Florida does not issue a general roaming ‘mobile liquor license’ that lets a bar truck, trailer, or portable bar travel from place to place and sell alcohol anywhere. The principal statewide full-liquor caterer license is the 13CT. A qualifying caterer licensed under Chapter 509 may sell or serve beer, wine, and liquor for consumption at a catered event where the licensee is also providing prepared food.
In plain English: The license follows the qualified catering operation and the catered event—not the trailer itself. If a company wants to sell alcohol at weddings, corporate events, private parties, or other catered functions, the 13CT structure is the key Florida license to understand. A bartending service where the host owns the alcohol is a different model and should not be confused with a 13CT retail sale.
Florida's 13CT caterer license is a specialized statewide event license. The application is made on DBPR ABT-6011. Current DBPR event procedures also require the catered-event documentation prescribed for 13CT operations, including the event form and supporting contract/records.
The 13CT caterer must derive at least 51% of gross food-and-beverage revenue at each catered event from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages.
Review Florida licensing rules inside FLLM ›The license is for a caterer licensed by Florida's Division of Hotels and Restaurants. Alcohol service must occur at a catered event where the licensee is also providing prepared food.
See how Florida licensing works ›DBPR guidance states that a 13CT license may operate in any Florida county and may support multiple concurrent catered events, subject to the licensee's event-level compliance obligations.
Compare Florida license types ›A 13CT license does not authorize storage of alcoholic beverages for catered events. Alcohol must be purchased through a licensed vendor, and unused product is subject to Florida's catered-event rules.
Open the FLLM ABT Forms Center ›The phrase ‘mobile liquor license’ can be misleading. Before structuring a mobile bar business, determine who purchases and owns the alcohol, who is actually selling or charging for it, whether the operator is a qualified Chapter 509 caterer, whether prepared food is being provided, and what rules apply at the specific venue and event.
Find Florida alcoholic-beverage application resources, including the caterer application framework and related event documentation.
Open FLLM resource ›FLLM Florida Liquor License Types GuideCompare 13CT with 4COP quota, 3PS, 2COP, and special restaurant license categories.
Open FLLM resource ›FLLM Florida Liquor License LawsReview FLLM's plain-English explanations of Florida alcoholic-beverage licensing rules and statutory distinctions.
Open FLLM resource ›A 13CT is a specialty caterer license, not a county quota license. It is not the same kind of transferable private-market asset as a 4COP quota or 3PS-family quota license. Its value is the operating privilege available to a qualifying caterer for compliant catered events.
For a mobile bar concept, the trailer, cart, or portable bar is only equipment. The important legal questions are who owns and sells the alcohol, whether the operator qualifies as a Chapter 509 caterer, whether prepared food is provided, and whether the event satisfies the 13CT requirements.
Review FLLM's current statutory and regulatory explanations before structuring an event alcohol-service model.
Read the FLLM update ›Compare 13CT with a 4COP-SFS / SRX restaurant licenseSee how a fixed qualifying restaurant license differs from statewide catered-event privileges.
Read the FLLM update ›Compare 13CT with a 2COP beer-and-wine licenseUnderstand the difference between ordinary beer-and-wine premises licensing and catered-event full-liquor service.
Read the FLLM update ›Start with FLLM's overview of quota, non-quota, and specialty alcoholic-beverage licenses.
Read inside FLLM ›Florida ABT Forms CenterReview the forms and application resources used in Florida alcoholic-beverage licensing.
Read inside FLLM ›Compare With 4COP QuotaSee when a fixed-location full-liquor business may need a transferable county quota license instead.
Read inside FLLM ›Official DBPR category: Florida Caterer Alcoholic Beverage License (13CT)
Always confirm the exact series, premises, zoning and transaction requirements before relying on a license for a particular business plan.
