How to buy a liquor store or licensed bar in Quebec: licences, ownership rules and what transfers

Quebec handles liquor permits through its own statute and its own regulator. The Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (the Régie, which the Act calls the board) issues the permits under the Act respecting liquor permits, and it is responsible for carrying that Act out. A purchase of a bar or a store selling alcohol therefore starts with that Act, not with the seller’s paperwork. The Act is built around a new permit application when an establishment is alienated, which means sold or otherwise transferred. This guide describes Quebec only. It is written from Quebec’s statutes, in English.

Who regulates liquor permits in Quebec

The Act respecting the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux says the board is responsible for carrying out the Act respecting liquor permits. That includes issuing, suspending, cancelling or revoking permits, setting the conditions attached to them and monitoring their use. The board also keeps a register of applications, permits issued and authorizations granted under the liquor permits Act. The Régie’s own alcohol page lists the permit classes, among them the bar permit, the restaurant permit and the grocery permit. A buyer should start by identifying which class the business holds.

Which permit class the business holds

The Act says a bar permit authorizes, as principal activity in an establishment, the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. A restaurant permit applies where the establishment’s principal and usual activity is to prepare and sell food on the premises, and authorizes alcoholic beverages for consumption there if they are generally served as an accompaniment to the food. A grocery permit authorizes the sale and delivery, for consumption at a place other than the establishment, of beer and cider, as well as the wines and other alcoholic beverages a regulation determines, subject to the exclusions the Act lists. The Act respecting the Société des alcools du Québec provides for regulations on which wines and other beverages grocery permit holders may sell, and section 32 of that Act says a grocery permit holder may not hold an interest in an undertaking holding an industrial permit. The class matters because the Act treats the sale of an establishment differently depending on it.

A new permit, not a transfer of the old one

The Act provides for an application for a permit made by reason of the alienation or leasing of the establishment, or the retaking of possession of it following the exercise of a right to take in payment. Section 94 says sections 91 to 93, which deal with seizure on cancellation and the wait before a new application, do not apply in that case if a new permit is issued for that establishment. Ask the Régie how the seller’s permit is treated after closing rather than assuming it follows the business. If you buy an interest in a company that holds the permit rather than the establishment, ask a Quebec lawyer how the Act applies.

Bar permits are carved out of the relief

Sections 50 and 97 lift certain requirements, including the published notice of the application under section 96, when an application is made by reason of alienation or leasing and the permit applied for is of the same class as the one in use. Both say this applies to a permit other than a bar permit, so a bar purchase does not get that relief. Read the exact provisions, because the relief is limited by conditions beyond the class, such as there being no application for an additional permit or option. A buyer of a bar should ask the Régie what its application requires, rather than assume the lighter path those sections give other classes.

Operating while the application is pending

The Act allows the board to temporarily authorize a person other than the holder to use a permit, on stated conditions. That includes a person who files an application for authorization together with a permit application made by reason of the alienation, rental or retaking of possession of the establishment. The board acts on the documents it requires and on payment of the duties set by regulation. The authorization is temporary, and the Act does not promise it. Ask the Régie whether it will grant it in your case, and do not schedule opening day on the assumption that it will.

What to ask the seller for

Gather what the Régie’s application will need and what shows the permit’s current state. For marketplace context, see the liquor stores for sale and pubs for sale pages, and the national liquor and beer retailer guide.

• A copy of the current permit, showing its class and the establishment it covers
• Any options or conditions the board has attached to the permit
• The seller’s written confirmation of any pending application, suspension or enforcement matter
• The lease or title documents that show how the establishment is being alienated or leased to you
• Confirmation that the payroll account will be closed if the business has employees, and any GST/HST account through the tax services office, as the Canada Revenue Agency says a seller must