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Clerk's Office

Alcohol License Checklist

Before You Apply

Before you come in to apply, obtain these and bring them with you:

Step One: License Application

Things we will need

  • Completed application form. If you skip questions on the form, you will need to complete it in our office.
  • Liquor/Beer Agent application form (they must be a WI resident)
  • Photocopy of Liquor/Beer Agent’s photo ID
  • Proof the Liquor/Beer Agent took alcohol server training within the last two years
  • Background Investigation forms for owners who aren’t the Liquor/Beer Agent
  • Photocopy of photo ID for each owner
  • Copy of your lease – we’re looking for the tenant to be the same as the business name
  • Floor Plan (this can be a free hand drawing up to an architect’s plan view)
  • Sample menu
  • Business plan

Notes

Your answer to question 11 will be printed on your license as your "licensed premises."

Class B applicants must estimate percentage of gross sales from alcohol and from food.

Submittal deadlines apply to everyone.

Incomplete applications will not be processed. 

Step Two: After You File the Application

Orange Sign

  • The City Clerk’s Office will give you an orange sign to post onsite. This notifies the public of your application and information session.
    • Write the date of your information session in the appropriate space before you post it.
    • The orange sign needs to be posted within three days of applying for your license.

Information Session

  • Hold an information session at least one week before the ALRC public hearing.
  • Hold the information session on site, if possible. 
  • Allow enough time for attendees to review your business plan and ask questions.
  • Inform the Alderperson for your business location of the time and place of your information session. 

Contacts to Make Before ALRC

Failure to make these contacts before the ALRC meeting will delay your application.

  • You must contact the Police Captain.
  • You must contact the Neighborhood Association.
  • You must contact the Alderperson. 
  • You must contact the Deputy Clerk with the dates you made the contacts above.

Notice to Public

  • The City Clerk’s Office publishes a legal notice.
  • The City Clerk’s Office sends postcards to residents and property owners within 300 feet of the proposed establishment.  

Step Three: Alcohol License Review Committee Meeting

You may wish to have an interpreter at the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC) meeting.  If you would like an interpreter, notify the Clerk’s Office by the Friday before the meeting takes place. You can indicate that you want an interpreter on page one of your application.

When you come to the ALRC meeting, you will need to register that you are available to speak. Someone from the Clerk's Office will be there to answer questions.

  • At the beginning of the meeting the committee will vote on a consent agenda. These are items that are expected to pass without closer examination or questions. If your application is not included on the consent agenda, you must stay to answer questions. The committee usually takes up items requiring an interpreter at the beginning of the meeting.
  • If your application is on the consent agenda, you are free to leave once the committee adopts the consent agenda.
  • If you don't know whether your application is on the consent agenda, check with the City Clerk's Office employee at the meeting.
  • Even if you think your item is guaranteed to pass the ALRC, it is important to have someone at the meeting. If a member of the committee has questions to ask about your application and no one is there to answer, your application will be delayed until the next ALRC meeting.

The Liquor/Beer Agent should be at the ALRC public hearing.  Another representative of your company may attend the meeting if the Liquor/Beer Agent cannot attend. The ALRC will not act on your application if no one is present to answer questions.

If the ALRC recommends approval of your license, your application moves on to the Common Council for final approval.

Getting Your License Early

If you need your license as quickly as possible, you may be able to get a Provisional License.

  • The ALRC must approve your application.
  • Fire, Health, Building Inspection, and Zoning must sign off on your application.
  • You will need to pay for your annual license.
  • The Provisional License costs an additional $15.00.

Step Four: Common Council Approval

Common Council granting your license is not official until the Mayor signs the proceedings.

Before your license can be issued, you must:

  • Call, schedule and pass City Inspections
    • Health Department
    • Fire Department
    • Building Inspection Department
    • Zoning Department

Step Five: After Inspections are Complete

  • Pay the pro-rated fees for your license.

Once You Have Your License

Renewals

Renewal applications are mailed on March 1. They are due April 15 every year, regardless of when the license was initially obtained. Establishments filing renewal paperwork after April 15 must pay a $250 late filing fee.

Changes to Your Premises

Your licensed premises cannot be expanded or changed without Common Council approval. A Change of Licensed Premises application is required for any remodeling project, expansion of the area where you will be serving or storing alcohol, or change in the conditions on your license. Contact the Clerk’s Office for more information.

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Licenses & Permits