DABT is the division of Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) that licenses and regulates alcoholic-beverage businesses and licensees. For quota-license buyers, sellers and lenders, the Division's records are also an important part of transaction diligence—but they are not a substitute for reviewing liens, litigation, recorded notices and the private ownership documents behind the license.
Section 561.02, Florida Statutes, creates DABT within DBPR and gives the Division primary regulatory authority over Florida alcoholic-beverage licensing and enforcement. DABT controls the regulatory approval of a license transfer. Courts and private transaction documents, however, can also affect the economic or property rights associated with a quota license. Read § 561.02 ↗
DBPR ABT-6001 is the application used to seek a new alcoholic-beverage license or permit. It is not the ownership-transfer form for an existing license. New-license applications can require zoning approval, background information, fingerprints and other supporting items depending on the license and applicant.
Official forms and instructions ↗When an existing alcoholic-beverage license is sold, ABT-6002 is the DABT application used for a transfer of ownership. The purchase agreement and closing do not by themselves cause DABT's licensing records to change; the proposed buyer must complete the required transfer process and obtain agency approval.
Open the FLLM ABT-6002 transfer guide →Florida's annual quota-license drawing is a separate path for newly available quota licenses. ABT-6033 is the drawing-entry form. A successful entrant receives the opportunity to proceed through the state's licensing process; the drawing is not a substitute for the subsequent license application and approval requirements.
Open the FLLM quota-lottery page →A private sale can establish the economic terms between buyer and seller, but DABT controls the regulatory approval of the license transfer. Section 561.32 also recognizes judicial enforcement of license liens and makes clear that a regulatory transfer can intersect with private creditor and ownership rights.
Read § 561.32 ↗Explore FLLM Transaction ServicesA DABT license record tells you who the Division recognizes for regulatory purposes and may display special qualifications such as liens or internal alerts. It should not be treated as a title-insurance policy or a complete determination of private ownership. Buyers and lenders should investigate both the Division record and outside records that may affect the license.
A lis pendens is a recorded notice that litigation is pending concerning identified property. Section 48.23 applies to litigation affecting real or personal property involved therein or to be affected thereby
. In practical terms, it warns later purchasers and lienholders that claimed rights to the identified property are being litigated.
Public DBPR license-detail records can display “Supervisor Alert” under Special Qualifications with an effective date. FLLM did not locate a public DABT glossary defining the internal reason for every Supervisor Alert. It should therefore be treated as a signal to obtain the underlying Division file or written clarification before relying on the license in a transaction.
Public DBPR records also display “Chief Alert” on some alcoholic-beverage licenses. As with a Supervisor Alert, the public-facing record does not necessarily reveal the reason for the flag. A Chief Alert is not, by itself, proof that another party owns the license or that a lien exists, but it warrants additional diligence before a sale, refinance or lender closing.
Liens are different from alerts. Section 561.65 establishes Florida's specialized system for recording qualifying mortgages, liens and security interests in spirituous alcoholic-beverage licenses. A DABT “Liens” notation should prompt a formal lien search and review of releases, assignments, priority and payoff requirements.
Under § 48.23, litigation does not operate as a lis pendens against affected property unless the statutory notice is recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located and the notice has not expired, been withdrawn or been discharged. The notice identifies the parties, case, court, affected property and the relief sought.
For an action seeking specific performance or one not founded on a duly recorded instrument, the statute protects later purchasers for value when no effective lis pendens remains. Subsection (2) states that a notice generally is not effectual for any purpose beyond 1 year from the commencement of the action
, unless the statutory exception applies or the court timely extends it on reasonable notice and for good cause.
The statute also excludes the time an action is pending in an appellate court from that one-year period. Because the effect of a lis pendens depends on the pleadings, timing, recording, extension orders and the nature of the claimed property interest, transaction parties should have counsel review the actual docket and official-record entries rather than relying on a database label alone.
A buyer may refuse to close, require escrow, demand a release or seek legal confirmation if pending litigation, a lis pendens, a lien or an unexplained Division alert creates uncertainty over the license.
A lender taking the quota license as collateral may require a DABT lien search, payoff evidence, litigation review, appraisal support and confirmation that its security interest can be properly recorded.
An existing alert, lien or lawsuit can delay a refinance while the lender determines priority, payoff amounts, enforceability and whether the borrower has sufficient transferable rights in the collateral.
The Division's regulatory approval is a separate step. Private title disputes and court claims do not disappear merely because a transfer application is filed or a public license page names a particular licensee.
Florida law requires alcoholic-beverage license applicants to satisfy statutory character and eligibility requirements. Applications can require disclosure of criminal history and supporting disposition or mitigation records. Section 561.15, Florida Statutes, contains specific age, character and disqualification provisions, including waiting periods tied to certain convictions.
Review FLLM's Florida liquor-license laws →This is a general regulatory overview, not legal advice. Eligibility is fact-specific and should be confirmed against current law and DABT requirements.Florida makes additional quota licenses available under the statutory population-based quota system. DABT administers the annual quota drawing and the licensing steps that follow. The drawing determines who receives the right to pursue issuance; the applicant still must satisfy the applicable licensing requirements before the license is issued.
Official quota-license information ↗Main telephone: 850-487-1395
Licensing central office: 850-488-3227
Verify current DABT contact information ↗Florida Liquor License Market can connect the market and transaction pieces in one place: valuation and appraisal resources, buyer and seller workflows, financing, ABT transfer preparation resources, FDOR clearance resources, closing tools and qualified professional referrals. DABT remains the governmental licensing authority and makes the approval decision.
Florida Liquor License Market is not DBPR, DABT, a court, a title insurer or a law firm. A public DABT record does not determine every private ownership, priority or litigation issue affecting a quota license. Statutes, forms, procedures and case law can change. Confirm current official records and obtain qualified legal, licensing and lending advice for a specific transaction before closing or funding.
