Winery permits and licenses in Arizona

This is the core Arizona state license for a producing winery, and it does almost everything on one permit. The winery must make more than 200 and fewer than 40,000 gallons a year, and qualifies by either holding a federal TTB winery permit or having at least 5 producing acres of fruit for 3 straight years. One Series 13 lets you produce wine, run an on-site tasting room with sampling and on-site or to-go sales, sell to Arizona wholesalers, sell up to 20 percent other Arizona wineries' wine, and, if you make 20,000 gallons or fewer, self-distribute to retailers and ship directly to Arizona consumers without a separate license. There is no Arizona-grown requirement (that rule was repealed in 2006), though labeling wine as Arizona wine needs 75 percent Arizona fruit. You file an annual production report by January 31, the license is non-transferable, and before the DLLC issues it the application goes to the city or county for a recommendation, the local step covered on your city page.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC)

Fee

$100 application plus a $100 issuance fee to start, then $100 a year to renew with $70 in annual surcharges, $170 total. Fingerprint fees per principal are separate. Confirm current amounts on the DLLC fee chart.

Renewal

Annual, with a biennial option if you had no compliance penalties the prior year

Processing

Roughly 60 to 120 days, including the 20-day local posting and a 15-day wait after the local recommendation before the DLLC can issue

A Series 13 winery may run up to two additional off-site tasting and retail rooms under Series 19W licenses, each selling its own wine and up to 20 percent other Arizona wineries' wine, for drinking there or to go, with sampling. The process is reversed from the production site: you must get the local governing body's approval first and attach that order to the DLLC application, so skipping the local step stalls the filing. Each remote room is its own licensed premises and needs its own TPT registration. Needed only if you open a tasting room away from the winery.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC)

Fee

$100 application. The remote tasting room issuance and renewal fees are set by the DLLC director rather than fixed in statute, with $70 in surcharges at renewal. Confirm current amounts with the DLLC.

Renewal

Annual

Processing

Longer than a production-site license, since the local approval has to come first. Expect 60 to 120 days or more.

A farm winery that made 20,000 gallons or fewer in the prior year already ships directly to Arizona consumers under its Series 13 license, with no case cap, so most small wineries never need this. The Series 17W is required once production runs between 20,001 and 39,999 gallons, or for an out-of-state winery over 20,000 gallons shipping into Arizona, and it caps shipments at 12 nine-liter cases per consumer a year. The licensee collects and remits Arizona luxury tax and TPT on every shipment and files an annual shipment report by January 31. Needed only above the 20,000-gallon line.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC)

Fee

Set by the DLLC director rather than fixed in statute. Confirm the current application and renewal amounts with the DLLC.

Renewal

Annual, renewed February 1 to 28

Processing

Not separately published; confirm with the DLLC

A Series 13 winery that produces more than 40,000 gallons in any calendar year must move up to a Series 1 In-State Producer license. The Series 1 authorizes large-scale production and sales to wholesalers, but it does not carry the Series 13 small-winery privileges, so a producer above 40,000 gallons loses self-distribution and direct-to-consumer shipping and works most off-site sales through licensed wholesalers. Needed only when production crosses the farm winery ceiling.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC)

Fee

$100 application plus a $1,500 issuance fee, then $350 a year to renew with $70 in surcharges, $420 total

Renewal

Annual

Processing

Similar to other DLLC production licenses, roughly 60 to 120 days

The owners, the designated agent, and the managers who run the winery day to day must complete both a Basic and a Management Title 4 course from a DLLC-approved provider, under A.R.S. 4-112. Ordinary tasting-room pourers are not required to hold a certificate, though training is encouraged. The Basic course is a prerequisite for the Management course, and certificates are due within 60 days of the application being accepted, or with the application if you request an interim permit.

Issued by

DLLC-approved training providers (the DLLC approves providers and enforces the requirement)

Fee

No state fee. Approved providers set their own price; confirm with the provider.

