What to Do if You Are Late in Applying for Renewal of Your Liquor License?

As the owner of a hotel, restaurant, club or eating place liquor license, your license must be renewed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) every two years. Within 60 days before your license is set to expire, you must apply for a renewal of the license. What happens if you miss the 60-day deadline prior to the expiration of your license?

The Board, in its discretion, may accept a renewal application filed less than sixty days before the expiration date of the license with the required fees, upon “reasonable cause” shown and the payment of an additional filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) for late filing. Filing the application for renewal late is called “nunc pro tunc,” which is a Latin phrase that means “now for then.” Generally, this refers to an action that applies retroactively.

What does reasonable cause mean? Generally, reasonable cause means the delay in filing is caused by extraordinary circumstances involving fraud or administrative breakdown, or where the filing is late due to non-negligent circumstances, the filing was made within a short time after discovery of the untimeliness, the time period is of short duration, and the opposing party is not prejudiced by the delay. Also, the party seeking nunc pro tunc relief carries a heavy burden to justify the late filing.

If you have any questions concerning the late filing of your renewal application, or any other question concerning your liquor license, please do not hesitate to contact Marc A. Scaringi at 717-657-7770 or scaringilaw.com.