Last Call: California ABC Wants to Close Out the Tab on Abandoned License Applications

If you have a pending alcohol license application with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (the ABC), note that the bartender is flashing the lights – because you should know about a new proposed rule.

That rule is proposed Section 61 of Title 4, Article 11 of the California Code of Regulations, which the ABC published June 12, 2026 (Section 61). Section 61 creates a formal process for deeming license and permit applications “abandoned”, allows the ABC to withdraw them and gives a timeline for refunding (or forfeiting) application fees. The public comment period is open and closes at noon July 28, 2026.

House Rules

Currently, no regulation defines how or when the ABC considers a license application “abandoned” or what happens to refundable fees when an applicant goes quiet. The ABC says the lack of guidance has created administrative headaches with dormant applications clogging the pipeline, uncashed refund checks sitting on the books and no consistent statewide process to deal with these problems.

Proposed Section 61 would address these problems as follows:

• Abandonment trigger: If an applicant fails to respond to the ABC’s formal written request for contact within 60 calendar days, the ABC may deem the application abandoned and “administratively withdrawn”. A liquor license transfer application is also automatically abandoned if the underlying license is revoked or canceled before the transfer is complete.
• Refund notice: After the administrative withdrawal, the ABC will send the applicant a written notice explaining the refundable amount and how and by when to request it.
• 60-day refund window: The applicant has 60 calendar days from the date of that written notice to request the refund. Miss it and the ABC keeps the application fees.
• 2-year window to cash refund checks: If the ABC issues a refund check and the applicant doesn’t cash it within a full calendar year, the check expires. The ABC will send one more notice and reissue one replacement check, but that’s it. If the second check also goes uncashed for a year, the ABC keeps application fees.
• Safety valve: An applicant can still request a reissued check upon a “legitimate request” before funds are formally deemed abandoned, but the rule doesn’t define what “legitimate” means.

All notices go to the contact person and address the applicant put on the original application. The ABC is not obliged to track you down if you’ve moved.

Why the New Regime Matters

Lease negotiations, buildouts, investor changes, local permitting – we all have likely seen how and why hospitality and entertainment projects often involve long timelines. It’s not uncommon for an applicant to go quiet a while as the project changes (for the umpteenth time). Under proposed Section 61, 60 days of silence in response to an ABC letter could cost the applicant the whole application and, eventually, fees. The clock starts when the ABC mails the letter, not when you actually receive it, and the 60-day clock stops when the ABC receives the applicant’s response, not when it’s mailed.

Key Takeaways

1. Update contact information with ABC immediately if it has changed since you filed your application.
2. Designate someone to monitor ABC correspondence, whether that’s in-house, or outside counsel.
3. Calendar all deadlines. The 60-day windows are unforgiving, and there’s no grace period or good-cause extension as proposed Section 61 is drafted (other than the “legitimate request” for a reissued check, which is nebulous and wholly in the ABC’s discretion.

Last, consider submitting comments to the ABC. We note a few open questions that proposed Section 61 doesn’t address and provided feedback to the ABC  – for example, no appeal process if you believe the ABC incorrectly deemed your application abandoned, no definition of what constitutes a “legitimate” check reissuance request and no discussion of how this scheme interacts with California’s Unclaimed Property Law.  The comment period is open until noon Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Comments can be emailed to RPU@abc.ca.gov and more information can be found on the ABC’s Regulations & Rulemaking webpage. Anyone can also request a public hearing in writing at least 15 days before the comment period closes. In the meantime, don’t get caught with an empty glass when last call comes around.