Kentucky liquor license types, in plain words
What each ABC license or permit allows, in the statute's own words, with a note on who usually holds it. Every filing on the Kentucky page is labeled this way.
NQ2 · Quota Drink · Quota Package · NQ Malt Package · NQ4 · NQ1 · NQ3 · Special Sunday · LR · Supplemental Bar · Off-Premise Outlet
Restaurant or hotel bar, full pour (NQ2)
This license allows you to sell beer, wine, and liquor by the drink to customers at your Airport, Motel/Hotel, Restaurant, Riverboat, Distillery, Small Farm Winery, or an Entertainment Destination.
The full-bar license most new restaurants and hotels file for; no county quota, so it is the usual path to a new opening.
Bar, wine and spirits by the drink (Quota Drink)
This license allows you to sell wine and liquor by the drink at your establishment.
A bar or restaurant pouring spirits under the county quota; usually paired with an NQ4 for beer.
Package store, wine and spirits to go (Quota Package)
This license allows you to sell wine and liquor by the bottle, case, or package for customers to consume away from your establishment.
A liquor store. The county caps how many exist, so a new one is a real opening or a transfer.
Beer to go (NQ Malt Package)
This license allows you to sell beer by the bottle, crowler/growler, case, or package for customers to consume away from your establishment.
Gas stations, groceries and corner stores; the most common filing in the feed.
Beer by the drink (NQ4)
This license allows you to sell beer by the drink to customers at your establishment.
Draft and bottled beer at the bar; on its own it is a beer-only spot, with a quota or NQ2 license it is the beer half of a full bar.
Venue bar, racetrack or convention center (NQ1)
This license allows you to sell beer, wine, and liquor by the drink to customers aboard your airplane or railway, automobile racetrack, horsetrack, convention center or state park.
A large venue's bar, not a neighborhood restaurant.
Private club or bed-and-breakfast bar (NQ3)
This license allows you to sell beer, wine, and liquor by the drink to customers at your Bed and Breakfast, Dining Car, or Private Social Club.
Members-only or overnight-guest pours; small volume.
Sunday pour, add-on (Special Sunday)
This is an add-on license that allows you to sell wine and liquor on Sundays.
Rides on a retail drink license the business already holds; not a new account on its own.
Restaurant bar, food-led (Limited Restaurant)
This license is for restaurants with a minimum of 70% food sales and a minimum seating capacity of 50 or 100 people at tables. It allows you to sell beer, wine, and liquor by the drink to your customers.
A dining room that also pours; the license is tied to the food share, so this is a restaurant, not a bar.
Extra bar at the same venue, add-on (Supplemental Bar)
This is an add-on license that allows you to sell wine and spirits from an additional bar at your establishment.
A second bar inside a place that already pours; an expansion signal, not a new account.
Distillery or winery gift-shop outlet (Off-Premise Outlet)
This license allows licensee to sell souvenir and complimentary Distilled Spirits and Wine Packages.
A producer's retail counter away from the plant; buys from itself.
Source: https://abc.ky.gov/Documents/License%20Types%20List%20(June%202025).pdf, https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=38399, checked 2026-09-21.
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