Quick Info

Extended trading hours are governed by the Municipality and not by the Liquor Authority. Holders of a provincial on- or off-consumption liquor licence may apply to the local Municipality for extended trading hours. In the case of on-consumption premises, application can be made for extended hours from Mondays to Saturdays. No extended hours are currently approved for Sundays in respect of on-consumption liquor licences. Should the application be successful, hours may be extended until 04h00. In the case of off-consumption premises, applications can be made for extended hours from Mondays to Saturdays and Sundays. Should these applications be successful, the following hours may be granted: Mondays to Saturdays 09h00 to 20h00 Sundays 09h00 to 18h00

If you meet the following criteria, you are able to apply for a liquor licence:
Provincial and National applications
1.The premises is correctly zoned.
2.The Applicant and/or its directors/members are not be disqualified in terms of Section 35 of the Liquor Act. (see Disqualification of Applicants)
3.The Applicant must have a right to occupy the premises.
4.The owner/landlord consents to liquor being sold from its premises.
5.The premises and location of the premises are suitable for the intended purpose.

Disqualification of Applicants
The following persons are disqualified from holding liquor licences:
•Anyone who has, within 5 years prior to the lodgement of the application, been sentenced to imprisonment without the option to pay a fine.
•Anyone who has, within 5 years prior to the lodgement of the application, been declared unfit to hold a registration by the National Liquor Authority or licence by any Provincial Liquor Authority.
•Anyone who is a minor upon the date of consideration of the application.
•Anyone who was the holder of a licence which was cancelled in terms of the provisions of the Liquor Act, or an Act regulating liquor licences in any province, within a period of 12 months prior to the lodgement of the application.
•Anyone who is the spouse or life partner of a person described in 1 - 4 above.
•Anyone, who is mentally ill as defined in the Mental Health Care Act, Act 17 of 2002.

Any business/person who wants to trade (including marketing and selling) in liquor, must have a liquor licence. In other words, if an invoice is issued for liquor products and an income is generated as a result of the sale of liquor products, a liquor licence or National Registration must be applied for.

Provincial applications:
Section 36 - new liquor licences may take approximately 6 months, and trading may be interrupted.
With other minor applications such as:
o Section 65 - transfer of liquor licences
o Section 66(2) - removal applications
o Section53(1)(a) - alteration applications
o Section 53(1)(b) - change of nature of licensed premises
o Section 51 - change of financial interest:
o Section 49(6) - amendment of licence conditions
o Section 48(1) - temporary licences
o Section 48(4) - events licences

It can take some time and depends largely on outstanding administration at liquor authority, but generally applications submitted without any outstanding documents are dealt with fairly expeditiously.
Kindly note that the above time periods are merely estimates and are subject to change and dependent on various factors.

Provided that all requirements are met when submitting the application, new liquor licence registrations take between 90 to 180 days to complete.

Provincial licences: All provincial liquor licences must be renewed annually before 31 December. Licences can be renewed with penalties, calculated at 50 % per month until the end of March of the following year. If the licence is not renewed and/or penalties are not paid in the event that it is paid after 31 December, the licence will lapse. National registrations: All national registrations must be renewed every 12 calendar months on the anniversary date of the registration certificate (Form NLA9). Should the licence not be renewed by such date, it can still be renewed by way of payment penalties of 25 % per months up until four months after the registration date, where after the NLA have the right to cancel the licence.

A liquor licence is required for special events. When applying for this type of liquor licence, the applicant needs to be an organiser of the event. The event must be proved by way of advertising or promotional material for the full duration of the event. Whether the event entails on- or off-premises consumption, the application must include the required documentation and must be lodged at least 39 days before the event starts for the licence to be granted for the duration of the event. R385 is payable to the liquor authority for the application of the event licence. Thereafter, R220 is required per day upon approval.

A temporary licence can be applied for by using an existing valid liquor licence. One can use a specific licence for a maximum of 30 days per year for purposes of temporary licence applications. An application can be made for 14 days at a time. An application fee of R385 is payable to the liquor authority. Thereafter, R385 is required per day upon approval. Holders of off- or on-consumption liquor licences can apply for temporary licences on condition that the nature of the temporary licence is in line with the type of licence used for purposes of the application, in other words, one can only use an on-consumption licence for on-consumption purposes and vice versa. Holders of micro-manufacturing liquor licences however cannot apply for temporary liquor licences. Temporary liquor licences are not granted for premises where there is a pending new licence application in terms of Section 36, nor in cases where there is a pending removal application in terms of Section 66(2).