Transfer your liquor licence
Transfer your licence or permit to another person or entity.
On this page
Apply at least 8 weeks before you want the change to take effect.
You must not supply alcohol until:
- we grant your transfer
- you have the legal right to occupy the venue.
Significant penalties apply if you trade without a licence or do not comply with your licence conditions.
You can apply to transfer a liquor licence or permit into your name. This usually happens if you:
- buy a business that already has a licence or permit
- take over a licensed venue.
The person or entity taking over the licence or permit normally applies for the transfer.
It may be better to have your name endorsed on the licence instead of transferring it if you are an:
- owner (and you are intending to find a new tenant to run the business)
- mortgagee
- liquidator or administrator.
Application fee
You need to pay a non-refundable application fee when you apply to transfer a licence or permit.
The fee is $252.20.
Read about liquor licence annual renewal fees.
Before you apply
Complete these steps before you start your application.
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- 1Check who can apply
Only an authorised person can apply to transfer the licence or permit. This depends on who is applying.
If you are applying as:
- an individual, you must apply for the transfer yourself (on the form this is called a ’natural person')
- a company, a current director or someone the board has officially authorised to sign documents must apply
- an incorporated association (for example, a club), an executive committee member must apply
- a partnership, all partners must sign a joint application (partnerships can only be made up of individuals). Do not apply under your personal name unless you personally hold the legal right to occupy the venue or will in the near future.
Owner in possession of the venue
If the current licensee or permit holder is no longer in possession of the venue (for example, if they have been evicted or their lease expired), the owner or mortgagee can apply to transfer the licence.
You must be able to prove that you:
- own the venue (for example, a property title or recent rates notice under their name)
- are in possession of the venue, not the licensee (for example, an eviction notice or lease agreement showing when the lease expired).
- 2Check your right to occupy date
In the form, you must tell us the date you gained the legal right to occupy the premises. For example, when you signed the lease or settled the property sale.
You can still apply if this hasn’t happened yet.
In that case, tell us the date when you expect to sign the lease or settle the property sale.
If we grant your transfer before settlement, you must not start supplying alcohol until you have the legal right to occupy the venue.
Read more under after you apply.
- 3Complete or book training
Before you apply, as the applicant you must complete or be enrolled in:
- new entrant training
- Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training. Before you start trading, any staff who serve alcohol must have a valid RSA certificate.
Find a list of approved training providers.
- 4Get your information ready
Have these details and documents ready:
- business name
- proof of required training – either a certificate of completion or booking confirmation
- ASIC current and historical information extract (if applying as a company). The extract must be dated within the past 90 days. To buy one, search organisations and business names in the ASIC register. Make sure you have the correct document. We cannot process your application without it.
- list of individuals involved – unless you are applying as an individual, you need to provide the name, date of birth and email address for all directors (if applying as a company), executive committee members (if applying as an incorporated association) or partners (if applying as a partnership).
- credit card details – to pay the non-refundable application fee (Visa or Mastercard).
Apply now
Complete the application form on the Liquor Portal.
It takes about 45 minutes to complete.
After you apply
We will email to acknowledge your application, including a receipt for your application fee.
We then review your application and email if we need more information. This may take a few weeks.
We send your application to Victoria Police. They have a month to object to the transfer if they have concerns. Victoria Police may contact you about your application.
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- Declare the right to occupy premises (if needed)
If you did not have the right to occupy premises when you applied, and you have it now, you need to tell us using one of these 2 forms.
If we have not yet granted your transfer, use the Declaration of right to occupy the premises form:
Declaration – right to occupy PDF 151.75 KB (opens in a new window)
If we have already granted your transfer, use the Notice of right to occupy the premises form:
Notice of right to occupy the premises PDF 167.52 KB (opens in a new window)
In both situations, you must tell us within 24 hours of settling the lease agreement or property sale.
Email the relevant form to contact@liquor.vic.gov.au.
- Declare relevant relationships (licence with demerit point)
If the licence you are transferring has a demerit point, you need to declare relevant relationships.
This helps us assess if the current and new licensees have a relationship.
To do this:
- Complete the Declaration of relevant relationships form:
Declaration of relevant relationships PDF 232.74 KB (opens in a new window)
- Email the form to contact@liquor.vic.gov.au. Refer to your application number in the email.
When you get your decision
It can take about 5 to 7 weeks to get your decision.
It may take longer if Victoria Police objected to the transfer or we needed to ask for more information.
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- If we grant the transfer
We email to advise that we are granting the transfer. It will be either a:
- full grant, if you’ve taken over the business already
- transfer pending your right to occupy the venue. This is when the application is granted but the licence does not transfer to you because you haven’t finalised the sale or lease of the venue. Once the sale is settled or the lease is in your name, notify us and we can do the full grant. The email tells you how to sign up to our Liquor Portal.
It’s important that you register. It’s where you can:
- access your annual renewal notice
- download a copy of your permit and red line plan
- manage your notifications
- update contact details and other actions. Find out how to manage your licence.
Stay compliant
Be aware of your obligations under the law and as a licensee or permit holder.
There are serious penalties if you do not comply.
Find out how to stay compliant.
- If we refuse the transfer
If we do not grant the transfer, you can appeal the decision.
- If you want to appeal the decision
You can appeal the:
- decision to grant or refuse the transfer
- details of the licence or permit, for example, the licence conditions or red line plan.
When to appeal
You must appeal within 28 days of receiving the decision.
How to appeal
- Complete the internal review application form. It has details on the reasons for appeals we can accept.
Internal review application PDF 1.53 MB (opens in a new window)
- Send the form to us either by:
- Email: secretariat@liquor.vic.gov.au
- Mail: Liquor Control Victoria GPO Box 4356 MELBOURNE VIC 3001
- We will email you with next steps. This may take a few weeks.
Updated 15 December 2025
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