Renewal

Basic certificate every 3 years

Processing

A few hours online with an immediate certificate, due to the DLLC within 60 days of the application being accepted

Arizona taxes wine by the gallon on top of the federal excise tax, and the catch is who pays it. When the winery sells through a licensed wholesaler, the wholesaler remits the luxury tax, but on the winery's own retail sales, the tasting room, direct-to-retailer, and direct-to-consumer shipments, the winery remits it itself on ADOR Form 835. Unlike the federal small-producer credit, Arizona offers no state-level reduction, so the full $0.84 a gallon applies. The luxury tax is separate from and additive to the TPT, so a tasting-room bottle owes both.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR)

Fee

$0.84 per gallon on wine at 24 percent ABV or under, and $4.00 per gallon above 24 percent. No separate registration fee; the obligation rides on the license.

Renewal

Filed monthly with ADOR (Form 835), or as ADOR directs

Processing

Ongoing tax obligation, filed through ADOR's Luxury Tax Online portal

A farm winery is a licensed retailer for tax purposes and owes TPT, the Arizona tax on the seller, on its direct retail sales of wine, including tasting-room bottles and glasses and direct-to-consumer shipments. It is filed under the retail classification and is entirely separate from the per-gallon luxury tax, so both apply to the same sale. You register on the Joint Tax Application (Form JT-1), and each remote tasting room is its own location at $12.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR)

Fee

$12 per location for the state portion, paid once. A city you sell in can add its own municipal license fee.

Renewal

Annual, by calendar year. The state does not usually charge to renew, though cities may.

Processing

Apply through AZTaxes.gov on Form JT-1 and the license number issues the same day, with the paper certificate mailed in 7 to 10 business days.

Nearly every winery holds its license and lease through an LLC, both for liability protection around running tanks, presses, and a public tasting room, and because the DLLC issues a license to a named entity that must be in good standing first. You file Articles of Organization and name a statutory agent. A new LLC based outside Maricopa or Pima County also has to publish a Notice of Formation in an approved newspaper within 60 days, a small added cost paid to the paper.

Issued by

Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), Corporations Division

Fee

$50 to file at regular speed. Expedited tiers run $85 (next day) to $400 (2 hour).

Renewal

One-time filing. Arizona LLCs file no annual report (corporations do, at $45 a year).

Processing

Regular processing varies; expedited same-day and next-day options exist

Optional under A.R.S. 44-1460, and not a trademark. A winery registers a trade name only when it pours under a brand different from its legal entity name, for example Sonoran Sky Vineyards LLC selling as a separate label. A winery trading under its own filed name does not need it, since the Commission and the Secretary of State share a cross-referenced name database.

Issued by

Arizona Secretary of State, Business Services Division

Fee

$10 to file

Renewal

Every 5 years

Processing

Online filing, commonly a few business days

Once the winery hires tasting-room or cellar staff, it registers as an employer, and the single JT-1 covers both ADOR for income tax withholding and DES for unemployment insurance. ADOR forwards the DES portion automatically, and DES then mails a determination with your unemployment tax rate and account number. You also report every new hire to the Arizona New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days.

Issued by

Arizona Department of Revenue (withholding) and Arizona Department of Economic Security (unemployment insurance), on one joint application

Fee

No fee. The registration rides on the same Joint Tax Application (Form JT-1) used for the TPT license.

Renewal

One-time registration, then ongoing payroll withholding and quarterly unemployment reports once liable

Processing

Register on AZTaxes.gov. The TPT number issues the same day; DES mails its determination separately, usually within a few weeks.

Arizona requires every employer with even one employee, full or part time, to carry workers' compensation, with no small-employer exemption. A winery that hires a single tasting-room pourer is in scope from that first hire. The employer pays the whole premium with no deduction from wages, and an LLC member who actively works in the business may count as an employee, so confirm that with your carrier. A notice of coverage has to be posted where staff can see it.

Issued by

Bought from an authorized commercial carrier; required and enforced by the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA) under A.R.S. 23-901

Fee

No state fee. The premium is set by your carrier based on payroll, job classifications, and claims history.

Renewal

Annual, with the insurance policy

Processing

A policy binder from an authorized carrier, often 1 to 5 business days