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AZ.gov Arizona's Official Website Department of Liquor Licenses and Control

About DLLC

Our Mission

To protect public safety and support economic growth through the responsible sale and consumption of liquor, and to efficiently license qualified applicants.

The Department

The Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC), authorized by Arizona Revised Statutes Title 4, employs law enforcement, licensing, auditing, education, publicity, and communication to meet our mission-critical objectives. Our dedicated civilian and sworn law enforcement staff along with community and statewide stakeholders-partners, carry out much of this work.

DLLC is responsible for reviewing state liquor applications and issuing more than 250 new and 600 renewal licenses every month. In Arizona, 21 different license types provide for the legal production, sale and/or service of liquor at locations which include airplanes, trains, watercraft, restaurants, liquor stores and other retailers, hotels, bars, distillers, distributors, and special events. The department is organized in two divisions:

  • Licensing & Administration Division
  • Investigation Division

Licensing and Administration Division

The Administration Division provides daily departmental operations including budget and finance, liquor license auditing and personnel.

Audit Unit

The Audit Unit reviews liquor licensed establishments including hotel/motel with restaurant (series 11) and restaurant (series 12) to ensure they maintain a 40:60 food-to-liquor sales ratio required by Title 4.

Budget and Finance Unit

The Budget and Finance Unit distributes fees collected by DLLC to the state's General Fund and other state agencies including The Departments of Health Services, Public Safety and Economic Security.

Licensing Section

The Licensing Section issues, transfers, renew and audits the various types of licenses. These procedures involve meeting with the applicants and assisting them with the application forms, answering questions about the licensing process, fees, notarization, and audits.

Compliance Unit

The Compliance Unit governs the dispute-resolution process to offer an alternative, when appropriate, to the more costly and time-consuming formal hearing process. The mandate of the Compliance Officer is to arbitrate cases and attempt a fair resolution.

Investigations Division

The Investigations Division ensures compliance with Arizona liquor laws (A.R.S. Title 4) by providing educational courses on fake IDs and liquor law to licensees, conducting routine liquor inspections at licensed locations, responding to complaints received by the public, and training law enforcement agencies statewide on the Covert Underage Buyer (CUB) program and other liquor-related law enforcement.

Please feel free to contact us by phone, email or mail with any concerns not sufficiently addressed by our website. In our effort to constantly improve, we appreciate any feedback, constructively offered about our staff, our services, or processes.

Arizona Liquor Board

History of Liquor In Arizona

Strategic Plans

Annual Budget



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