Santa Fe County Liquor Licenses for Sale

Types of Santa Fe County Liquor Licenses

Business proprietors seeking to sell alcoholic beverages must procure an alcohol license in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Located in the northern central part of New Mexico, Santa Fe is the state’s third most populated county, with nearly 150,000 residents. The county seat is Santa Fe, which is not only the largest city but also the state capital. Many locals and visitors enjoy spending time at Santa Fe County attractions, such as the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe Botanical Garden, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe Opera, New Mexico Museum of Art, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, and Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. Every year, the Santa Fe County Fair kicks off in Santa Fe, NM, with a rodeo, livestock shows, music, arts and crafts, and food at the Santa Fe County fairgrounds.

In order to sell alcohol to customers at your Santa Fe County establishment, we offer online Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe County, New Mexico.
• RET: Permits all liquor sales -- beer, wine, and spirits -- for off-premises consumption in Santa Fe County, NM.

Each New Mexico liquor license grants the holder the right to sell in a specific New Mexico county, such as Santa Fe. Liquor licenses are not transferable between counties. They are, however, transferable between owners, which means you can legally buy or sell any Santa Fe County ABC liquor license.

How to Buy a Santa Fe County Liquor License

Buyers have two ways to attain a liquor license in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. The first way is to obtain an alcohol permit from the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC). The other option is to purchase a Santa Fe County liquor license from a liquor license broker, on the secondary market, like Liquor License Auctioneers.

Since there is a cap on the number of alcohol licenses in Santa Fe County, sometimes the only way to secure a liquor license is through the open market. Most often, a buyer will have to wait for a seller to sell a liquor license to them in Santa Fe County, NM.

This is our area of expertise. We’ve been in this industry for many years, and we’ve developed a close network of lawyers and business owners. These connections allow us to be able to provide exclusive Santa Fe County liquor licenses on our auction platform. These alcohol licenses are only available on our bidding platform, meaning that no other alcohol permit brokerage can offer these same Santa Fe liquor licenses for sale. This gives us the ability to offer these alcohol licenses in Santa Fe at fair prices. If you need a specific type of Santa Fe County liquor license and don’t see it available on our auction site, please reach out to our team, and we’ll track the specific alcohol permit down for you through our network of connections.

How to Apply for a Liquor License in Santa Fe County, New Mexico: 

