If you are starting a hospitality business and want to sell beer, you will need to understand the ins and outs of obtaining a beer permit. Getting a beer permit is complicated because the sale and distribution of beer are governed by beer boards organized by city and county governments in TN. In this article, we’ll focus on selling alcoholic beverages of less than 10.1% ABV (i.e., hard ciders, malt-based seltzers, and beer), and we’ll also explain some of the specifics of getting a beer permit in Nashville, Tennessee.
If you are also planning to sell liquor (i.e., wine, spirits, and high-gravity beer over 10.1% ABV), you will need to obtain a liquor license. Stay tuned—next week we’ll be sharing a follow-up article focused on liquor law.
Step 1: What kind of hospitality business are you starting?
Are you starting a bar, nightclub, restaurant, retail store, wholesaler, catering company, hotel, cigar shop, nail salon, or barber shop? These are some of the types of businesses that serve beer in Tennessee. In addition, if you plan to host a special event, such as a festival, you may be able to serve beer.
The type of business you are starting will determine which permit you need. In Nashville, there are several categories of permits: on-premises, off-premises, on-and-off-premises, caterer, mobile BYOB and mobile on sale, wholesaler, manufacturer, delivery/curbside, and special event. Depending on where your customers plan to consume beer, you need a different permit. For example, if you are a restaurant, you are likely to need only an on-premises permit, since your customers will be consuming their beer on your premises. If you are a retail store, such as a grocery store, chances are your customers will purchase beer to consume elsewhere, so you will need an off-premises permit. If you are a deli, customers may consume beer on your premises if you have tables and seating, or if they just want to sample your product. They will also take the beer to go.
Step 2: Beer Permit Application
Once you determine which permit category you need, complete your application. It is EXTREMELY important that all questions are answered properly. A few things to note:
- The name of your business is vitally important to this application and the required documents. The name of your corporate entity and the name of the establishment may not be the same. It is important to know which name to put where on the application, as all your subsequent required documents will have to show that name and address (note: spelling is CRITICAL)
- Each owner’s FULL name, DOB, SSN, address, phone number, and percentage interest must be included.
- If you have a lease document, you need to know specifically when your lease starts and ends.
- If you plan to serve beer outside, you need to note that in the areas covered under the permit. Failure to do so will require you to get a second permit for an outside patio if you do not include it in the initial application.
Step 3: Beer Permit Requirements
Two major requirements to note about beer permits:
- If your customers are consuming beer on the premises your establishment must have a minimum of 16 seats to qualify for a beer permit.
- An establishment must be at least 100 feet from a schools, churches, or other places of public gathering. If your establishment falls within 100 feet from any of the above, the Metro Council will need to approve your location as eligible for a beer permit prior to your application being heard before the Beer Board. You can call the Beer Board and have an inspector come out for a measurement if you are unsure whether or not your business has a 100-foot issue.
Step 4: Submit the Application
Metro Nashville beer board applications are submitted electronically through Metro Nashville’s ePermits online system Metro Nashville ePermits. Once you submit the full application, including all required documents, the following will happen.:
- You will be placed on the agenda for the Beer Board’s next meeting. Here is the calendar of the beer board’s meetings. You will want to attend that meeting, so put it on your calendar.
- You will be given a sheet that outlines the required documents you need to provide to the beer board and when they are due (more on this below).
- You will be scheduled for an inspection (more on this below).
Step 5: Beer Permit Required Documents
The following documents are required to be submitted prior to your beer board meeting:
- Health inspection
- Fire inspection
- Certificate of Existence
- Certificate of Registration
- Business License
- Lease or Deed
- Zoning Approval
- Final Use & Occupancy
- Beer Inspection approval
- If any of the owners of the business are not citizens, they will need to present their green card or other applicable documentation.
- Owner/manager form
Note: Once all information and documents have been submitted to beer board staff and accepted and all inspections passed you may be eligible to receive a temporary beer permit which means you will be eligible to serve beer upon payment of the temporary permit fee. This is at the discretion of the beer board. Temporary permits are usually only valid until the next beer permit hearing where you will receive your final beer permit or if you have a temporary use & occupancy certificate, at the expiration of that certificate.
Step 6: Beer Permit Inspection
The following are required to be installed and operational when the beer inspector visits:
- A minimum of 16 seats
- Hot and cold running water
- Bathrooms operational
- Beer coolers installed and operational
- Cooking appliances installed and operational
Step 6: Beer Board meeting
The Metropolitan Beer Board is comprised of individuals appointed by the Mayor of Nashville. The Beer Board meets every two weeks, and they alternate between a Wednesday night meeting and a Thursday mid-afternoon meeting. You can find the agenda for an upcoming beer board meeting here. Note: the Beer Board posts meeting agendas about 48 hours in advance; use the link to select the upcoming meeting date, and the agenda will appear on that page once available.
The meeting will start with the Chair calling the meeting to order and addressing any business from the previous meeting. Next, the Chair will go through applications that are in order and ready to be granted, applications that need to be deferred, and applications that can be granted and delayed. Finally, at the end of the meeting, the Board will address any citations or public hearings.
If you have all of your documents submitted to the Beer Board before 3:00 pm on the Monday before your scheduled meeting, your application is likely to be granted. If your application is granted, you will receive an email from the Beer Board staff to go into ePermits to pay the final permit fee, and then you will receive your license electronically. If you are missing documents, your application will either be deferred or granted and delayed. If you are missing your lease or deed document, your application will most likely be deferred to the next meeting. An application can be deferred up to three times before it is deferred indefinitely. If you are only missing one or two documents (and it is not the lease or deed), you most likely can request a grant-and-delay. This means your application is granted pending receipt of the required documents. This means you will not have to wait until the next meeting to get your beer permit. As soon as you submit your documents, you will be able to get your permit.
Once your permit is granted, you will be required to pay the remaining tax for the calendar year. This amount changes quarterly, and the amount owed will be emailed to you upon approval of the permit.
Step 7: Beer Permit Maintenance and Renewal
No renewal is required for your beer permit. However, there is a $100 tax required each year. The Beer Board will send notices out in November about the tax, it is advised to pay this as soon as you receive it.
Some other things to keep in mind while maintaining your permit:
- Your license must be publicly displayed in the establishment along with your business license and certificate of registration. Make sure your business license is current.
- Check IDs of EVERYONE! While TN law states that a server is not required to check the identification of a person who “reasonably demonstrates an age of fifty (50) years or older”, the law is written in such a way as to expose a business to liability should they not check the identification of someone due to their age.
- If 50% or more of the ownership of the establishment changes, a new beer permit must be obtained.
- You must familiarize yourself with the beer laws. Here is a link to the beer laws. You can also request a physical copy from the Beer Board administrative staff.
For assistance in obtaining a beer permit, please call or email Rachel Schaffer Lawson at 615-620-1715 or [email protected].
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About the Author:
With fifteen years of advising businesses in tightly regulated industries, Rachel Lawson brings a hospitality-first mindset to the evolving cannabis space. Her work spans business formation, branding and trademark strategy, contracts, licensing, and franchise matters—experience that translates seamlessly to companies navigating cannabis, hemp-derived products, and the expanding gray-to-regulated marketplace. Backed by a foundation in entrepreneurship, marketing, and law, Rachel has built her career helping brands stay compliant while still moving quickly, making her uniquely equipped to guide cannabis and cannabinoid companies through today’s rapidly changing regulatory landscape.