Winery permits in Phoenix, Arizona

The city and county permits, taxes, and inspections a winery needs in Phoenix (Maricopa County), on top of the statewide Arizona and federal credentials covered on their own pages.

Local feesThe valuation-based building permit and the $1,625 city liquor application fee are the big local items, while recurring fees stay modest: $240 a quarter for the city Series 13 license, $50 a year for the tax license, and $150 a year for the fire assembly permit. First-year local fees outside the building permit usually land around $4,000 to $7,000.CountyMaricopa County

This page covers only the Phoenix city and county permits for wineries. The statewide Arizona credentials and the federal credentials every winery needs are on their own pages.

All Arizona requirementsWineries in Arizona Federal requirementsEvery winery nationwide

What you need to run a winery in Phoenix

Credential	Level	Fee	Renewal
Maricopa County Food Establishment Exemption (wine-only tasting room)	County	No fee while the tasting room is exempt. Adding TCS food triggers a county food establishment permit priced by class; confirm with MCESD.	Not applicable while exempt; annual if a food permit is triggered
City of Phoenix Liquor License Recommendation (Series 13)	City	$1,625 nonrefundable city application fee, separate from the state DLLC fees, plus a city Series 13 license fee of $240 a quarter. Confirm current amounts with License Services.	Annual, billed quarterly
City of Phoenix Transaction Privilege (Sales) Tax License	City	$50 a year, nonrefundable, on the same AZTaxes.gov application as the state TPT. The first-year fee is due within 30 days of opening, with a $25 late fee, and it renews each January 1.	Annual, on January 1
City of Phoenix Commercial Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy	City	Valuation-based, often tens of thousands of dollars for a winery buildout, plus a plan review fee and separate trade permits. The Certificate of Occupancy carries no extra charge. Confirm your project fee with PDD.	One-time per project
City of Phoenix Zoning and Use Permit (winery)	City	No fee where the use is by right. A zoning verification letter is $390, and a use permit, where one is needed, runs through a hearing. Confirm the current use permit fee with PDD Zoning.	One-time; a use permit runs with the land
City of Phoenix Industrial Wastewater Pretreatment (winery process water)	City	A formal discharge permit (Class A or B) is priced under City Code Chapter 28; confirm the amount with IPP. The pretreatment procedures themselves carry no permit fee.	Annual for a permitted facility
City of Phoenix Backflow Prevention Assembly	City	A PDD plumbing permit to install each assembly, plus an annual test by a city-recognized certified tester, commonly $75 to $150 per assembly. Filing the report is free.	Annual test report to the city for each assembly
City of Phoenix Sign Permit	City	Set by the PDD sign fee schedule by sign type and size. A sign put up without a permit adds an investigation fee. Confirm current amounts with PDD Sign Services.	One-time per sign
City of Phoenix Series 15 Special Event Liquor Approval (only for off-site pouring)	City	City application fee by expected attendance, $290 (up to 500) to $450 (over 5,000), plus $10 per event day. Filing 30 days or fewer out adds a $65 late fee. State DLLC fees are separate.	Per event
Phoenix Fire Place of Assembly Operational Permit (tasting room of 50 or more)	Operational	$150 a year	Annual, and not transferable
Phoenix Fire Hazardous Materials and Compressed Gas Permit (production)	Operational	Set by the Fire Prevention fee schedule. A new bulk system also needs a construction permit and plan review. Confirm current amounts with Fire Prevention.	Annual operational permit

A typical winery in Phoenix, Arizona needs 30 separate credentials to operate legally, and that is for one location. Federal, statewide, and local Phoenix requirements all stack on the same winery, each with its own renewal date, fee, and issuing agency.

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Each winery credential in Phoenix, explained

Grouped by the level of government that issues it, county then city. Every credential here is specific to operating a winery in Phoenix, Arizona.

County level

1 credential

Maricopa County Food Establishment Exemption (wine-only tasting room)

A licensed Series 13 winery is exempt from Maricopa County food establishment permitting for the production area and a tasting room that serves only wine plus commercially prepackaged non-TCS snacks like crackers or pretzels, under the A.R.S. 36-136 exemption listed in the county permit-exemptions guidance. The exemption ends the moment the tasting room serves any time-and-temperature-control food: a charcuterie board of cut cheese and cured meats, anything cooked, or a small-plates menu all pull in a full county food permit with plan review and food handler cards. Talk to MCESD before adding any food beyond prepackaged snacks.

