Apply for a liquor licence

You need a liquor licence or be registered to sell or supply alcohol in the Northern Territory (NT).

Who can apply

You can apply as an individual, partnership or company. You must be able to prove you are a 'fit and proper' person to be a licensee. Read more about who can apply to be an approved licensee.

All new licence applications can be made online. If you are interested in wholesale, find out how to register as a wholesaler of liquor.

How long it takes

The time your application takes can depend on its type and complexity.

For a fee, your application can be fast tracked within 30 business days of lodgement. This does not guarantee it will be approved or approved within 30 business days, but it have a shorter processing time.

If you're applying for a special event licence, it will usually be processed within 4 weeks.

For other types of liquor licences, it can take 4 months to receive a decision on your application. This depends on the time it takes at each below stage. Simpler applications will be processed quicker:

assessment - up to 4 weeks - can take longer if you haven't attached all the details needed.
advertising and objection - up to 8 weeks - time will be reduced if there are no objections to the application.
Liquor Commission determination - at least 4 weeks - the commission is an independent decision-maker for liquor licence applications.

What you need

Get your required documents together and work out which liquor licence type you need.

You will need to identify at least one nominee. Your nominee is responsible for the day-to-day management of the licensed premises. It's good to have more than one nominee, in case they get sick or change jobs.

Before someone can become a nominee, they must complete a responsible service of alcohol course and understand how to promote alcohol responsibly.

Find out more about the alcohol minimum floor price on the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade website.

Fees

Your application fee depends on the licence type.

Description	Revenue units	Fee
Special and major events	17	$22
Other liquor licences	166	$224
Variation/substitution/transfer/material alteration	83	$112
Fast track application	415	$560

Pay your application fee when you apply online or at a Territory Business Centre after you submit.

Liquor licence holders must also pay an annual fee based on the risk classification of their licence. Find out how much you might need to pay using the calculator.

How to apply

Apply online

Estimated completion time is 30 to 40 minutes.

All steps must be completed in one go. You can't save your application and complete it later. Make sure you have all of the documents you need before you start.

Other ways to apply

If you can't apply online, submit an application using the form below.

Step 1. Fill in the relevant form

Step 2. Check you have the right authorities and attachments

Make sure you have attached all of your supporting documents and chosen the right authority types.

Step 3. Submit

Submit your form with all supporting documents and pay the fee at your nearest Territory Business Centre.

You can also email it and a receipt of the fee to liquorlicensing.ditt@nt.gov.au.

More information

If you have any questions, contact Licensing NT.

For more information, you can:

read the Liquor Act 2019 and Liquor Regulations 2019
consult with your local liquor and hospitality peak industry bodies
consult with business and legal professional industry bodies.

Give feedback about this page.

Share this page: