Types of San Juan County Liquor Licenses
In San Juan County, it’s imperative for a business entrepreneur to procure a San Juan County alcohol license to serve or sell liquor to their patrons. San Juan County is located in northwest New Mexico and boasts a population of nearly 126,000. Most of these residents live in Farmington, NM, while others reside in Aztec, New Mexico - the county seat. Tourists and residents visit sights like Four Corners Monument, Navajo Lake, Ship Rock, Farmington Lake, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bisti / De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, Pueblo Bonito, and Farmington Museum. The annual San Juan County Fair takes place in Farmington, New Mexico. The fair is held every summer, bringing people to San Juan County with carnival rides, livestock, food, musical performances, and a parade.
To provide alcohol at your San Juan County business establishment, we offer online San Juan County liquor license auctions for the following permit types:
- Dispensers License: Permits restaurants and bars to sell all liquor -- beer, wine, and spirits -- for consumption on and off-site in San Juan County.
- Inter Local Dispenser: Permits restaurants and bars to sell all liquor -- beer, wine, and spirits -- for consumption on and off-site. Once a Dispenser liquor license has transferred out of the original Option District (LOD), it becomes an Inter Local Dispensers license and can no longer be used to permit off-site or “to-go” alcohol sales in San Juan County, New Mexico.
- RET: Permits all liquor sales -- beer, wine, and spirits -- for off-premises consumption in San Juan County, NM.
Each New Mexico liquor license grants the holder the right to sell in a specific New Mexico county, such as San Juan. Liquor licenses are not transferable between counties. They are, however, transferable between owners, which means you can legally buy or sell any San Juan County ABC liquor license.
How to Buy a San Juan County Liquor License
In New Mexico, there are two ways a buyer can secure a liquor license in San Juan County. The first way is to obtain an alcohol license from the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC). The other way is to acquire an alcohol permit from a liquor license broker on the secondary market, such as Liquor License Auctioneers.
Since there is a cap on the number of alcohol licenses in San Juan County at any time, usually, the way buyers are able to secure a liquor license is by going through the open market. Even still, sometimes, it will be difficult to find an alcohol permit for sale, so you’ll have to wait for a seller to sell a liquor license to you in San Juan County, NM.
As professional liquor license brokers, this is our area of expertise. Our years of experience have led to many relationships with lawyers and business entrepreneurs. These connections have allowed us the opportunity to offer San Juan County liquor licenses for sale on our auction platform. We are able to provide these San Juan County alcohol permits on our bidding platform at fair prices because no other alcohol license brokerage can sell these same liquor licenses. Let us know if you need a specific San Juan County alcohol license and don’t see it on our auction platform. We’ll be happy to locate one for you in a timely manner through our business network connections.
How to Apply for a Liquor License in San Juan County, New Mexico:
- Preliminary Review of Application: When the ABC Application for a San Juan County liquor license has been reviewed, you’ll be sent a Notice of Deficiencies explaining what information is missing if you neglected to provide all information or documentation. Appointed Representative - If the Applicant submitted authorization with their application that they are being represented by an attorney, CPA, or broker, then your Representative will be contacted on your behalf.
- Posting Request Sent to Department of Public Safety (DPS): This step is to be done by the Special Investigations Unit. Your Hearing Officer sends a request, and the assigned Agent will contact you, informing you that you must post the Certificate at your business location. The Certificate must be posted for 20 consecutive days before preliminary approval.
- Notice of Preliminary Hearing: As mandated by statute, the preliminary hearing will need to take place within 30 days of receipt of your ABC Application for a liquor license in San Juan County. At this stage, you’ll be served a Notice that includes the date and time of your preliminary hearing. You’ll also be made aware of the name of the Hearing Officer assigned to your ABC Application. You are able to let the Hearing Officer know whether you prefer to have the preliminary hearing done in person or by phone.
- Notice of Publication: The San Juan County alcohol permit Applicant must publish a notice of the preliminary hearing in a local newspaper with general circulation at least 72 hours before the hearing. The Notice of Publication gives the public an opportunity to submit letters of support or rejection to your ABC Application for a liquor license in San Juan County, New Mexico. Each of these letters will be forwarded to the Local Option District. Failing to publish notice of the hearing and provide proof of publication within a time period of 48 hours of your hearing date to your Hearing Officer may result in your preliminary hearing being rescheduled or even canceled. The Application needs to be sure that the Notice is published in the legal section for at least one day. Written instructions are included.