Issued by: Maricopa County Environmental Services Department (MCESD), Environmental Health Division
Fee: No fee while the tasting room is exempt. Adding TCS food triggers a county food establishment permit priced by class; confirm with MCESD.
Renewal: Not applicable while exempt; annual if a food permit is triggered
Processing: Not applicable while exempt

City level

8 credentials

City of Phoenix Liquor License Recommendation (Series 13)

Arizona issues the Series 13 winery license, but a Phoenix location must first earn a City Council recommendation. The state forwards your application to Phoenix License Services, which posts it at the premises for 20 days, takes public comment, runs police, finance, and planning review, and brings it to a formal Council meeting for an advisory vote to the DLLC. A disapproval or a filed protest routes it to the state Liquor Board and adds months. This is the local layer of the state winery license, and the separate city application packet is filed alongside the DLLC one.

Issued by: City of Phoenix City Clerk Department, License Services
Fee: $1,625 nonrefundable city application fee, separate from the state DLLC fees, plus a city Series 13 license fee of $240 a quarter. Confirm current amounts with License Services.
Renewal: Annual, billed quarterly
Processing: About 90 to 120 days from when the state forwards the application, covering the 20-day posting, department review, and a City Council vote

City of Phoenix Transaction Privilege (Sales) Tax License

A winery reports two different Phoenix tax activities on one license, both at 2.8 percent as of July 1, 2025. Wine poured by the glass for drinking in the tasting room is taxed under Restaurants and Bars, while a sealed bottle sold to take home is taxed under Retail. The rate is the same, but the two must be reported under separate business codes on the AZTaxes.gov return, and commingling them is a compliance error, so the point of sale has to separate them from day one.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Finance Department, Tax Division (filed through ADOR)
Fee: $50 a year, nonrefundable, on the same AZTaxes.gov application as the state TPT. The first-year fee is due within 30 days of opening, with a $25 late fee, and it renews each January 1.
Renewal: Annual, on January 1
Processing: Issued with the state license, usually within a week

City of Phoenix Commercial Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy

A winery is a mixed-occupancy building. The production zone, with crushing, fermentation, barrel storage, and bottling, is Group F-1 because alcohol is a flammable liquid and the process involves hazardous materials, while the public tasting room is Group A-2 Assembly once it is designed for 50 or more, or Group B below that. Phoenix lets you handle the mix as non-separated (the whole building meets the most restrictive rules) or separated by a fire-rated barrier, and most wineries put a 2-hour barrier between production and the tasting room so A-2 egress and sprinkler rules do not bleed onto the whole footprint. The Certificate of Occupancy issues only after every inspection passes.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department (PDD), Building Safety Division
Fee: Valuation-based, often tens of thousands of dollars for a winery buildout, plus a plan review fee and separate trade permits. The Certificate of Occupancy carries no extra charge. Confirm your project fee with PDD.
Renewal: One-time per project
Processing: About 4 to 8 weeks for a first commercial review through the SHAPE PHX portal, with corrections and inspections extending it

City of Phoenix Zoning and Use Permit (winery)

Wine production is a light-industrial use that fits the A-1 and A-2 industrial districts and the commerce park option, with the tasting room allowed as an accessory commercial use, and a winery in a standard industrial or commercial building that clears the proximity thresholds usually needs no separate use permit. A use permit is triggered in narrower cases: alcohol sales in a commerce park district, outdoor alcohol consumption within 500 feet of a residential or historic zone, or a large tasting room close to homes. Confirm the parcel zoning and any stipulations with PDD Zoning before signing a lease.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department, Zoning Division
Fee: No fee where the use is by right. A zoning verification letter is $390, and a use permit, where one is needed, runs through a hearing. Confirm the current use permit fee with PDD Zoning.
Renewal: One-time; a use permit runs with the land
Processing: No added step for a by-right use. A use permit takes about 8 to 16 weeks through a zoning hearing.

