Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 138, § 16A (2026)

Renewal of annual licenses; number limitation; rejection of application; appeal

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 16A. Licenses issued under section twelve or fifteen shall be automatically renewed for the next annual license period upon application by the holder thereof during the month of November and shall be automatically renewed for a renewal of a seasonal license for the next seasonal licensing period upon application during the month prior to the commencement of the seasonal period upon payment of the fee, provided that said license is of the same type as the expiring license and covers the same licensed premises. If the application does not meet the conditions hereunder, it shall be treated as an application for a new license and all the procedures set forth under section fifteen A shall be applicable thereto. If in any year the number of such licenses so issuable is less than the number of such holders or former holders so applying, such applicants shall be prima facie entitled to renewals in the order of the dates of their respective applications, to the extent that the same are issuable under section seventeen. Any such application may, however, be rejected for cause, subject to appeal under section sixty-seven. A person whose application has so been rejected by the local licensing authorities shall for the purposes of section seventeen be deemed to have been granted such a license until the period for such an appeal has expired or until his appeal has been dismissed.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1983–2024 · leading case: Aegean Fare, Inc. v. Licensing Bd. (In Re Aegean Fare, Inc.), 35 B.R. 923 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1983).

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Aegean Fare, Inc. v. Licensing Bd. (In Re Aegean Fare, Inc.), 35 B.R. 923 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1983). · cites it 4× “As final authority in support of its decision not to renew the licenses, the Board cited' G.L. c. 138 §§ 16A, 23 and 64, which provide that an application for renewal of a liquor license may be rejected for “cause”, G.”

eVineyard Retail Sales-Massachusetts, Inc. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 882 N.E.2d 334 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 2× “Holders of alcoholic beverage licenses can have their licenses renewed for the next annual licensing period automatically, pursuant to G. L. c. 138, § 16A, if the licensee applies during November for the subsequent year.”

Bd. of Selectmen v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 519 N.E.2d 1365 (Mass. App. Ct. 1988). “138, §§ 15A and 23), properly concluded (a) that the application did not and could not “cover[] the same licensed premises” within the meaning of the first sentence of G. L. c. 138, § 16A, as appearing in St. 1970, c.”

Braunstein v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n (In Re Amasya), 234 B.R. 224 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1999). · cites it 3× “If in any year the number of such license so issuable is less than the number of such holders or former holder so applying, such applicants shall be prima facie entitled to renewals in the order of the dates of their respective applications, to the extent that the same are…”

Ember Pizza, Inc., & Another v. Town of Harwich & Others. (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). “As the judge noted, there is "no statutory or regulatory entitlement to the presumptive reissuance or renewal of an existing entertainment license in the following year.”

McDonald's Cafe, Inc. v. Mackey, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 7 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1994). “G.L.c. 138, §16A. Because these applications are governed by different standards, the differential treatment is not arbitrary and capricious.”

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