# Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis (GAB)

## Title 12. Baltimore City

### Subtitle 17. Transfer of Licenses; Substitution of Names on License

#### Section 12-1701

(a) The following sections of Title 4, Subtitle 3 ("Transfer of Local Licenses; Substitution of Names on License") of Division I of this article apply in the City without exception or variation:

  (1) Sec. 4-303 ("Chain store, supermarket, or discount house");

  (2) Sec. 4-304 ("Compliance with Bulk Transfers Act required"); and

  (3) Sec. 4-306 ("Substitution of names of officers on license").

(b) The following sections of Title 4, Subtitle 3 ("Transfer of Local Licenses; Substitution of Names on License") of Division I of this article apply in the City:

  (1) Sec. 4-302 ("Transfer of place of business; transfer of license and inventory"), subject to Sec.Sec. 12-1702, 12-1703, 12-1705, 12-1706, 12-1707, and 12-1708 of this subtitle; and

  (2) Sec. 4-305 ("Filing fee and endorsement"), subject to Sec. 12-1704 of this subtitle.

#### Section 12-1702

(a) The Board shall provide notice for a public hearing as provided in Sec. 12-1506 of this title on an application for a license transfer if:

  (1) the transfer includes a transfer of location;

  (2) the premises have been closed for more than 90 days unless:

    (i) the transfer is due to an action of a creditor; or

    (ii) the closing is caused by fire, casualty, or act of God; or

  (3) for an establishment in operation, the hearing is requested by at least 10 residents in the immediate area of the establishment.

(b)

  (1) Section 12-1508 of this title does not apply to an application for a license transfer for the same premises unless the license to be transferred is of a broader scope or more permissive class than the license presently issued for the same premises.

  (2) Section 12-1509 of this title applies to an application for a license transfer.

(c) The Board shall use the factors specified in Sec. 4-210(a) and (b) of this article in deciding whether to approve an application for a license transfer.

#### Section 12-1703

The Board may not allow the transfer of a license unless the Board is presented with a receipt or certificate from the Director of Finance showing that all personal property taxes due the City or the State are paid.

#### Section 12-1704

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the fee for a transfer of a license is $200, in addition to the costs of publication and notice and any hearing fees required.

(b) A Class C license holder may transfer one license during a license year without paying a fee.

#### Section 12-1705

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a transfer of a license shall be completed on or before 180 days after the Board approves the transfer.

(b)

  (1) Within 180 days after the Board approves the transfer of a license, the license holder or another appropriate interested party may make a written request to the Board to extend the time authorized to complete the transfer due to hardship.

  (2) The Board may grant the extension if the Board finds after a hearing that an existing hardship caused the delay in transferring the license.

  (3) An extension may not prolong the period authorized to complete the transfer beyond 270 days after the Board approves the transfer.

#### Section 12-1705.1

The Board may not allow the transfer of a license to another person until the resolution of:

(1) any pending criminal charge filed against the transferor that directly relates to the operation of the licensed premises; or

(2) any disciplinary matter before the Board concerning the transferor.

#### Section 12-1706

(a) The Board may not transfer a license into the area bounded by Twenty-Fifth (25th) Street on the north, Centre Street on the south, Howard Street on the west, and Guilford Avenue on the east.

(b)

  (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, the Board may not transfer a license into:

    (i) ward 1, precincts 4 and 5;

    (ii) ward 23, precinct 1; or

    (iii) ward 24, precinct 5.

  (2) The Board may allow the transfer of one Class D license into the residential planned unit development for Silo Point located in ward 24, precinct 5 that was enacted by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City in Ordinance 04-697 on June 23, 2004, if the Class D license holder operates the establishment in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance 04-697.

  (3) The Board may allow the transfer of:

    (i) a Class B-D-7 beer, wine, and liquor license from an area in ward 1, precinct 4 bounded on the north by Elliott Street, on the west by South Robinson Street, on the south by Toone Street, and on the east by Southeast Avenue into an area in ward 1, precinct 5 bounded on the north by Fait Avenue, on the west by South Kenwood Avenue, on the south by Hudson Street, and on the east by South Streeper Street; and

    (ii) a Class D beer, wine, and liquor license from an area in ward 1, precinct 5 bounded on the north by Fait Avenue, on the west by South Kenwood Avenue, on the south by Hudson Street, and on the east by South Streeper Street into an area in ward 1, precinct 4 bounded on the north by Elliott Street, on the west by South Robinson Street, on the south by Toone Street, and on the east by Southeast Avenue.