City of Phoenix Industrial Wastewater Pretreatment (winery process water)

Winery process water is high-strength, acidic, and loaded with grape solids, yeast, and tartrates, so Phoenix regulates what reaches the sewer under City Code Chapter 28. Every winery has to neutralize discharge to a pH of 5 to 10.5 and keep it below 150 degrees, and the city's alcohol-production wastewater guidance requires a pH-adjustment holding tank, fine screens at the sewer entry, and written standard operating procedures filed with IPP before you open. A winery expecting to discharge more than 2,000 gallons a day needs a formal discharge permit on top, while below that the procedures and code limits still apply. Confirm your threshold with IPP early.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Water Services Department, Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP)
Fee: A formal discharge permit (Class A or B) is priced under City Code Chapter 28; confirm the amount with IPP. The pretreatment procedures themselves carry no permit fee.
Renewal: Annual for a permitted facility
Processing: Submit at least 90 days before discharging, after a pre-plan-review consultation with IPP and before opening

City of Phoenix Backflow Prevention Assembly

Phoenix City Code Chapter 37 requires a testable backflow assembly on the water service of a commercial building, and a winery is usually treated as a high-hazard cross-connection because water touches both a consumable product and cleaning chemicals, which calls for a reduced-pressure assembly rather than a simpler one. A separate assembly is needed on any fire sprinkler line. After install you hire a city-recognized tester every year and file the report, or risk a water shutoff.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department (PDD), Backflow Prevention Program
Fee: A PDD plumbing permit to install each assembly, plus an annual test by a city-recognized certified tester, commonly $75 to $150 per assembly. Filing the report is free.
Renewal: Annual test report to the city for each assembly
Processing: Permit reviewed with the plumbing permit; the first test happens at the install inspection

City of Phoenix Sign Permit

Any exterior wall, freestanding, projecting, or illuminated sign needs a permit from PDD before it goes up, under Phoenix Zoning Ordinance Section 705. A winery gets a minimum of 50 square feet of sign area, and a sign face over 25 square feet on certain types needs stamped engineering. Interior signage visible only from inside does not need a permit.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department (PDD), Sign Services
Fee: Set by the PDD sign fee schedule by sign type and size. A sign put up without a permit adds an investigation fee. Confirm current amounts with PDD Sign Services.
Renewal: One-time per sign
Processing: About 1 to 3 weeks for a straightforward wall sign, longer if engineered plans are needed

City of Phoenix Series 15 Special Event Liquor Approval (only for off-site pouring)

When a winery pours at an off-site Phoenix event at a place that does not already hold an active liquor license, a park, a private venue, or a street festival, the Series 15 special event license needs city approval before the state can issue it. Both the city packet and the DLLC application go directly to Phoenix License Services. The City Manager can clear up to two events a year for one organization, and anything beyond that goes to the City Council. If the venue already holds an on-sale license covering the space, no Series 15 and no city step is needed.

Issued by: City of Phoenix City Clerk Department, License Services
Fee: City application fee by expected attendance, $290 (up to 500) to $450 (over 5,000), plus $10 per event day. Filing 30 days or fewer out adds a $65 late fee. State DLLC fees are separate.
Renewal: Per event
Processing: File at least 90 days ahead. City approval runs about 3 to 6 weeks, then the state needs at least 10 days more.

Operational level

2 credentials

Phoenix Fire Place of Assembly Operational Permit (tasting room of 50 or more)

A tasting room designed for an occupant load of 50 or more is a place of assembly under the Phoenix Fire Code and carries this annual operational permit, renewed after a fire inspection. A smaller tasting room under 50 is Group B and does not need it. This is the same assembly permit a restaurant dining room of that size carries, applied here to the public side of the winery.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau
Fee: $150 a year
Renewal: Annual, and not transferable
Processing: An inspection is done before the permit issues; allow 2 to 4 weeks

Phoenix Fire Hazardous Materials and Compressed Gas Permit (production)

The production side is what sets a winery apart from a bar. Bulk CO2 and nitrogen, used in fermentation, sparkling production, and dispensing, are compressed gases that need an operational permit once they pass the Fire Code quantity thresholds, which a production-scale CO2 system almost always does. Wine-strength ethanol in storage can also cross the hazardous-materials thresholds for combustible liquids and pull in its own permit. Meet with Phoenix Fire Prevention during pre-application to map which of your gases and liquids cross the limits, and pull a construction permit before installing a bulk CO2 system.

Issued by: City of Phoenix Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau
Fee: Set by the Fire Prevention fee schedule. A new bulk system also needs a construction permit and plan review. Confirm current amounts with Fire Prevention.
Renewal: Annual operational permit
Processing: 2 to 6 weeks, with separate plan review for a new system install

See how other wineries in Phoenix are managing every permit, license, and renewal in one place with CredentiAlert.

