Pennsylvania · Liquor licensing
Pennsylvania liquor license lookup on PLCB+.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) licenses about 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers and handlers and publishes a public licence search in its PLCB+ system. This page explains where that search is, what it covers and how licences move between owners and addresses.
Short answer: open Search Licenses from the PLCB’s Licensing menu, which leads to the PLCB+ licence search. The Board says anyone can search for retail and wholesale liquor licenses and permits among 80 different types. The same pa.gov page offers a Search Licensees quick link straight into PLCB+. This page does not look anyone up.
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Result
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Where the search lives
The PLCB’s agency page on pa.gov carries a Licensing menu with a Search Licenses entry and, under quick links, Search Licensees, which opens the PLCB+ licence search directly at plcbplus.pa.gov. The Search Licenses page describes the tool in one sentence: anyone can search for retail and wholesale liquor licenses and permits among 80 different types. The Licensing page adds that the search is there to find and access information about licensees. PLCB+ is also the system licensees use to conduct licensing and permitting business, but the public search needs no account.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| PLCB agency page | pa.gov/agencies/lcb |
| Search Licenses (description page) | pa.gov/agencies/lcb/licensing/search-licenses |
| PLCB+ licence search (the tool itself) | plcbplus.pa.gov |
| Licensing overview | pa.gov/agencies/lcb/licensing |
What the Board licenses
The agency page says the PLCB operates about 560 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers and handlers, and that it issues, renews and validates licences. The pages read give no renewal or validation calendar and no list of the 80 types, so none is stated here; the one permit named on the site is the Wine Expanded Permit, under wholesale wine and spirits sales.
Four ways a licence is obtained
The Licensing page describes how licences change hands, which is useful when a search shows an address or owner that differs from the one you expected. A new licence may be limited by a statutory quota. A person-to-person transfer changes ownership at the same location. A place-to-place transfer moves the licence without changing the owner. A double transfer changes both ownership and location. A bar that has just changed hands, or moved, may therefore show in PLCB+ under the prior owner or address until the transfer is approved.
Worked example
A brewery sales rep in Pittsburgh wants to confirm a new account’s licence before the first delivery. She opens Search Licensees from the PLCB page, searches the business name in PLCB+ and reads the licence record. The business name matches but the licensee name is the previous owner; the Licensing page’s description of person-to-person transfers tells her the transfer may still be pending, so she asks the owner for the transfer status and checks again before shipping.
What this page does not do
It does not search PLCB+, does not store what you tick, and does not describe the search fields or the result layout, because the PLCB pages read on November 11, 2026 describe the tool’s scope rather than its form. Enforcement is a separate function: the PLCB site has its own Liquor Control Enforcement contact page.
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board: agency page (store count, licensee count, Search Licensees quick link) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- PLCB: Search Licenses (80 licence and permit types) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- PLCB: Licensing (new, person-to-person, place-to-place and double transfers) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedYou need a PLCB+ account to look up a Pennsylvania liquor licence.
What the source saysThe PLCB’s Search Licenses page says anyone can search for retail and wholesale liquor licenses and permits among 80 different types; PLCB+ accounts are for licensees conducting licensing and permitting business. [1]
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Often assumedA Pennsylvania liquor licence always stays with the premises when a bar is sold.
What the source saysThe PLCB Licensing page describes a person-to-person transfer, which changes ownership at the same location, a place-to-place transfer, which moves the licence without a change of owner, and a double transfer, which changes both. [2]
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Often assumedPennsylvania issues new liquor licences on request.
What the source saysThe Licensing page says a new licence may be limited by a statutory quota, which is why licences are commonly acquired by transfer. [2]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a Pennsylvania liquor license?
Open Search Licenses from the PLCB Licensing menu or the Search Licensees quick link on pa.gov; both lead to the PLCB+ licence search.
Who can use the PLCB search?
The Board says anyone can search for retail and wholesale liquor licenses and permits among 80 different types. No account is needed for the public search.
How many licensees does the PLCB have?
The agency page says the PLCB licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers and handlers and operates about 560 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores.
What is a place-to-place transfer?
A move of the licence to a new location without a change in ownership. A person-to-person transfer changes the owner at the same location; a double transfer changes both.
Why does the licence show a different owner from the bar I visited?
Ownership changes through a person-to-person or double transfer, which the Board must approve; until then the record can show the previous owner.
Does the PLCB publish a list of the 80 licence types?
Not on the pages read for this guide. The only permit named is the Wine Expanded Permit.
Does this page verify a license?
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 licence status, does not copy or proxy the register, and nothing you type or tick here is transmitted anywhere. Registers change and licensing rules differ by state; use the official source linked above and contact the PLCB to confirm anything that matters. This is general information, not legal advice.