Licence IV in France: price, transfer and operating permit (2026)

Opening or buying a cafe-bar in France means mastering two distinct regimes: the drinks licence (an administrative right to sell alcohol) and the operating permit (a personal training obligation). They are easily confused. Here is what to know in 2026 from a legal, tax and accounting standpoint.

Since the 2015 reform, the former licences I and II have disappeared: soft drinks are sold freely and category II merged into III. For on-premises consumption, two licences remain:

• Licence III (the restricted licence): covers fermented drinks of no more than 18% ABV — wines, beers, ciders, perries, meads, natural sweet wines and liqueurs under 18%. It is enough for a wine bar or a brasserie without spirits.
• Licence IV (the full licence): covers all permitted drinks, including spirits and strong alcohol. It is the one that makes cocktails, whiskies and aniseed aperitifs possible.

Key point: no new licence IV is ever issued. You can only take over an existing one, which explains its market value. A licence III, by contrast, can be opened by simple declaration.

Independently of the licence, the operator must hold an operating permit (article L3332-1-1 of the Public Health Code). It is obtained through a 20-hour training course delivered by an accredited body, spread over at least 3 days. The permit is valid for 10 years.

Two reduced durations exist:

• Renewal: at the 10-year mark, a refresher course of at least 6 hours extends the permit for another 10 years.
• Experienced operator: anyone with 10 years of experience as an operator only takes a 6-hour course (article R3332-7 of the Public Health Code).

Common mistake: assuming the permit follows the licence. It is personal. When the manager changes, the new operator must hold their own permit.

Three distinct operations, all subject to a prior declaration at the town hall (a receipt is issued), at least 15 days before the event:

• Mutation: change of person (sale of the business, change of operator) without moving the outlet.
• Translation: moving the licence within the same municipality.
• Transfer: moving it to another district, municipality or department, subject to prefectural authorisation.

Major trap: lapse. If operation ceases for 5 years, the licence is permanently cancelled (article L3333-1). A dormant licence IV that you buy must therefore be operated — or properly placed in abeyance — to retain its value. Checking the date of last operation before any purchase is a basic due-diligence reflex.

Opening, relocation or transfer is prohibited within certain protected zones set by prefectural decree: near schools, hospitals, stadiums, barracks and, depending on the department, places of worship. Before signing a lease, ask the prefecture for the perimeter applicable to the target address: a transferable licence IV cannot be moved if the target premises sit inside a protected zone.

A purchased licence IV is an intangible fixed asset. It is distinct from the goodwill (fonds de commerce) and the leasehold right (droit au bail), and crucially it is not depreciable: its useful life is not limited in time (provided it is operated to avoid lapse). It is only tested for impairment.

Example entry for a licence IV bought for 18,000 EUR (excl. VAT), funded from cash:

• Debit account 208 Other intangible assets (or 206 Leasehold right if the licence is valued within the leasehold, depending on how the deed splits it): 18,000 EUR
• Credit account 512 Bank: 18,000 EUR

Practice usually uses account 208 to isolate the licence IV as a standalone intangible. On resale, the gain falls under the professional capital-gains regime, treated as long-term if held for more than two years.

The price of a licence IV depends almost entirely on location:

• Rural area or small town: often 5,000 to 15,000 EUR, sometimes sold for a few thousand euros for lack of a buyer.
• Mid-sized town: 15,000 to 30,000 EUR.
• Major city, tourist centre: 30,000 to 80,000 EUR, and more in premium locations.

These figures concern the licence alone; a business sold with an embedded licence IV is valued as a whole.

When a drinks outlet is operated through a company (SARL, SAS, EURL), the licence attaches to the establishment, but the operating permit stays personal. The person who actually runs the operation — usually the manager, or a designated salaried supervisor — must hold the permit. Where there are several outlets, each effective operator needs their own. The town-hall declaration is filed in the company's name, naming the responsible individual. A change of manager requires a new declaration and, if the incoming director has no permit, prior training.

Licence IV covers on-premises consumption. Takeaway sales of alcohol fall under a different title: since the 2015 reform, they depend on a takeaway licence (a small takeaway licence for drinks up to 18% ABV, a full takeaway licence for all drinks). An outlet that serves at the bar and also sells bottles to go must check it holds the right title for each use.

Selling alcohol between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. adds an obligation: the operator must complete a specific training module supplementing the operating permit and comply, depending on the municipality, with a by-law setting the hours. This matters for a late-opening bar-tabac or a neighbourhood café selling bottles in the evening.

Between the decision and the first service, several steps cannot be compressed:

• Operating permit: a 20-hour course over at least 3 days, to be anticipated as sessions are not held daily.
• Town-hall declaration: at least 15 days before opening, mutation or relocation, against a receipt.
• Protected-zone check and, where applicable, prefectural authorisation for a transfer outside the municipality.
• Taking over an existing licence: negotiation, due diligence on the date of last operation, deed of sale.

In practice, allow two to three months between searching for a licence and actually opening. Once trading, other recurring costs add to the licence: SACEM and SPRÉ royalties if you play music, and managing your beverage cost to protect your margin from month one. To secure the legal, tax and accounting set-up as a whole, our café-bar accounting team supports openings and acquisitions.

On resale, a licence IV generates a professional capital gain: the sale price less the net book value (as the licence is not depreciated, its book value is in principle its acquisition cost, save for any impairment booked). Held for more than two years, the gain is long-term (reduced rate); below that, short-term. When the licence is sold together with the goodwill, it follows the overall regime of the business sale and may, subject to threshold conditions, benefit from the exemptions for business disposals (notably article 238 quindecies of the French tax code). Pricing this in advance avoids unpleasant surprises at signing: structuring a disposal is planned, not improvised.

A restaurant that serves alcohol only with meals does not need a licence IV: it falls under the restaurant licences. The small restaurant licence covers drinks up to 18% ABV (wine, beer, cider); the full restaurant licence covers all drinks, spirits included, always with a meal. The operating permit remains mandatory in both cases. The distinction matters for a hybrid bar-restaurant: serving a cocktail at the counter, without a meal, requires a licence IV; serving the same cocktail during a meal may fall under the restaurant licence. Correctly qualifying the use from opening day avoids an offence and points to the right title.

• Confusing the permit and the licence: one is personal and temporary, the other attached to the outlet.
• Depreciating the licence IV: it is non-depreciable; only impairment applies.
• Forgetting the 15-day town hall declaration before mutation or relocation.
• Buying a lapsed licence or one close to 5 years of non-use without checking the date.
• Ignoring the protected zone of the target premises before a transfer.

The accounting and tax structuring of a licence purchase (206/208 split, capital-gains treatment, financing) is best framed upfront with your chartered accountant.