Phoenix-specific things to watch for

1The mixed F-1 and A-2 occupancy split is not optional, and the fire barrier is what keeps it affordable. Once the tasting room is designed for 50 or more it becomes Group A-2 Assembly, with stricter egress, sprinklers, and live-load rules than the F-1 production floor. If a fire-rated barrier is not properly placed between the public and production areas, PDD applies the A-2 rules to the whole building, which can make the industrial production space far more expensive to build out than operators expect.

2The City Council liquor recommendation can slip the opening by months, and a single protest extends it. The recommendation is scheduled onto a formal Council meeting that meets about every two weeks, and any neighbor or business association can file a protest that sends the application to the state Liquor Board for a hearing, adding 60 to 90 days. Operators who plan to open a few weeks after filing the DLLC application are routinely caught off guard.

3Wine by the glass and wine to go are taxed under two different Phoenix activity codes even though the rate is the same 2.8 percent. The pour is Restaurants and Bars and the sealed bottle is Retail, and they must be reported under separate codes on the AZTaxes.gov return. Commingling them is a compliance error that can trigger an audit, so a winery opening on one point-of-sale system has to split the two from the first sale.

4Winery wastewater compliance is due before the first crush, not after. The city pretreatment program wants written standard operating procedures for pH control, solids, and spills on file before you open, and the discharge has to be neutralized to a pH of 5 to 10.5. A Certificate of Occupancy is not always conditioned on that clearance, so a winery can hold its CO and still violate Chapter 28 on crush day, which invites fines and even a sewer shutoff.

5Adding a charcuterie board erases the county food exemption. The Maricopa County exemption covers wine plus prepackaged non-TCS snacks only. The moment the tasting room cuts cheese to order, plates cured meats, or offers anything cooked, it is serving time-and-temperature-control food and needs a full county food establishment permit with plan review, equipment, and food handler cards. Wineries that test the market with simple charcuterie often trip into a full county permit mid-season.

How long does it take?

Plan on 12 to 24 months from lease to first legal pour for a winery that needs a full buildout. The long poles run in parallel: the city building permit and construction of a mixed production-and-tasting-room space, and the City Council liquor recommendation, which targets about 90 to 120 days from when the state forwards your application but is the single most schedule-sensitive step because Council agenda slots fill weeks ahead and a protest sends it to the state Liquor Board. Submit your winery wastewater procedures to the city pretreatment program before your first crush, and a winery taking over an already-built space moves much faster.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a permit to open a winery in Phoenix?

Yes, several, on top of the state Series 13 license. Locally a Phoenix winery needs the City Council liquor recommendation, a city privilege tax license covering both the tasting-room pour and the retail bottle sale, a building permit and Certificate of Occupancy for the mixed industrial production and assembly tasting-room occupancy, a fire place-of-assembly permit if the tasting room holds 50 or more, fire permits for CO2 and hazardous materials, a winery wastewater pretreatment submission, a backflow assembly, and a sign permit. Maricopa County does not require a food permit for a tasting room that serves only wine and prepackaged snacks.

How long does a Phoenix liquor license take for a winery?

The city portion of the Series 13 process, the 20-day posting, department review, and a City Council vote, realistically runs 90 to 120 days from when the state forwards the application to Phoenix. If the Council recommends disapproval or a neighbor files a protest, it goes to the state Liquor Board and can stretch to 6 months or longer. Because Council agenda slots fill weeks in advance, this is the most schedule-sensitive local step, so start it before or alongside your buildout.

Does Phoenix tax wine sales differently by the glass versus to go?

The rate is the same but the reporting is not. Wine poured by the glass for drinking in the tasting room is taxed under the Restaurants and Bars classification at 2.8 percent, while a sealed bottle sold to take home is taxed under Retail at the same 2.8 percent. The two are reported under separate business codes on the Arizona TPT return, and combining them is non-compliant, so a winery has to track the two activities separately from the start.

Does a Phoenix winery need a county health permit for its tasting room?

Not if the tasting room serves only wine and commercially prepackaged non-TCS snacks like crackers or pretzels. A licensed farm winery is exempt from Maricopa County food establishment permitting under the A.R.S. 36-136 exemption in the county guidance. The exemption disappears the moment any time-and-temperature-control food is served, including cut cheese, a cured-meat board, or anything cooked, at which point a full county food permit and its requirements apply.

Official sources

Last verified 2026-06-26. Requirements change. Always confirm with the issuing department before applying.