1. Preliminary Review of Application: When the NM ABC has reviewed your ABC Application for a Santa Fe alcohol license, if any forms or documents are missing, you’ll be sent a Notice of Deficiencies. This notice will tell you what documents are still missing and must be sent in to complete your ABC Application. Appointed Representative - If the applicant for a Santa Fe County liquor license submitted authorization with the ABC Application that they are being represented by a CPA, attorney, or broker, then your Representative will be contacted on your behalf at this time. 
2. Posting Request Sent to Department of Public Safety (DPS): This second step is to be completed by the Special Investigations Unit. Your Hearing Officer will send a request, and the assigned Agent will reach out to you, letting you know to post the Certificate at your business establishment. You must post the Certificate for 20 consecutive days prior to preliminary approval. 
3. Notice of Preliminary Hearing: As mandated by statute, the preliminary hearing should take place within 30 days of receipt of your ABC Application for a Santa Fe County liquor license. You will then be served a Notice that includes the date and time of your preliminary hearing. At this time, you’ll also be told the name of the Hearing Officer assigned to your ABC Application. You can let your Hearing Officer know if you’d like to do the preliminary hearing in person or by phone.
4. Notice of Publication: The Applicant of the Santa Fe County alcohol license must publish notice of the preliminary hearing in a local newspaper with general circulation at least 72 hours in advance of the hearing. The notice allows the public to send in letters of support or objection to the NM ABC Application. Each of the letters will then be sent to the Local Option District. If you do not publish notice of the preliminary hearing and provide proof of publication within 48 hours of the hearing date to your Hearing Officer, you risk the preliminary hearing being canceled or rescheduled. The Santa Fe County alcohol permit Applicant must publish the Notice of the preliminary hearing in the legal section for one whole day, and written instructions are included.
5. Notice of Deficiencies: This Notice encompasses all of the items that must either be included or corrected in order to submit your ABC Application. The items listed in the Notice of Deficient Documents should be provided before the preliminary hearing, if possible, and no later than at the final review. Note: If the ABC Application is not completed or submitted in the time frame needed, or the supplemental information is not sent in the time period, the New Mexico ABC Application for a Santa Fe alcohol license will be delayed or canceled. 
6. At Preliminary Hearing: The public hearing, or preliminary hearing, will take place where both the ABC Application and supporting documents will be read into the record. After the preliminary hearing, you have 10 days to submit any remaining items. Abiding by this deadline will help you avoid delays in the New Mexico Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) processing your ABC Application. 
7. Issuance of Hearing Officers Recommendations: After the closing date of Posting and after the ABC Application for a Santa Fe County alcohol license has been reviewed by the Legal Department, if required, you will be contacted to correct or send in any documentation that is still needed before you can receive preliminary approval. 
8. Review of Recommendations by Director for Preliminary Approval: Once the Director has reviewed the ABC Application for a liquor license in Santa Fe County, as well as the Recommendations, your application will be forwarded to the local governing body in which you propose to run your business.
9. Application Forwarded to Local Option District and Public Hearing at Local Option District Level: At this time, the local governing body must publish a notice of the hearing at the local governing body and then conduct a public hearing before the local governing body within 45 days of receipt of the Santa Fe County alcohol license ABC Application.
10. Decision by Local Option District: When the hearing takes place with the local governing body, they will have a total of 30 days to provide us with all of the signed documentation. 
11. Notice to Applicant of Final Deficiencies and/or Licensing Fee: At this time, your Hearing Officer will contact you and let you know if there are any pending documents that they still need. Prior to being issued the Santa Fe County liquor license, you will need to finalize your payment of the Licensing Fee. 
12. Final Approval by Director: The Director will review all of the documents that have been submitted along with the ABC Application once the payment has been received. When the ABC Application for a Santa Fe County alcohol license has been approved, you’ll receive the official alcohol permit along with a packet that includes: your Liquor License, Resident Agent License, copies of the Approved Floor Plan, and, if applicable, signed application pages, and Mandatory Posters, with a copy of Rules & Regulations and State Statues available and accessible on the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) website. The associated fees that have been deposited are non-refundable. All 12 steps of the New Mexico ABC Application typically can be completed in 120 to 150 days. 

To secure a Santa Fe County liquor license, follow these eight steps with the help of our expert alcohol license brokers.

1. Secure the location: Decide where you want to sell or serve alcohol.  The business location must be leased, rented, or purchased.
2. Select your liquor license: Choose the type of Santa Fe County alcohol license you need for your business. Determine how you will obtain an alcohol permit - either from the New Mexico Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) or through the secondary market using a liquor license broker, like Liquor License Auctioneers. 
3. Open your escrow account: Create an escrow account where all monetary transactions will be held until the closing of the sale of the Santa Fe County liquor license. Open the escrow account with a third-party company. 
4. Survey the location: Hire a contractor to inspect your business premises. Liquor License Auctioneers may complete this step.
5. Complete your ABC Application: When the ABC Application for a Santa Fe County liquor license is filled out, submit it to the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) to review. Our liquor license brokers can help you complete the ABC Application. 
6. Post a notice: Once the New Mexico Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) approves your ABC Application for a Santa Fe County alcohol license, they will send you a notice of intent to sell liquor. This notice must be posted for 30 days at your business location.
7. Submit to investigation: The New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department ABC Division will conduct a final inspection of your premises to be sure everything is up to code to sell alcohol.
8. Receive the liquor license: When all of the previous seven steps have been completed, you’ll receive the official Santa Fe County liquor license. You must properly display the alcohol license at your place of business.

Following the eight steps above will meet the requirements for attaining an alcohol license in Santa Fe County as set by the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC). Always see if your local municipal government has any additional regulations or stipulations that must be met to obtain a liquor license in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Many types of businesses are competing for liquor licenses in Santa Fe County. Liquor License Auctioneers understands how important it is for business owners to acquire a Santa Fe County alcohol permit if they want to sell liquor at their establishment. With our wealth of knowledge, ethical business model, fair and honest pricing, and exceptional customer service, you’ll see why you should trust Liquor License Auctioneers to help you secure a Santa Fe alcohol license in a timely manner. Browse our online auction platform to see all available alcohol licenses, and make a bid to purchase a liquor license in Santa Fe County now.