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Cancel a liquor licence

End your liquor licence or permit or get released from its obligations.

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If you no longer need a liquor licence or permit, you should cancel it immediately.

This releases you from its conditions, such as being legally responsible for alcohol-related harm.

If you hold the licence or permit, you can:

If you are the owner or mortgagee, you can cancel the licence or permit if you are in possession of the venue.

You cannot pause a licence or permit.

Surrender a licence

Only the current licensee or permit holder can apply to surrender a licence or permit.

Discuss this with your landlord. They may prefer you to release yourself from its obligations instead. For example, they may want to keep the licence active until they can transfer it to a new tenant.

There is no fee to surrender a licence.

To apply:

  1. Complete the application form. You need a signed letter from your landlord agreeing to the surrender. If you cannot get this, in the form tell us the reason you cannot get it and provide the landlord’s phone number and email. We will follow up.

Surrender a liquor licence or permit PDF 207.06 KB (opens in a new window)

  1. Email both documents to contact@liquor.vic.gov.au.
  2. We email to acknowledge your application. We usually contact anyone who may be affected by the surrender, giving them 14 days to object. If they do, we will consider their objection when deciding your application.

It takes a few weeks for us to decide on your application. Until then, you must continue to comply with your licence conditions.

Cancel a licence

Only an owner or mortgagee (landlord) of the venue can apply to cancel a licence or permit.

You must be in possession of the venue. You need to prove this in your application, for example with an expired lease agreement or eviction notice.

You’ll also need proof you are the owner or mortgagee (for example, with a land title or recent council rates notice).

There is no fee to cancel a licence.

To apply:

  1. Complete the application form:

Cancel a licence or permit – owner or mortgagee PDF 393.5 KB (opens in a new window)

  1. Email your documents to contact@liquor.vic.gov.au.
  2. We email to acknowledge your application. We then contact the current licensee to confirm they no longer need the licence. We give them 14 days to object. We will consider their response when deciding on your application.

It takes a few weeks for us to decide on your application. Until then, you must continue to comply with your licence conditions.

Release from obligations

Only the current licence or permit holder can ask to be released from their licensee obligations.

You might want to do this if you are a tenant moving out and you no longer want to be legally responsible for the licence or pay renewal fees.

We can only release you once you’ve moved out of the venue.

There is no fee for this change.

To request to be released from your obligations:

  1. Create a letter that includes:

Who signs the letter depends on the licensee. If you are:

  1. Send the letter to contact@liquor.vic.gov.au. We email to acknowledge your application.

In a few weeks we will email to confirm that we have released you from your obligations. Until then, you must continue to comply with your licence conditions.

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Updated 22 September 2025

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