North Carolina · Alcoholic beverage permits
North Carolina ABC permit lookup on the Commission’s search.
The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission issues the permits that let restaurants, stores, breweries and wholesalers sell alcohol, and publishes a permittee search. This page explains the permit families and links to the search.
Short answer: open the ABC Commission’s Permittee & Permit Count Searches at abc2.nc.gov/Search/Permit. The Commission issues retail permits for on-premise sales (restaurants and clubs) and off-premise sales (grocery and convenience stores), commercial permits for breweries, wineries, distilleries and wholesalers, one-time permits for limited or special occasions, and supplier and broker permits. This page does not look anyone up.
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Permits, not licences
North Carolina is a control state: the Commission regulates sales and the local ABC boards run the liquor stores. What a restaurant, bar or shop holds is an ABC permit, and that is the word the Commission’s search uses. The Commission’s site groups its permits into four families. Retail permits cover on-premise sales, meaning restaurants and clubs, and off-premise sales, meaning grocery and convenience stores. Commercial permits cover breweries, wineries, distilleries and wholesalers. One-time permits are for limited or special occasions. Supplier and broker permits round out the list.
The search
From the Commission’s home page, the link named Permittee & Permit Count Searches opens the search at abc2.nc.gov/Search/Permit. The name describes two things: a permittee lookup for a particular business and permit counts, which are aggregate figures. The search page itself was not readable when fetched for this build, so this guide does not list its fields or result columns; use the link and read the form on the Commission’s site.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Official search: Permittee & Permit Count Searches | abc2.nc.gov/Search/Permit |
| NC ABC Commission home (permit families, contacts) | abc.nc.gov |
Contacting the Commission
The Commission answers at 919-779-0700 and Contact@abc.nc.gov. Its physical address is 400 East Tryon Road, Raleigh, NC 27610, and its mailing address is 4307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4307. The home page read on November 11, 2026 also noted a study of minimum baseline pricing for spirituous liquor with public comments still being accepted at the same email address.
Worked example
A wedding planner in Charlotte is told the venue holds a mixed beverages permit and that the caterer will sell beer and wine under its own permit. She opens the Permittee & Permit Count Searches, looks up the venue and then the caterer, and compares what each record shows against what she was told: the venue should appear under an on-premise retail permit, and a caterer selling at a one-off event may instead hold a one-time permit for that occasion. Anything that does not match goes to the Commission at 919-779-0700 before the contract is signed.
What this page does not do
It does not search the Commission’s records, does not store what you tick, and does not explain permit codes, fees or local-option rules, which the pages read do not describe. Local ABC boards, which operate the state’s liquor stores, are a different body from the Commission.
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- North Carolina ABC Commission: home page (permit families, Permittee & Permit Count Searches link, contacts) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- NC ABC Commission: Permittee & Permit Count Searches (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedNorth Carolina restaurants hold a liquor licence that the ABC Commission’s search calls a licence.
What the source saysThe Commission issues permits and its public tool is the Permittee & Permit Count Searches; retail permits are split into on-premise (restaurants and clubs) and off-premise (grocery and convenience stores). [1]
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Often assumedA caterer selling at a one-off event in North Carolina needs the same retail permit as a bar.
What the source saysThe Commission lists one-time permits for limited or special occasions as a separate family from retail and commercial permits. [1]
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Often assumedThe NC ABC Commission runs the state liquor stores.
What the source saysThe Commission’s site separates its own role, which includes permits, audits, education and legal resources, from the boards and stores it lists under a separate heading. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up an ABC permit in North Carolina?
Open the Commission’s Permittee & Permit Count Searches at abc2.nc.gov/Search/Permit, linked from abc.nc.gov.
What kinds of permits does the NC ABC Commission issue?
Retail permits for on-premise sales (restaurants and clubs) and off-premise sales (grocery and convenience stores), commercial permits for breweries, wineries, distilleries and wholesalers, one-time permits for limited or special occasions, and supplier and broker permits.
Is it a licence or a permit?
North Carolina calls it a permit. The Commission’s search is a permittee search.
What is a one-time permit?
A permit for a limited or special occasion, as the Commission describes it, rather than an ongoing retail or commercial permit.
How do I contact the NC ABC Commission?
919-779-0700 or Contact@abc.nc.gov; 400 East Tryon Road, Raleigh, NC 27610, or by mail at 4307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4307.
What search fields does the permit search have?
The search page was not readable when fetched for this build, so this guide does not list them. Open the search and read the form on the Commission’s site.
Does this page verify a permit?
No. It explains the official search and links to it. Nothing typed or ticked here is sent anywhere.
Guide only — not a verification tool
This page describes an official register and links to it. It does not check anyone’s permit status, does not copy or proxy the register, and nothing you type or tick here is transmitted anywhere. Registers change and alcohol rules differ by state and county; use the official source linked above and contact the Commission to confirm anything that matters. This is general information, not legal advice.