What Signage a TABC Application and an Operating Permit Require

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TABC signage comes in two stages. Before issuance, an applicant for an on-premise license or permit at a location not licensed for on-premises drinking in the previous two years posts an outdoor 60-day sign announcing the application. After issuance, every licensed location displays its license or permit, retailers display a TABC complaint sign, and, depending on the permit, the business adds a pregnancy warning at each restroom, a consumption-prohibited sign, or a human trafficking notice.

Before the permit: the 60-day sign

Section 11.391 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, and Section 61.381 for licenses, require an applicant for a location not previously licensed for on-premises consumption to post an outdoor sign at least 60 days before the permit or license issues. The statute sets the content and size:

  • that alcoholic beverages are intended to be served on the premises;
  • the type of license or permit, and the applicant’s name and business address;
  • at least 24 by 36 inches, with lettering at least two inches tall; and
  • in English and another language if TABC’s administrator requires it because a substantial number of nearby residents speak another language.

TABC’s sign requirements page applies the rule to applicants for a Brewer’s License (BW), Distiller’s and Rectifier’s Permit (D), Mixed Beverage Permit (MB), Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Permit (BG), Retail Dealer’s On-Premise License (BE), and the private club permits (N, NB, NE), when the location was not licensed or permitted for on-premises consumption in the two years before TABC’s first review of the application. Wineries, distributors, wholesalers, package stores, and other off-premise retailers do not post it.

Three practical points come from TABC’s instructions for the sign:

  • the sign may go up, and the 60 days may begin to run, before the application is submitted;
  • the license or permit type must be written out in full, since abbreviations such as “MB” delay processing; and
  • a photo of the posted sign is uploaded to the Sixty-Day Sign Requirement button on the AIMS dashboard.

TABC’s Public Inquiry System shows whether an address held an on-premise license in the past two years, which answers whether the sign is needed.

After the permit: signs the business displays

Sign Who displays it Where Source
License or permit every licensed or permitted location a publicly visible place Sections 11.04, 61.01
Complaint sign holders that sell or serve to consumers near the door or the register Section 5.53(d); TABC Rule 31.4
Health risks (pregnancy) warning holders authorized to sell for on-premises consumption on the door of each restroom, at a level visible to people leaving Sections 11.042, 61.111; TABC Rule 31.4
Consumption prohibited wine and malt beverage off-premise permits (BQ) and retail dealer's off-premise licenses (BF) prominently, in public view Sections 26.05, 71.10, 101.72
Human trafficking notice BG, BQ, MB, private club, BE, and BF holders without a Food and Beverage Certificate conspicuously, visible to the public and employees Section 104.07

TABC publishes printable versions of each sign on the same page, along with an optional “Under 21” identification sign.

The human trafficking notice has fixed content in Section 104.07: an English and Spanish warning that obtaining forced labor or services is a crime, the national human trafficking hotline number, contact information for reporting to the Department of Public Safety, a size of at least 8.5 by 11 inches, and English covering about two-thirds of the sign.

If a sign is missing

Displaying the permit and the required notices is a duty the Alcoholic Beverage Code places on the holder, and TABC treats a missing permit or sign as a regulatory violation. Under TABC Rule 34.1, a first, unintentional regulatory violation may draw a warning instead of a violation, but TABC may take enforcement action if a follow-up inspection finds the sign still missing. For an application, a missing or noncompliant 60-day sign delays approval; TABC’s instructions say the same of a sign posted at the wrong size.

Four businesses, four sets of signs

Business Before the permit issues After it issues
New cocktail bar with an MB and no FB, at a site with no on-premise license in the past two years the 60-day sign permit, complaint sign, pregnancy warning on each restroom door, human trafficking notice
Restaurant with an MB and an FB, at a site licensed for on-premises drinking last year no 60-day sign permit, complaint sign, pregnancy warning on each restroom door; the FB removes the human trafficking notice
Convenience store with a BQ no 60-day sign, as an off-premise retailer permit, complaint sign, consumption-prohibited sign, human trafficking notice
Package store no 60-day sign permit and complaint sign

What moves a business from one row to another is its permit type, whether it holds an FB, and the site’s on-premise license history, which is why the same brand can need different signs at two locations.

This article is general information about Texas alcoholic beverage law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and TABC rules change; confirm current requirements with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the relevant city or county, or a licensed Texas attorney before acting.

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