Tennessee full liquor consumption bonds.
$100 flat.
Tennessee requires every full-liquor consumption-on-premises licensee to post a $10,000 tax bond with the Department of Revenue — ours is $100 flat, and the price you see is the checkout price. No credit check.
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How much does a Tennessee full liquor consumption bond cost?
$100 at the $10,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
A liquor-by-the-drink tax bond is one of the simplest filings in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, your effective date, and the county your business sits in. That's the application — no financial statements, no follow-up scavenger hunt.
Pay & e-sign
Tax bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. Issued when you pay. No credit check.
File with the Department of Revenue
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to post with your TNTAP liquor-by-the-drink registration. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Tennessee taxes alcoholic beverages sold for consumption on the premises, and the Department of Revenue conditions every licensee's registration on a surety bond that stands behind proper payment of that tax. It's not a licensing bond in the usual contractor sense — it's a tax bond, filed with the Department under the state's liquor-by-the-drink tax chapter, separate from the license itself, which the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission issues.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the Tennessee Department of Revenue as obligee. If a licensee fails to remit the tax collected on liquor-by-the-drink sales, the Department can make a claim against the bond to recover what's owed, up to the bond's face amount.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The Department reviews bond amounts periodically against your average monthly tax liability and can require an increase; a bond that lapses or falls short blocks your ABC license renewal, so we track the term and send renewal notices ahead of expiration.
You need this bond if you're
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the $10,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen at checkout.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with the Department of Revenue. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to post with your TNTAP liquor-by-the-drink registration. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $10,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued fast.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Tennessee bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, .
Post your liquor-by-the-drink tax bond today.
$100 flat, bond often issued the same day. Free until issued.