You need an alcohol off-licence to sell or supply alcohol to be consumed away from where it was bought.

You can get an alcohol off-licence if your business or premises is a:

• hotel or tavern that holds an on-licence
• shop that gets at least 85 per cent of its annual revenue selling takeaway alcohol
• business selling alcohol online or by phone or mail orders - at least 85 per cent of total annual income must come from selling alcohol remotely
• business that mainly produces alcohol
• supermarket at least 1000 square metres in size
• grocery store, as defined in Section 33 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012
• winery cellar door as defined in Section 5 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

You cannot get an alcohol off-licence for a:

• service station or vehicle repair garage
• dairy
• convenience store
• vehicle used to transport people
• premises:
  • that can be reached directly from a shop, service station or vehicle repair garage
  • located in areas where alcohol sales are run by licensing trusts in west Auckland
  • that has a club licence
  • located in local alcohol policy areas or a neighbourhood centre that existed before 30 September 2013.

Email alcohollicensing@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz for advice or if you are not sure your business qualifies for an off-licence.

Our updated Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is expected to come into effect in September 2024. This means it is unlikely new off-licences will be issued for two years in the city centre and 23 other priority areas.

An application is considered new if it is for a premises that has not traded with an off-licence within the previous six months.

If the District Licensing Committee (DLC) is still reviewing your new application after the LAP comes into effect, they may not issue you an off-licence. This applies no matter when we first received your application.

Visit Local Alcohol Policy areas for maps of all the priority areas affected by this change.

This can be a complicated process to research yourself. Call us on 09 301 0101 and ask for the planning helpdesk to check if the Auckland Unitary Plan allows you to open an alcohol business in your area.

Before you apply, you need to get alcohol licensing building and planning certificates.

Visit Apply for alcohol licensing building and planning certificates.

Your business must have a certified manager.

Visit Apply for a manager's certificate.

• Original application form.
• Copies of your new planning and building certificates.
• Our permission in writing, if it is a council-owned building, facility or land.
• A letter of authorisation for the consultant, if you use a consultant.
• A copy of your social responsibility policy.
• A photo of the main entrance.
• A copy of the floor plans highlighting restricted or supervised areas and the main entrance.
• A copy of your Certificate of Incorporation if you are a company.
• Plans and photographs if your premises is a supermarket or grocery store. Check practice and guidance notes for District Licensing Committees to know more.

Place your public notice as soon as possible.

The public have 25 working days from the date of the online notice to object to your application.

During this time, the police and the Medical Officer of Health will also look into your application.

For more information, see Notify the public of your alcohol licence application.

We will assess your application.

Your application will be reviewed by:

• New Zealand Police
• National Public Health Service - Northern Region (formerly known as Auckland Regional Public Health Service).

One of our alcohol licensing inspectors will review your application and inspect your business site.

We will forward your application to the District Licensing Committee for the final decision.

If the District Licensing Committee approves your application, you will need to pay an annual fee before we post your alcohol licence to you. Your new licence lasts one year.

You will need to:

• apply to renew your licence at least 20 working days before the expiry date
• display your licence in a visible location near the main entrance of your business site
• pay an annual fee on the anniversary of your licence.

We will send you a reminder letter stating the fee.

After your first renewal, you'll need to Apply to renew your licence every three years, at least 20 working days before the expiry date.

We will let you know if:

members of the public object to your application

NZ Police, National Public Health Service - Northern Region or our inspector oppose your application.

The District Licensing Committee will contact you if you need to attend a public hearing before a final decision is made.

When to renew your alcohol off-licence

If you have an existing off-licence, you must apply to renew it at least 20 working days before it expires.

If you know you will be applying less than 20 working days before your current licence expires, you need to tell us why it is late on the application form.

What you need to renew your alcohol off-licence

Apply online or download the application form. You should include the:

• letter of authorisation, if you use an alcohol licensing consultant
• copy of your social responsibility policy
• photo of the main entrance
• copy of the floor plans highlighting restricted or supervised areas and the main entrance
• copy of your Certificate of Incorporation if you are a company
• copy of your existing off-licence
• plans and photographs if your premises is a supermarket or grocery store. Check practice and guidance notes for District Licensing Committees to know more.

Calculate the fee to renew your alcohol off-licence

Apply to renew your alcohol off-licence

 Your application fee is non-refundable.

What happens next

If you apply to renew your licence at least 20 working days before it expires, you can continue selling alcohol with no gap in business.

We will forward your application to the District Licensing Committee who will make the final decision.

Publish a public notice

Place your public notice as soon as possible.

The public have 25 working days from the date of the online notice to object to your application.

During this time, the police and the Medical Officer of Health will also look into your application.

For more information, visit Notify the public of your alcohol licence application.

If your application is approved

If your application is approved, we will post your renewed licence to you.

If your application is contested

We will let you know if:

• members of the public object to your application
• New Zealand Police, National Public Health Service - Northern Region (formerly known as Auckland Regional Public Health Service) or our inspector oppose your application.

The District Licensing Committee will contact you if you need to attend a public hearing before a final decision is made.