R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-5-16 (2026)

Maximum number of licenses

✓ current as of July 2026
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(a)(1) The department of business regulation shall have the right and power to limit the number of licenses of each class. The limit shall not exceed the maximum number, if any, of any class of license that is fixed by the licensing boards within their respective towns or cities.

(2) The number of Class C licenses in any town or city shall not exceed one for each one thousand (1,000) of its inhabitants.

(3) Every city and town may grant in any year renewals of any license of Class A in operation prior to April 28, 1969, except when renewal of that license is refused for cause, but no further new and original licenses of Class A shall be granted until the number of licenses of Class A outstanding in any city or town has been reduced to less than one for each six thousand (6,000) of its inhabitants (one for each four thousand (4,000) of its inhabitants in any city or town with less than twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants), as determined by the last census taken under the authority of the United States or the state, by cancellation, revocation, or the failure of holders of those licenses to apply for renewals. After that reduction to less than one for each six thousand (6,000) inhabitants (one for each four thousand (4,000) inhabitants in any town or city with less than twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants), licenses of Class A may be granted in any year by any city or town only up to a total not exceeding one for each six thousand (6,000) of its inhabitants (one for each four thousand (4,000) of its inhabitants in any town or city with less than twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants) as determined by census as required in this subsection. However, two (2) Class A licenses may be issued by every city or town of the state irrespective of population and, until the qualified electors of any city or town shall vote to the contrary, one Class A license may be issued in every city or town in this state unless otherwise ordered by the city or town council.

Any Class A license issued to or held by a Class E licensee pursuant to the provisions of § 3-7-5 shall be included in the total of, and subject to the limit upon the number of, Class A licenses which may be granted by any city or town under this section.

(b) The transfer of any existing license from the holder of this license to another person shall not be considered as the issuance of a new license under this section.

(c) The several cities and towns, except those cities and towns that had in effect on June 1, 1971, a limit on the number of retailers’ Class B or D licenses, shall not issue any new retailers’ Class B or D licenses until May 1, 1972. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any application filed on or before May 30, 1971.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, irrespective of the population of the town of Smithfield, it is expressly authorized to issue a total of five (5) Class A liquor licenses.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1958–1993 · leading case: Tedford v. Reynolds, 141 A.2d 264 (R.I. 1958).
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Tedford v. Reynolds, 141 A.2d 264 (R.I. 1958). · cites it 6× “1956, §3-5-16. On the other hand the administrator has ruled that the board has not done so.”
Mathieu v. Bd. of License Commissioners, 343 A.2d 1 (R.I. 1975). · cites it 2× “164, §1 reads as follows: “The holder of a license of class A or class B or class C who applies before November 15th in any licensing period for a license of the same class for the next succeeding licensing period shall be prima facie entitled to renewal thereof to the extent…”
DeFalco v. Voccola, 557 A.2d 474 (R.I. 1989). “It is set forth in § 3-7-6 that the holder of a class-B license (as well as holders of other types of licenses) “shall be prima facie entitled to renewal thereof to the extent that the same are issuable under § 3-5-16.” That section deals only with the maximum number of licenses…”
Hobday v. O'Dowd, 179 A.2d 319 (R.I. 1962). · cites it 3× “1956, §3-5-16, wherein provision is made authorizing local licensing boards to fix the maximum number of any class of such licenses that shall issue in that particular municipality.”
El Nido, Inc. v. Goldstein, 626 A.2d 239 (R.I. 1993). “§ 3-5-19 (permitting the transfer of a liquor license when the maximum limit of liquor licenses in a city or town, as set pursuant to § 3-5-16, has been reached). Regardless of any technical defect in the form of the victualing-house-license application, it should have been…”
Mathieu v. Bd. of Lic. Comm'rs, Town of Jamestown, 343 A.2d 1 (R.I. 1975). · cites it 2× “164, § 1 reads as follows: "The holder of a license of class A or class B or class C who applies before November 15th in any licensing period for a license of the same class for the next succeeding licensing period shall be prima facie entitled to renewal thereof to the extent…”
Bd. of License Commissioners v. O'DOWD, 179 A.2d 579 (R.I. 1962). “1956, §3-5-16, as amended, which authorize the liquor control administrator to establish a maximum limit but prohibit him from exceeding the maximum already established by local authority.”
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