- Notice of Deficiencies: The Notice lists the items that need to be corrected or added in order to submit your ABC Application for a San Juan County alcohol permit. All of the items listed in the Notice of Deficient Documents should be provided ahead of the preliminary hearing, if possible, and no later than at the final review. Note: If the ABC Application is not completed with the supplemental information in the provided time frame, then ABC Application may be canceled or delayed.
- At Preliminary Hearing: The public preliminary hearing is when the ABC Application for a San Juan alcohol license and the supplemental documents will be read into the record. After your hearing, any unaddressed items must be submitted within 10 days. This step will help you avoid additional delays in the ABC processing your application.
- Issuance of Hearing Officers Recommendations: After the closing date of Posting and after the ABC Application for a San Juan County alcohol license has been reviewed by the Legal Department, if required, you will be contacted to revise or supplement documents that are still required before you can receive preliminary approval.
- Review of Recommendations by Director for Preliminary Approval: Once the Director has reviewed the ABC Application and the Recommendations, your ABC Application for a San Juan County liquor license will be sent to the local governing body where you propose to operate your establishment.
- Application Forwarded to Local Option District and Public Hearing at Local Option District Level: The local governing body must publish notice of a hearing at the local governing body. Then, they must conduct a public hearing before the local governing body within a time frame of 45 days of receipt of the ABC Application for a San Juan County alcohol permit.
- Decision by Local Option District: After you’ve had your hearing with the local governing body, they have a total of 30 days to send us the signed documents.
- Notice to Applicant of Final Deficiencies and/or Licensing Fee: Your Hearing Officer will reach out to you to notify you if there are any pending documents they need. At this step, you’ll also finalize payment of the Licensing Fee before you are issued the San Juan County liquor license.
- Final Approval by Director: When the ABC Application is completed and payment has been submitted, the Director will review all documents. After the application is approved, the San Juan County liquor license is issued to you, and you’ll receive a packet that includes the following items: your Resident Agent License, Liquor License, copies of the Approved Floor Plan, signed application pages, and Mandatory Posters, with a copy of Rules & Regulations and State Statutes available and accessible on the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) website. The associated deposited fees are non-refundable. This entire process can take anywhere from 120 to 150 days to complete.
Follow these eight steps with the assistance of our liquor license brokers to acquire a liquor license in San Juan County, NM.
- Secure the location: The premises where you will be conducting business must be purchased, leased, or rented.
- Select your liquor license: Decide which type of San Juan County alcohol license your business needs. Then, decide how you will attain the alcohol permit. You can either purchase a liquor license from the New Mexico ABC or from the open market using a liquor license broker, such as Liquor License Auctioneers.
- Open your escrow account: With a third-party company, create an escrow account where all monetary funds associated with the transfer and sale of the San Juan county alcohol license are held.
- Survey the location: Have a contractor come to your business location to conduct a survey of the premises. Our team can complete this step for you.
- Complete your ABC Application: Once the ABC Application is filled out, be sure to submit it to the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC). The NM ABC will review your application. Our experienced liquor license brokers can assist you in completing your ABC Application.
- Post a notice: When the New Mexico Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) approves the application, they will send you a notice of intent to sell alcohol. When you receive the notice, you are instructed to post it at your business for a total of 30 days.
- Submit to investigation: When it’s been 30 days, the New Mexico ABC will conduct a final investigation of your business location to ensure that you’ve met all of the requirements for selling alcohol.
- Receive the liquor license: Once you pass the final inspection, the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) will mail you the official San Juan County liquor license. Upon receiving the alcohol permit, you must post it prominently at your place of business.
Adhering closely to the preceding eight steps meets the standards set by the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) for acquiring a liquor license in San Juan County. Be sure to see if your local municipal government has its own set of regulations and stipulations for securing a liquor license in Aztec, New Mexico. It’s a good idea to be aware of these additional requirements to expedite the process of obtaining an alcohol license in Farmington, NM.
The state of New Mexico has a lot of competition for liquor licenses within each county. The professional expertise offered by our skilled liquor license brokers can help you accelerate the process of procuring a San Juan County liquor license. At Liquor License Auctioneers, we pride ourselves on having an innovative auction platform with ethical prices, honest business practices, and a knowledgeable team to help assist you in acquiring your alcohol permit in San Juan County. See all available San Juan County alcohol licenses on the bidding platform. Place a bid, and buy a liquor license in San Juan County, New Mexico, today.
