathering license for a facility in which not more than 25 gatherings of persons at which alcoholic liquors are to be sold are to be held, the biennial license fee shall be $200.

b. For a biennial premises type gathering license for a facility in which more than 25 but not more than 75 such gatherings of persons are to be held, the biennial license fee shall be $400.

c. For a biennial premises type gathering license for a facility in which more than 75 such gatherings of persons are to be held, the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

d. For the holder of a biennial premises type gathering license to sell alcoholic liquor on a Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, the biennial license fee shall be:

1. An additional $200 for a license issued pursuant to paragraph (i)(2)a. of this section;

2. An additional $300 for a license issued pursuant to paragraph (i)(2)b. of this section; and

3. An additional $400 for a license issued pursuant to paragraph (i)(2)c. of this section.

(j) For a license to “manufacture” and to “sell” beer and cider, the biennial license fee shall be based upon annual production and shall be computed as follows: $1,500 for a brewery or microbrewery manufacturing not more than 25,000 barrels of beer and cider per year; $3,000 for a microbrewery or brewery manufacturing more than 25,000 but not more than 50,000 barrels of beer and cider per year; $6,000 for a microbrewery or brewery manufacturing more than 50,000 but not more than 100,000 barrels of beer and cider per year; and $9,000 for a microbrewery or brewery manufacturing more than 100,000 barrels of beer and cider per year.

(k) For a license to operate a distillery for distillation or rectification, the biennial license fee shall be based upon annual production and shall be computed as follows: For the first 500 gallons, $100; for the next 5,000 gallons, or fraction thereof, at the rate of 6 cents per gallon; for the next 10,000 gallons, or fraction thereof, at the rate of 4.5 cents per gallon; for the next 50,000 gallons, or fraction thereof, at the rate of 3 cents per gallon; for the next 100,000 gallons, or fraction thereof, at the rate of 1.5 cents per gallon; for each gallon in excess of 165,500 gallons, at the rate of three quarters cent per gallon.

(l) For a license to bottle beer the biennial license fee shall be $100 for the first 500 barrels or less, and $100 for each additional 500 barrels, or fraction, bottled.

(m) For a license to operate a winery or to bottle and sell wine the biennial license fee shall be $1,500.

(n) For a license to import or to ship alcoholic liquor, other than beer and wine, into this State and to sell and deliver such alcoholic liquor as provided in this chapter the biennial license fee shall be $7,500; but a sale and delivery of alcoholic liquor to pharmacists, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, wholesale druggists, manufacturing plants where the alcohol is used in scientific work, or for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products shall not be subject to the license fee.

(o) For a license to import or to ship beer into this State and to sell and deliver such beer the biennial license fee shall be $3,000; and for a license to import or to ship unlimited amounts of wine into this State and to sell and deliver such wine the biennial license fee shall be $3,000. A license for a limited wine importer, an importer that imports, sells and delivers less than 1000 cases of wine per year, shall be $200. A limited wine importer need not pay the application fee required by subsection (x) of this section.

(p) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor as an off-site caterer the biennial license fee shall be $500.

(q) For a license to transport a stock of alcoholic liquor from the place where sale or storage of such stock has been authorized to another location, the license fee shall be fixed by the Commissioner.

(r) For a license to purchase sacramental wine, no license fee shall be charged.

(s) For a temporary license, the license fee shall be not less than 1/2 nor more than double the amount of the annual license fee for a regular license for the same privilege, in the discretion of the Commissioner.

(t) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor at a horse racetrack the biennial license fee shall be $3,000.

(u) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor at a motorsports speedway the biennial license fee shall be $3,000.

(v) For license to sell alcoholic liquors as a ship’s chandler the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(w) For a license for a multiple activity club to sell alcoholic beverages to any person who is a member of such club or a guest of a member of such club, the biennial license fee shall be $1,500.

(x) Application process fee. — If any application for a license under this title requires any investigation by the staff or a hearing by the Commissioner before the Commissioner reaches a decision on the application, the applicant shall pay an application process fee of $1,000 in addition to any other fees required by this title or the rules of the Commissioner. The application process fee is not refundable regardless of the decision of the Commissioner. This provision for an application process fee does not apply to a gathering of persons under § 514 of this title, a limited suppliers license issued pursuant to § 501 of this title, a license to sell on Sunday, and a tasting permit. This provision for an application process fee shall not apply to applications for change of officers, directors or stockholders of a corporate licensee if there is no change in the majority of stockholders or majority of directors. Six hundred dollars of the application process fee shall be retained by the Commissioner and deposited in a special fund for the sole purpose of providing for the implementation, administration and enforcement of the Delaware Responsible Alcoholic Beverage Server Training Program established pursuant to Chapter 12 of this title.

