Short Term (1 day) Liquor License

Short Term or One-Day Liquor License

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

If your event is open to the public, whether you are charging for alcohol samples or not, you need a short term liquor license.

The License Commission cannot grant Short Term licenses to:

  • any person for more than a total of 30 days per calendar year
  • to any person that has an on premises license application pending before it
  • any premises that has an alcoholic beverages license.

Restrictions

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

Fees

Short Term All Alcohol - $102 per day
Short Term Wine & Malt - $61 per day

Application & Submission

Please complete the below application and submit your accompanying documents to Annie Lesko at alesko@northamptonma.gov so that your application can be placed on an agenda for an upcoming meeting of the License Commission. Alternatively, you are welcome to mail the application or drop the documents off at City Hall, 210 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060, Attn: License Commission. 

General Laws

Mass General Law Chap. 138 §41: Delivery of alcoholic beverages as prima facie evidence of sale.

Section 41. The delivery of alcoholic beverages in or from a building, booth, stand or other place, except a private dwelling house, or in or from a private dwelling house if any part thereof or its dependencies is used as an inn, eating house or shop of any kind, or other place of common resort, such delivery in either case being to a person not a resident therein, shall be prima facie evidence that such delivery is a sale.

If you are in doubt as to whether your event needs a short term liquor license to operate, please call the License Commission office at 413-587-1212.