Mission
To protect the health, safety and welfare of Arizona citizens by licensing the liquor industry and assuring compliance with state liquor laws through enforcement, training and adjudication.
Duties and Structure
The Department of Liquor Licenses and Control is a state agency responsible for administering and enforcing the liquor laws of the State of Arizona according to Arizona Revised Statutes Title 4.
All businesses who produce, distribute or sell spirituous liquor throughout the state are required to have a liquor license. The application process involves local city, town and county approval. Research is conducted on every applicant through extensive background checks.
Enforcement and control of the liquor laws is done by the Investigations Division and review is provided by the Office of Administrative Hearings and the Arizona State Liquor Board, separate entities from the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.
The Department of Liquor Licenses and Control comprises four departments: Administration, Licensing, Investigations and Compliance.
- The Administration Division provides daily departmental operations including budget, personnel, payroll, purchasing and accounting. Also included within this division is the Informations Services section that is responsible for all automation throughout the department.
- The Licensing Division issues, transfers and renews all the various types of licenses. These procedures involve meeting with the applicants and assisting them with the application forms, answering questions about the licensing process, fees, notarization, etc.
- The Investigations Division is responsible to ensure that all licensees state wide adhere to A.R.S. Title 4 and all rules promulgated by the Department. These responsibilities include training and assisting local law enforcement communities; contact with licensees through random routine license inspections; investigate and process all complaints received; provide background checks on applicants for liquor licenses; cooperate with the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies on covert and underage buy programs; research and respond to inquiries from manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers and provide law enforcement trained speakers for various industry functions upon request..
- The Compliance Division governs the dispute-resolution process to offer an alternative, when appropriate, to the more costly and time-consuming formal hearing process. The mandate of the Compliance Officer is to arbitrate cases and attempt a fair resolution.
- Apart from the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, the Office of Administrative Hearings is responsible for determining whether allegations of Title 4 violations are substantiated. This is done through the hearing process in accordance with constitutional and statutory requirements. Cases are referred to hearing when a consent agreement either has not been offered by the Compliance Division of the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control or has been refused by the licensee.
- Separate from the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control is the Arizona State Liquor Board whose members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Arizona State Senate, A.R.S. Sections 38-211 and 4-211. The State Liquor Board provides a judicial function because it hears appeals on some of the Directorís disciplinary decisions; and when cities, towns or counties disapprove or make no recommendation on a new liquor license, the Director is required to refer to the Liquor Board the final decision.
Our offices observe the following holidays:
- January 1 - New Year's Day
- Third Monday in January - Civil Rights Day
- Third Monday in February - Presidents' Day
- Last Monday in May - Memorial Day
- July 4 - Independence Day
- First Monday in September - Labor Day
- Second Monday in October - Columbus Day
- November 11 - Veterans' Day
- Fourth Thursday in November - Thanksgiving Day
- December 25 - Christmas Day
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800 W. Washington, 5th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: (602) 542-5141
Fax (602) 542-5707
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400 W. Congress, #521
Tucson, AZ 85701
Phone: (520) 628-6595
Fax: (520) 628-6620
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E-mail: liqr@azll.com
Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except holidays. |
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