New York City restaurant and bar liquor license applications are waiting a median of 118 days at the State Liquor Authority: 920 are pending in the five boroughs today, a quarter of them for more than 212 days. Look one up by name or address in the SLA Public License Query, or download the "Current SLA Pending Licenses" dataset on data.ny.gov, which lists every application still in review with its class, legal name, address and received date.
| Restaurant and bar applications pending in NYC | 920 |
| Median time waiting so far | 118 days |
| Middle half of the queue | 62 to 212 days |
| Waiting more than 6 months | 32% |
| Issued applications PourWire tracked since June 2026 | 25, median 105 days |
Classes 340, 240, 370 and 267 in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, from the SLA's Current SLA Pending Licenses dataset (as of ). Issued times match PourWire's NYC applications to the SLA's active license records by legal name and class.
The venue usually opens after the license issues, so the months in the queue are when the owner is choosing a POS, insurance, distributors and equipment.
| Class | License | What it allows |
|---|---|---|
| 340 | Restaurant (on-premises liquor) | Spirits, wine and beer by the drink at a restaurant. The full bar. Tracked by PourWire. |
| 240 | Restaurant wine | Wine and beer, no spirits, at a restaurant. Tracked by PourWire. |
| 370 | Food & beverage business (on-premises liquor) | The full bar where drinks are the business: bars, lounges, clubs. Tracked by PourWire. |
| 267 | Food & beverage business (tavern wine) | Wine and beer at a bar or tavern. Tracked by PourWire. |
| 346 | Catering establishment (liquor) | Banquet halls and event spaces with a full bar. Tracked by PourWire. |
| 246 | Catering establishment (wine) | Banquet halls and event spaces, wine and beer. Tracked by PourWire. |
| 100 | Liquor store | Off-premises retail of spirits and wine. |
| 081 | Grocery store | Beer to go. |
218 NYC liquor license applications on PourWire, 135 filed in the last 30 days, newest . See also restaurants opening soon in New York City.
Of the NYC restaurant and bar applications PourWire has tracked since June 2026, 25 have been issued so far, a median of 105 days after the SLA received them. Applications still waiting take longer, so the real average is above that.
Search the SLA Public License Query by premises name, legal name or address, or filter the Current SLA Pending Licenses dataset on data.ny.gov by premises county and sort by received date. An application leaves that list when the license is issued, and the license then appears in Current Liquor Authority Active Licenses with its original issue date.
340 is an on-premises liquor license at a restaurant (the full bar). 240 is restaurant wine (wine and beer only). 370 is on-premises liquor at a food and beverage business, a bar or lounge where drinks are the business.
The SLA records are public, so you can check them yourself every week. PourWire pulls them daily, matches each application to a venue and its city permits, estimates the opening window and emails you the new ones with the owner's name and contact. Applications filed in the last 30 days are on the paid feed.