(y) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in a dinner theater the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(z) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors as a caterer for consumption on the premises where sold the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(aa) For a license as a “bottle club” authorized by § 515A of this title the biennial license fee shall be $300.

(bb) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors in a cabaret the biennial license fee shall be $2,000.

(cc) For a license as an air passenger carrier, as defined in § 512(i) of this title, the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(dd) For a license to conduct wine auctions the biennial license fee shall be $1,500. For a gathering license to conduct a wine auction by a nonprofit organization the fee shall be $50 per event.

(ee) For a license to permit spirits, wine and beer tasting the biennial license fee shall be $150.

(ff) For a farm winery license the biennial license fee shall be $1,500.

(gg) For a brewery-pub license the biennial license fee shall be $2,000.

(hh) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors at a multi-purpose sports facility the biennial license fee shall be $3,000.

(ii) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors at a bowling alley the biennial license fee shall be $1,000.

(jj) For a license as a “direct shipper” as provided in § 526 of Title 4 the biennial license fee shall be $100.

(kk) Each of the licensees identified in subsections (a)-(h), (t)-(w), (y), (z), (bb), (cc), (dd), (ff), (gg), (hh), (ii), (mm), and (qq) of this section, shall pay an additional annual fee of $100. The Commissioner shall deposit said funds into a special account designated as the “Overservice Investigation Fund.” Said fund shall be utilized by the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement to pay overtime to its agents and/or to hire and equip additional agents for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting licensees that serve intoxicated individuals.

(ll) For a permit to sell alcoholic liquors on a patio, the biennial fee shall be $1,000. If the holder of a patio permit desires a variance to Rule 42.1 [4 DE Admin. Code §  704, formerly Rule 42.1], or a subsequently adopted rule, the biennial variance permit fee shall be $100 per variance.

(mm) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in a concert hall the biennial fee shall be $1,500.

(nn) For a license as a “craft distillery” as provided in § 512E of this title the biennial license fee shall be $1,500.

(oo) For a “temporary large event” license as provided in § 512F of this title, the fee shall be $500 for each temporary large event and no application process fee as permitted under subsection (x) of this section shall be assessed.

(pp) For a growler filler permit as provided in § 516(a) of this title, the biennial license fee shall be $150.

(qq) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in a movie theater the biennial fee shall be $1,500.

(rr) For a license to sell alcoholic liquor in a beer garden, the biennial fee shall be $2,000. The holder of a beer garden license is not required to have a patio permit, but if the beer garden license holder desires a variance to Rule 42.1 (4 DE Admin. Code §  704, formerly Rule 42.1), or a subsequently adopted rule, the biennial variance permit fee shall be $100 per variance.

38 Del. Laws, c. 18, §  3039 Del. Laws, c. 6;  Code 1935, §  6159;  41 Del. Laws, c. 247, §  141 Del. Laws, c. 248, §§  1, 242 Del. Laws, c. 191, §  444 Del. Laws, c. 203, §  5;  4 Del. C. 1953, §  555;  49 Del. Laws, c. 34149 Del. Laws, c. 342, §§  1-1250 Del. Laws, c. 424, §§  1, 254 Del. Laws, c. 377, §  355 Del. Laws, c. 82, §§  4, 555 Del. Laws, c. 283, §  355 Del. Laws, c. 416, §§  1-356 Del. Laws, c. 311, §  456 Del. Laws, c. 335, §§  6-857 Del. Laws, c. 404, §  457 Del. Laws, c. 44859 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  4260 Del. Laws, c. 466, §§  4-663 Del. Laws, c. 232, §  464 Del. Laws, c. 436, §  164 Del. Laws, c. 437, §  265 Del. Laws, c. 152, §  165 Del. Laws, c. 283, §  367 Del. Laws, c. 109, §  1667 Del. Laws, c. 273, §§  4-2268 Del. Laws, c. 107, §  268 Del. Laws, c. 168, §  268 Del. Laws, c. 205, §  269 Del. Laws, c. 6, §  470 Del. Laws, c. 353, §  371 Del. Laws, c. 182, §  271 Del. Laws, c. 211, §  471 Del. Laws, c. 383, §  372 Del. Laws, c. 486, §  973 Del. Laws, c. 244, §  973 Del. Laws, c. 393, §  375 Del. Laws, c. 80, §  975 Del. Laws, c. 253, §§  1, 277 Del. Laws, c. 72, §  178 Del. Laws, c. 220, §  378 Del. Laws, c. 251, §  279 Del. Laws, c. 6, §  379 Del. Laws, c. 23, §  279 Del. Laws, c. 308, §  380 Del. Laws, c. 62, §  181 Del. Laws, c. 69, § 381 Del. Laws, c. 79, § 1