Liquor licences for public special events

Public events include any event open to the public, such as beer gardens, festivals, theatre productions, or food and wine fairs.  For these events, you need a public special event licence (SEL).

Public SEL can be either:

• Community: hosted by non-profit groups or municipalities
• Commercial:  hosted by businesses or individuals for commercial purposes
• Auction: for the auction of liquor products within an auction house

Apply online:

Online Licensing Portal

For more information, visit Online Licensing.

or private special events, refer to Liquor licences for private special events.

Policies and guidelines

For policies and guidelines on holding an event with a liquor licence, refer to:

Special Event Licence - Public - Policies and Guidelines

ProServe

All public community SEL, the licensee and designate(s), and a minimum 25 per cent of bartenders/servers must be ProServe certified and be onsite for the duration of the event. 

For commercial SEL, everyone involved in the sale and service of liquor, including security, must have ProServe certification.