§ 178:3 — License Applications, Qualifications, and Renewal

New Hampshire § 178:3

• Jurisdiction: New Hampshire
• Title XIII: ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
• Ch. 178: LIQUOR LICENSES AND FEES

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I. Persons seeking a license under this chapter shall file an application with the commission which is in such form and contains such information as the commission may establish by rule consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
II. The commission shall establish application fees which are sufficient to recover the fully distributed costs of processing and investigating each type of license application required. All applications shall be processed in accordance with RSA 541-A:29. Only United States citizens, registered resident aliens, partnerships, or limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, or corporations currently registered with the secretary of state to do business in New Hampshire shall be licensed under this chapter.
III. All license applications shall be made in the name of the proposed licensee and shall be signed and sworn to by the proposed licensee. In the case of a partnership, limited liability company or partnership, or corporate applicant, the application shall be signed and sworn to by all partners or an officer of the proposed licensee, or in the case of a limited liability company or partnership by each member if a natural person, or by a duly appointed representative of the membership if any other person, or by the manager of the limited liability company.
IV. An applicant intending to employ a trade name in the proposed business shall submit evidence with its application which demonstrates that the trade name is currently registered in New Hampshire.
V. The commission shall receive and evaluate sufficient information to identify and evaluate the qualifications of all persons with the de jure or de facto right to control the operations and policies of the proposed licensee. Among other things, license applications shall disclose fully and accurately:
(a) The applicant's identity, the applicant's permanent residence address in the case of an individual, and the applicant's principal place of business.
(b) The names and addresses of any persons who own or have a right to control any interest in the proposed licensee.
(c) Any agency agreement or other contract between the applicant and third persons intended to affect the operation of the proposed business, and the identity of the third party involved.
(d) The name, location, physical layout, and nature of the proposed business.
(e) Any substantial business interests involving the manufacture, sale, or distribution of liquor or beverages held by any person identified pursuant to subparagraph V(b).
(f) All licenses issued to and all other license applications filed by the applicant, and by any person identified pursuant to subparagraph V(b), pursuant to this title during the previous 5 years.
VI. No license shall be issued under this chapter to any person who has been convicted of a felony, or to any partnership, limited liability company or partnership, or corporation when a partner, director, officer, member, or any other person with a controlling interest in the operation of the business has been convicted of a felony.
VII. The commission shall not issue a license under this chapter unless it is satisfied that:
(a) The application is complete in all respects.
(b) The applicant and any person listed pursuant to subparagraph V(b) are at least 21 years of age and the applicant is of sufficiently good character to leave no substantial doubt that the proposed business shall be operated in strict accordance with all applicable state and federal alcoholic beverage control laws and rules.
(c) The applicant has accurately disclosed its interests in other business activities, and there is no substantial likelihood that these interests would interfere with the operation of the proposed business in a lawful manner and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Any application may be denied if the proposed licensee, or a person with a substantial ownership interest in the applicant, has other business interests in this or any other state which the commission believes would create unreasonable opportunities for unfair competition or unlawful activities, or which would unduly hinder the commission in exercising its regulatory and financial responsibilities.
(d) In the case of corporate, limited liability company or partnership, or partnership applicants controlled by persons who do not reside in the United States, the proposed business would not be managed in a manner which would unduly hinder the commission from exercising its regulatory and financial responsibilities. Inaccessibility of relevant records or unresponsiveness to nondiscriminatory commission inquiries which result from foreign control shall be grounds for revoking or suspending a license which has already been granted.
(e) [Repealed.]
(f) The proposed location of the business is an appropriate one, considering the nature of the business, the nature of the surrounding neighborhood, and the number of similar businesses in that neighborhood.
VIII. All license applications shall be updated and amended within 30 days following any change in the information stated in the application. This obligation shall continue after the application has been granted. Failure to notify the commission of such changes shall be grounds for denying a pending application or revoking or suspending a license which had already been granted.
IX. A transfer of the right to control a corporate, limited liability company or partnership, or partnership applicant or existing licensee requires prior commission approval. Minor ownership changes, and changes in corporate, limited liability company or partnership, partnership, or trade names which do not involve ownership change shall be automatically approved upon the filing of appropriate documentation.
IX-a. The director of licensing shall review each license application and submit to the commission a written recommendation on whether the license should be granted or denied. Upon deciding to grant or deny a license, the commission shall issue written findings stating its reasons for the decision.
X. Any applicant denied a license under this chapter shall be granted a hearing by the commission, upon the applicant's request.
XI. There shall be no presumption that any liquor license shall be renewed. The commission shall review all license requests for renewal, and shall not renew any license unless the licensee meets all of the current requirements for the issuance of a license. The commission may consider the licensee's record of violations, the manner in which the licensee has operated during the term of the license, the effect of the license on the neighborhood or community, and any other facts presented at the renewal hearing in determining whether to renew the license.

Legislative History

2003, 231:13. 2010, 310:3, eff. Sept. 11, 2010. 2017, 118:1, 2, I, eff. Jan. 1, 2018.