What Types of TABC Violations Can Put a Permit at Risk
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TABC sorts most violations into two families. Public safety violations, such as selling to a minor or an intoxicated person, selling after hours, or allowing a breach of the peace, are treated most severely and put the business on a priority inspection list for six months. Regulatory violations, such as prohibited relationships between industry tiers, late excise tax reports, a missing sign, or improper advertising, carry base penalties and can be handled with a warning the first time, although the Code attaches a mandatory suspension or cancellation to the core tier prohibitions. Both families can lead to suspension or cancellation.
Public safety violations
TABC’s violations page describes these as breaches of rules meant to keep licensed businesses from endangering public health or safety. Its examples:
- selling or serving alcohol to a minor or to an intoxicated person;
- selling alcohol, or allowing consumption, during prohibited hours;
- allowing intoxicated persons on the premises, whether owners, staff, or customers; and
- operating in a manner that allows a breach of the peace.
Three consequences follow a public safety violation beyond the penalty itself:
- An administrative case against the business, under TABC’s schedule of sanctions for health, safety, and welfare violations.
- Possible criminal charges against the individual involved, brought by local prosecutors.
- Priority inspections. TABC places the business on a priority list, and agents conduct additional inspections at the location over the next six months.
Regulatory violations
These are rules the business must follow for reasons other than direct public safety. TABC’s examples:
- prohibited relationships between businesses in different tiers of the industry;
- failing to file excise tax reports and payments on time;
- failing to display the license or permit, or to post a required sign; and
- improper advertising.
Regulatory violations are assessed from base penalties set in TABC Rule 34.10 and adjusted under the agency’s published penalty policy.
Place or manner violations
A third group sits within the Code’s general welfare provisions. TABC Rule 34.3 makes a licensee responsible when certain offenses, including assaults, weapons offenses, human trafficking, narcotics offenses, gambling, and theft, are committed in the course of its business or by anyone on its premises, if the licensee knew or should have known of the offense or its likelihood and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it. These are sanctioned based on all the facts rather than a fixed chart.
When a warning is possible
A first problem does not always become a violation:
- Regulatory violations. If a business commits a regulatory violation unintentionally and has not been found to have committed that violation before, TABC may issue a warning instead. If a follow-up inspection finds it still happening, TABC may take enforcement action.
- Vague first complaints. For an initial, vague complaint alleging a nonviolent offense, TABC may enroll the business in its Proactive Alcohol Compliance Enforcement (PACE) program for two years instead of investigating. Another complaint or a violation during those two years leads to an investigation.
Under TABC Rule 34.1, a written warning documents the violation and can be counted as an aggravating circumstance if a later sanction is set.
From incident to consequence
| Incident | Family | What can follow |
|---|---|---|
| A server sells to a minor | public safety | an administrative case, a possible criminal charge against the server, priority inspections, and no automatic option to pay a fine instead of a suspension |
| Drinks sold after the legal cutoff | public safety | the same family, and TABC may refuse the fine option |
| A missing required sign | regulatory | possibly a warning the first time, if unintentional; enforcement if a follow-up inspection finds it still missing |
| A late excise tax report | regulatory | a base penalty, adjusted under TABC's penalty policy |
| A wholesaler lends money to a bar (Section 102.01(g)) | regulatory on TABC's list | under Section 102.01(j), a mandatory suspension or cancellation for every permittee involved |
| An assault on the premises that the licensee should have seen coming | place or manner (Rule 34.3) | a sanction set on all the facts rather than a fixed chart |
The family sets the starting point, not the ceiling. A tied house relationship sits on TABC’s regulatory list, yet the Code attaches a mandatory suspension or cancellation to the core prohibitions, so a business reading its risk looks at the provision involved as well as the family.
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.