Lancaster County Liquor Licenses for Sale

Types of Lancaster County Liquor Licenses

Businesses in Pennsylvania’s Dutch Country should purchase a Lancaster liquor license to sell or serve alcohol to the droves of tourists and locals visiting their establishment. In Southern Pennsylvania, Lancaster County is home to nearly 553,000 people. The largest city, Lancaster, also happens to be the county seat. Many travelers and residents enjoy the Amish attractions like Amish Village and Amish Farm & House. There’s also plenty to do in Lancaster County, like visit the National Toy Train Museum, Dutch Wonderland, and Long’s Park. In the fall, the annual Pennsylvania Rennaisance Faire takes place each year, drawing plenty of people to Lancaster County, PA.

In order to serve alcohol to your clientele, we offer online Lancaster County liquor license auctions for the following permit types:

• Type R: Permits restaurants, bars, and taverns to serve both food and liquor -- beer, wine, and spirits -- for consumption on-premises, as well as unopened liquor “to go” for consumption off-premises in Lancaster County.
• Type E: Permits any eating establishment such as a corner store or a delicatessen to sell and serve beer for consumption on-premises, as well as beer “to go” for consumption off-premises in Lancaster County, PA.
• Type D: Permits distributors to sell beer for off-premises consumption. All beer sales have to be in their original containers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

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

How to Buy a Lancaster County Liquor License

Choose one of these four ways to secure a Lancaster liquor license for your business.

1. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB): Receive an alcohol license in Lancaster County directly from the Bureau of Licensing. All new applicants must apply to the PLCB.
2. Person-to-Person Lancaster County Liquor License Transfer: This type of transfer applies to the owner of the liquor license, not the place of business. The ownership of the Lancaster County alcohol permit changes hands.
3. Place-to-Place Lancaster County Alcohol License Transfer: The owner of a liquor license in Lancaster County can apply to transfer the liquor license to another business location. The owner stays the same.
4. Person-to-Person and Place-to-Place Lancaster County Liquor License Transfer: Both the ownership and the business location are transferred to the applicant. Ownership and place of business changes.

Selecting one of the liquor license transfer options will allow you to use a liquor license broker, like Liquor License Auctioneers, to purchase your Lancaster alcohol license. 

You can always try to obtain a liquor license for Lancaster County through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), but with the limited quota of liquor licenses in Lancaster County, you may be restricted to receiving one from the secondary market through one of the transfers mentioned above. Sometimes, you’ll have to be patient until a seller is willing to sell a liquor license to you in Lancaster, PA.

At Liquor License Auctioneers, we are proud to be the only online auction platform for Lancaster County alcohol licenses. Our years of experience have led to excellent relationships with business entrepreneurs and lawyers in this field. These connections allow us to provide our clients with unique Lancaster liquor licenses exclusively available on our bidding platform. Since other liquor license brokers do not have the ability to sell these same Lancaster alcohol permits, we can maintain fair prices for our liquor licenses in Lancaster County, PA. If you need a specific type of Lancaster County alcohol license, please inquire about receiving one. Our expert liquor license brokers will be happy to help track a Lancaster alcohol license down for you in no time. 

Our experienced team can help assist you in completing the following eight steps to purchase a liquor license in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

1. Secure the location: Confirm whether you’ll be leasing, renting, or purchasing the chosen place of business where you’ll be selling alcohol.
2. Select your liquor license: Decide which Lancaster liquor license suits your business needs best. Select if you’ll receive an alcohol license from the PLCB or from a liquor license broker such as Liquor License Auctioneers.
3. Open your attorney trust account: Use an attorney of your choice to set up an attorney trust account where you’ll place all the funds for the transfer and sale of the Lancaster alcohol license.
4. Survey the location: You’ll need the business premises inspected by a contractor. Our alcohol license brokers can handle this step.
5. Complete your PLCB Application: To apply for a Lancaster liquor license, you must complete all PLCB Application documents and sign and date them. Then, you’ll meet with a PLCB Investigator for an interview where they will review your paperwork.
6. Post a Public Notice of Application: Once the PLCB Application has been approved, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) Bureau of Licensing will send a Public Notice of Application to you in the mail. You are required to post this notice near the entrance of your business for a total of 30 days. In some cases, it could be longer if you haven’t heard back from the PLCB as to whether you’ve been approved to purchase a Lancaster liquor license.
7. Submit to investigation: The PLCB will come to your place of business for an inspection to see if your location can serve or sell liquor legally.
8. Receive the liquor license: If you pass all the previous steps, the PLCB will send you the physical Lancaster liquor license. When you receive the Lancaster alcohol permit in the mail, it must be featured in your business. This allows you to start selling alcohol legally.

While there is no standard amount of time it takes to obtain an alcohol license in Lancaster County, the process can be accelerated by closely following all of the eight steps outlined above. If you’ve met all eight steps, this fulfills the requirements of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) Bureau of Licensing. However, you should see if your local municipal government has additional stipulations that must be met before purchasing a liquor license in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you know what these requirements are ahead of time, you’ll save time and a headache, and you’ll be on your way to selling alcohol to your customers faster. 

As with all PA Counties, there is no shortage of competition for liquor licenses in Lancaster County. We’ve based our mission around honesty, ethical business practices, and fair prices. We continue to provide exceptional service to our customers, like locating specific licenses they need. Take a look at our current offering of Lancaster County liquor licenses for sale, and make an offer today.