How can an FB certificate remove the 51% firearms sign-posting requirement depending on the alcohol sales ratio?
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A Food and Beverage Certificate (FB) removes the 51% sign requirement outright. The statute that requires the sign, Section 411.204 of the Texas Government Code, says in its own words that it “does not apply to a business that has a food and beverage certificate issued under the Alcoholic Beverage Code.” The alcohol sales ratio decides whether a business without an FB must post the sign. For a business that holds an FB, the ratio no longer controls the sign at all.
Which businesses must post the 51% sign
Section 411.204(a) applies to a business holding a permit or license under one of five chapters of the Alcoholic Beverage Code:
| Chapter | Permit or license |
|---|---|
| 25 | Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG) |
| 28 | Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) |
| 32 | Private Club Registration Permit (N) |
| 69 | Retail Dealer's On-Premise License (BE) |
| 74 | Brewpub License (BP) |
Among those businesses, the sign is required when the business derives 51 percent or more of its income from selling alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption. That share is not something the owner self-reports once and forgets. Under Section 104.06 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, which governs monitoring of gross receipts, TABC makes the determination when it issues and when it renews a permit or license that allows on-premises consumption. A business found at or above 51 percent keeps posting the sign until TABC determines that it has dropped below 51 percent.
What the sign has to say and look like
Section 411.204(c) sets the content and the format:
- notice, in both English and Spanish, that it is unlawful for a person licensed to carry a handgun to carry one on the premises;
- contrasting colors, with block letters at least one inch high;
- the number “51” printed in solid red at least five inches high;
- display in a conspicuous manner, clearly visible to the public, at each entrance to the premises.
Where the FB changes the answer
The alcohol sales ratio matters to two different questions, and mixing them up produces the wrong conclusion.
- Can the business get an FB? The certificate has its own qualification rules, tied to operating as a restaurant or to keeping alcohol below a set share of receipts at the location. Those rules decide who is eligible.
- Must a business without an FB post the sign? Here the 51 percent test under Sections 411.204(a) and 104.06 decides.
Once the certificate is issued, Section 411.204(e) takes the business outside the sign statute. The exemption is attached to holding the certificate, not to the ratio at a given moment. Because an FB can rest on restaurant status rather than only on the receipts share, a certificate holder’s alcohol share may even exceed 51 percent, and Section 411.204(e) still exempts it.
What keeps the exemption in place
The exemption lasts as long as the certificate does. An FB on a mixed beverage permit expires when the primary permit expires, and TABC may cancel it, or deny its renewal, if the holder stops meeting the certificate’s requirements (Section 28.18(e); Section 25.13 applies parallel rules to wine and malt beverage retailers). If the certificate goes, the business is back under the 51 percent test, and TABC’s next receipts determination decides whether the sign must go up.
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.