A Short Term Liquor License is a temporary license issued for the service of alcohol or beer and wine.

Only Non-Profit Organizations are eligible to apply for Short Term All Alcohol License.

The License Commission typically has 2 requirements for issuance of a Short Term Liquor License.

1) TIPS or ServSafe trained servers
2) Liquor Liability Insurance for the event with a per occurrence amount of no less than $250,000

Any alcohol for the event(s) must be purchased with a distributor licensed by the State. No alcohol can be stored on the premise after the event and any excess alcohol must be returned to the distributor.

The License Commission has the authority to place restrictions on the License to ensure control of the alcohol/beer & wine being served and public safety.

FEES (as of 1/1/06)
Short Term All Alcohol $100.00 per day
Short Term Wine & Malt $60.00 per day

A copy of the completed application can be emailed to the License Commission Clerk at mmidura@northamptonma.gov.

THE LICENSING PROCESS
Can a charity sell alcoholic beverages other than by auction as a fundraiser ?

A. Charity Wine Pouring License.

Yes, a charity may sell wine only, other than by auction, as a fundraiser only if the charity applies for and receives the proper license from the local licensing authority with the prior approval of the ABCC. Since 1997, certain eligible charities could obtain a license that would allow them to sell wine for consumption on the premises where it was sold (a so-called "pouring" license, just like the licenses that permit restaurants, hotels, clubs, taverns and nightclubs to sell wine on their premises.)


To obtain such a charity wine pouring license ("CWPL"), the charity must be "organized under chapter 180 of the General Laws and registered with the public charities division of the office of the attorney general." A CWPL must be held only at the location described on the CWPL, but may be licensed to be held at "premises which are either the principal place of business or headquarters of the applicant and which are legally zoned to allow such sales or which are the premises of a licensee under section 12 of chapter 138 of the General Laws."
When issued, the law imposes a number of restrictions and controls on the CWPL, one of which requires all wine sold under a CWPL to be donated to the charity without charge and all proceeds from the sales to be used for the charity's charitable purposes. The law also permits wine donated to be "dispensed by the employees or agents of the donors of the wine, without compensation for the dispensing services provided."


B. Charity Partner Wine Pouring License

Yes, a charity may also sell wine only as a fundraiser in partnership with the holder of an existing pouring license under section 12 of chapter 138 of the General Laws only if the charity and the existing section 12 license holder jointly apply for and receive the proper license from the local licensing authority with the prior approval of the ABCC.

To obtain such a charity partner wine pouring license ("CPWPL"), the charity must be "organized under chapter 180 of the General Laws and registered with the public charities division of the office of the attorney general." A CPWPL must be held only at the location described on the CPWPL, and must be held at only "the premises which are the premises of the joint applicant which is a licensee under said section 12 of said chapter 138.


When issued, the law imposes a number of restrictions and controls on the CPWPL, one of which requires all wine sold under a CPWPL to be donated to the charity without charge. Another restriction requires that no CPWPL "shall be for a duration of more than ten consecutive calendar days and no holder of any such temporary license shall be granted such temporary licenses permitting such sales on an aggregate of more than 20 days in any calendar year." The law also permits wine donated to be "dispensed by the employees or agents of the donors of the wine, without compensation for the dispensing services provided."


In contrast to the CWPL however, not "all proceeds from the sales" must be used for the charity's charitable purposes; rather, with a CPWPL, only "[a] majority of the proceeds from such sales shall be used for the nonprofit charitable corporation holder's charitable purposes. Thus, the existing section 12 license holder may also benefit to a limited degree from its partnership with the charity as a fundraiser.

• Charity Wine Pouring Checklist