A guide from Silvermoor Business Loans in Napa, California to the California ABC license types that wineries, restaurants, hotels and stores hold, and where a license touches a funding request. It is not legal advice.
Type 02 Winegrower, Type 20 and Type 21: Cellars and Bottle Shops on One Chart
The department's license types page (checked 2026-10-24) lists each type with a short description. These are the ones a Napa County, CA winery, restaurant, inn or bottle shop is most likely to meet:
| Type | Name | Who holds it and what it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Type 02 | Winegrower | Production and sale of wine by wineries |
| Type 20 | Off-Sale Beer & Wine | Retail stores; beer and wine for consumption off the premises |
| Type 21 | Off-Sale General | Retail stores; beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption off the premises |
| Type 41 | On-Sale Beer & Wine, Eating Place | Restaurants; beer and wine for consumption on or off the premises |
| Type 42 | On-Sale Beer & Wine, Public Premises | Bars and taverns; beer and wine |
| Type 47 | On-Sale General, Eating Place | Restaurants; beer, wine and distilled spirits on the licensed premises |
| Type 48 | On-Sale General, Public Premises | Bars and night clubs; beer, wine and distilled spirits on the premises |
| Type 66 | Controlled Access Cabinet Permit | Licensed hotels or motels; packaged distilled spirits in guestrooms |
| Type 70 | On-Sale General, Restrictive Service | Beer, wine and distilled spirits for overnight guests |
The descriptions above follow the department's own wording in short form. The full conditions of any license, and which one a business needs, come from the department and from counsel.
California ABC License Lookup: Keeping a Winery Current Before a Funding Request
The department's license lookup (checked 2026-10-24) searches by license number, licensee name, business address or business name, and offers license reports by location: city, ZIP code, county or census tract. It replaced what the department called the License Query System.
A winery can use it to check that its own record shows the right licensee, address and status before sending a funding request, and a buyer can use it to look up a business before making an offer. A partner may check it too.
California Liquor License Type 47: When a Restaurant Needs It and Where a Lender Sees It
The department describes Type 47 as issued to restaurants for beer, wine and distilled spirits consumed on the licensed premises. For a restaurant, the license touches funding in two places: a full bar build-out (back bar, draft system, ice, glass washers, bar seating) assumes the license is in place; and a restaurant purchase often includes a license transfer, which sets part of the timing.
Restaurant loans in Napa, CA covers the bar equipment and the purchase.
California Liquor License Type 41: When a Hotel Needs It and Where a Lender Sees It
Type 41 is the beer and wine license for eating places, which the department describes as issued to restaurants. A hotel with a restaurant or wine bar may hold an eating-place license for that room; the department's list also includes Type 66, controlled access cabinet permits for packaged spirits in guestrooms of licensed hotels or motels, and Type 70, restrictive service for overnight guests. A lender reviewing a hotel renovation that adds a bar or minibars sees the license as part of the plan. Hotel loans covers the renovation.
California ABC License Application and the Records a Lender Asks a Hotel For
A new license application asks the department for a license at a premises, and the department reviews the applicant and the premises. A hotel adding a bar, or any business applying for the first time, builds the funding timeline around that review. A lender reading a request for bar equipment or a build-out asks:
- Is the license issued, applied for, or still planned?
- Which type is it, and does it fit the planned service?
- Who is the licensee, and does it match the borrowing business?
- Is the premises on the application the one being renovated?
California ABC License Transfer and the Records a Lender Asks a Winery For
When a winery, restaurant or store is sold, its license may transfer to the buyer, and the transfer has its own process with the department. A partner financing the purchase reads the purchase agreement, the license type, the status of the transfer, and any escrow tied to it. For a winery, the Type 02 winegrower license is part of what the buyer acquires along with the federal permits.
Term loans explains how a business purchase is usually financed.
Napa County, CA Businesses Whose Funding File Can Include an ABC License
Napa County, CA had 421 wineries, 145 full-service restaurants, 86 traveler accommodation employers, 49 beer, wine and liquor stores and 23 bars with paid employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns). Not every one holds an ABC license, and some hold more than one, but for those that do, the license is a document a funding partner may ask to see. Bars, bottle shops and restaurants are covered on grocery and liquor store loans and restaurant loans; wineries on equipment financing.
Also on this site: the winery use permit guide, the guides and the Napa, CA business page.
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