What a Texas TABC licence code means

MB, BQ, BG, P, Q and the rest — decoded, with the three-tier system that explains why they exist.

Texas issues alcohol authorisations as short codes. They look cryptic; they are actually a fairly rigid taxonomy built around the three-tier system.

The three tiers

Post-Prohibition law separates manufacturing, distribution and retail, and generally forbids one company from operating in more than one tier. Every TABC code belongs to a tier, and that tells you most of what you need.

Retail — the codes you will actually encounter

• MB — Mixed Beverage Permit. Spirits, wine and beer for on-premises consumption. The bar and full-service restaurant permit.
• BG — Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Permit. Beer and wine on-premises, no spirits.
• BQ — Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Off-Premise Permit. The convenience-store and grocery code.
• BE / BF — Retail Dealer’s On-Premise and Off-Premise Licences.
• P — Package Store Permit. The liquor store.
• Q — Wine-Only Package Store Permit.
• N, NB, NE — private club permits, used where local option restricts ordinary retail sales.

Subordinate certificates

These attach to a primary permit rather than standing alone. FB is the Food and Beverage Certificate, which matters because it changes what a mixed-beverage holder may do. LH is the Late Hours Certificate. BP is the Brewpub Licence, one of the narrow exceptions to tier separation.

Manufacturing and distribution

BW Brewer’s Licence, G Winery Permit, D Distiller’s and Rectifier’s Permit, DS Out-of-State Winery Direct Shipper’s Permit. Distribution runs BB, BC, W and X.

The 51% sign

The TABC dataset carries a gun_sign field. Where a premises derives more than half its revenue from on-site alcohol sales, Texas requires a red “51%” sign at the entrance, and carrying a firearm there is a felony. We show the field on the licence record because it is a legal fact about the premises that almost nothing else surfaces.

The authoritative list is published by TABC, and it is the source for the labels used throughout this site.