  (4)

    (i) The Board may allow the transfer of not more than two Class B beer, wine, and liquor licenses, so that the cumulative number of licenses issued or transferred is two, into the area of 829 through 919 E. Fort Avenue only if:

      (1) the Board has executed a memorandum of understanding between the community associations in Riverside and Locust Point regarding the nature of the proposed establishment; and

      (2) the Board enforces the memorandum of understanding against any license holder that obtains a license under Sec. 12-1604 of this title and seeks to transfer the license.

    (ii) The Board may not allow a license to be transferred out of the area described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and into any other area of ward 24, precinct 5.

(c) The Board may not authorize:

  (1) the transfer of any license into the 46th alcoholic beverages district;

  (2) the transfer of a new Class B beer, wine, and liquor license to another location within the 46th alcoholic beverages district; or

  (3) a change of classification of a new Class B beer, wine, and liquor license within the 46th alcoholic beverages district.

(d)

  (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a license may not be transferred into or within:

    (i) ward 1, precincts 2 and 3;

    (ii) ward 2 in its entirety;

    (iii) ward 3, precinct 3; and

    (iv) ward 26, precincts 3 and 10.

  (2) This subsection does not apply to an application for a new license or a transfer from within the areas described in paragraph (1) of this subsection if the new license or transfer is for:

    (i) a hotel;

    (ii) an establishment located in a planned unit development if the application for the planned unit development was filed or approved before December 31, 1995;

    (iii) an establishment located in an area governed by the Inner Harbor East Urban Renewal Plan; or

    (iv) an establishment that has:

      (1) a seating capacity of fewer than 150 individuals;

      (2) average daily receipts from the sale of food that are at least 51% of the total daily receipts of the establishment; or

      (3) a seating capacity of fewer than 200 individuals only if the establishment is within ward 3, precinct 3.

#### Section 12-1707

(a) The alcoholic beverages districts described in this section at all times are coterminous with the legislative districts in the Legislative Districting Plan of 2022.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a license may not be transferred into:

  (1) the 40th alcoholic beverages district;

  (2) the 41st alcoholic beverages district;

  (3) the 43rd alcoholic beverages district;

  (4) the 44th alcoholic beverages district; and

  (5) the 45th alcoholic beverages district.

(c)

  (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) through (4) of this subsection, a license of any class may not be transferred into the areas described in subsection (b) of this section.

  (2) A licensed drugstore may transfer the license into the 45th alcoholic beverages district.

  (3) One Class B-D-7 license issued for a property surrounded by West Preston Street on the north, Morton Street on the east, West Biddle Street on the south, and Maryland Avenue on the west may be transferred to a property surrounded by West Eager Street and East Eager Street on the north, Lovegrove Street on the east, West Read Street and East Read Street on the south, and Morton Street on the west.

  (4) One Class A beer, wine, and liquor license issued for a property surrounded by West Eager Street on the north, Morton Street on the east, Brexton Street on the south, and Cathedral Street on the west may be transferred to a property surrounded by East Chase Street on the north, North Lovegrove Street on the east, East Eager Street on the south, and North Charles Street on the west.

#### Section 12-1708

(a) A Class A (off-sale) or Class D (on- and off-sale) license may not be transferred into the area that is bounded:

  (1) on the north by Thirty-Ninth (39th) Street, then following Ellerslie Avenue, then following Chestnut Hill Avenue;

  (2) on the east by Loch Raven Boulevard, then following Walpert Avenue, then following Homewood Avenue;

  (3) on the south by North Avenue; and

  (4) on the west by Howard Street, then following Art Museum Drive, then following North Charles Street.

(b) A Class A license may not be transferred to an establishment:

  (1) on York Road in the area bounded by Northern Parkway on the north and Greenmount Avenue on the south; or

  (2) located in the 400 block of East Belvedere Avenue.

#### Section 12-1709

Notwithstanding Sec. 12-1504 of this title, a person that has an interest in more than one Class A license may transfer each license to a similar type of business establishment.

#### Section 12-1710

A person may transfer a license to a holder of another license that already exists for use on the same location if:

(1) no provision of this article prohibits the license from being transferred to the location;

(2) the Board:

  (i) determines that the existing license is inoperative; and

  (ii)

    (1) revokes the existing license within 180 days after the effective date of the transfer; or

    (2) approves the transfer of the existing license to a new holder and location.

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Md. Code Ann., Alco. Bev. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)