ABC Permit

An Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) permit is required for alcohol sales. In the City of Durham, ABC permit applications are reviewed by the Police Department, Fire Department, City-County Planning, and City-County Inspections. There is no fee for this review and processing time typically takes one week.

Note: A Beer and Wine License must also be obtained for property located within the City of Durham. The City of Durham application for a Beer and Wine license application information can be found on the Beer & Wine page of the City of Durham Finance department. 

Process

Applicants will need to provide the Local Government Opinion Form and the Inspection / Zoning Compliance form and complete Section A. This can be provided to Officer Wilkinson either in person or via email. Once these forms are provided, the Police department will route the forms to Planning and Inspections for review and will provide instructions to the applicant on how to schedule the Fire inspection. After these approvals are received, Police will conduct a background check and sign the forms, at which point the applicant can return the materials to the ABC Commission with the other required documents and fees.

An ABC Permit application can be obtained on the NC ABC Commission website.

How to request local government review

To initiate the City’s review of the Inspection & Zoning Compliance Form—which is a required element of the ABC permit application—please contact the Durham Police Department contact listed below. The designated officer will initiate the review process for all other required departments.

Officer Andrew Wilkinson
[email protected]
602 East Main Street
Durham, NC 27701
919-560-4322 Ext. 29173