New York Alcohol Sales Hours: Rules by License Type, Day, and County

New York does not have one alcohol-sales cutoff for every business. An ordinary bar or restaurant generally must stop alcohol sales at 4 a.m., but an applicable county rule or individual license condition can require an earlier cutoff. Liquor and wine stores generally have a statewide sales window of 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, again subject to narrower applicable hours. Grocery-store beer sales follow a different schedule. [1] [2] [3]

For an operator, the correct schedule comes from three sources: the license class, the county’s applicable hours and the business’s own approved operating conditions. A neighboring business’s posted hours do not establish your authority. Violating a condition incorporated into an SLA approval can support discipline even when the county generally allows later service. [4]

In this article Basic hours · Counties · Exceptions · Last call · Conditions · Delivery

What are the basic statewide hours?

The following table describes the ordinary starting rules for common retail operations. Special licenses, permits and premises-specific restrictions can change the answer.

Operation	Ordinary sales window	Important qualification
Bar, restaurant or other ordinary on-premises retailer	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m. until 4 a.m. the following morning. Sunday: 10 a.m. until 4 a.m. Monday.	Earlier county hours and approved license conditions apply. Specified airport premises and special permits have exceptions.
Liquor or wine store	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–midnight. Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m.	Counties can have narrower applicable schedules. The store may voluntarily open later or close earlier.
Grocery or convenience store licensed for off-premises beer sales	No general statewide overnight closure following the 2023 repeal of former § 105-a.	County restrictions remain important; a 24-hour business is not necessarily authorized to sell beer for all 24 hours.

The on-premises rule comes from ABC Law § 106(5); the liquor-store rule comes from § 105(14). Chapter 524 of the Laws of 2023 repealed former § 105-a’s Sunday off-premises restriction, and the SLA’s current county directory shows both unrestricted and restricted beer schedules. These changes did not turn grocery beer licenses into liquor-store licenses. [1] [2] [5] [3]

Read overnight hours by the actual date

A bar’s “Saturday night” shift often extends into Sunday morning. Under the ordinary statewide rule, service can continue until 4 a.m. Sunday, but cannot resume at 8 a.m. Sunday as it ordinarily could on Monday. Sunday’s ordinary reopening time is 10 a.m. The business must also comply with any earlier applicable restriction. [1]

A useful staff schedule writes both dates: “Saturday, 8 a.m., through Sunday, 4 a.m.; Sunday service resumes at 10 a.m.” This avoids treating midnight as the end of the Saturday schedule or overlooking the Sunday morning gap.

How do county hours change the answer?

Use the SLA’s County Closing Hours directory and select the county where the premises are located. Read the separate entries for on-premises businesses, grocery/convenience-store beer sales and liquor/wine stores. They are not interchangeable. [3]

These examples show why a statewide summary alone is insufficient. They reflect the SLA’s published schedules checked October 12, 2026; individual license conditions may be more restrictive.

County	Ordinary on-premises hours	Liquor and wine store hours
Bronx	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–4 a.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–4 a.m.	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–midnight; Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
Albany	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–4 a.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–4 a.m.	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–midnight; Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
Westchester	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–4 a.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–4 a.m.	Monday–Thursday: 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m. A weekday followed by a holiday: 8 a.m.–10 p.m.
Nassau	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–4 a.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–4 a.m.	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m.
Suffolk	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–4 a.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–4 a.m.	Monday–Thursday: 9 a.m.–8 p.m.; Friday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Additional holiday extensions are described below.
Monroe	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–2 a.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–2 a.m.	Monday–Saturday: 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.–10 p.m.

For on-premises entries, the early-morning ending time falls on the following calendar day. Sources for the respective rows are the SLA’s Bronx, Albany, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk and Monroe pages. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Hypothetical: An Albany liquor store and a Suffolk liquor store both want to open at 8:30 a.m. on an ordinary Tuesday in October. Albany’s published county schedule allows that time. Suffolk’s published schedule begins at 9 a.m. The statewide 8 a.m. starting point does not override Suffolk’s narrower schedule. [7] [10]

Beer sales can also have county limits

The SLA lists off-premises beer sales as available around the clock in the Bronx, Albany, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk. Monroe’s published grocery/convenience-store schedule is 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., including Sunday. Cattaraugus also lists 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., with a New Year’s Eve extension until 4 a.m. New Year’s Day. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

The repeal of the old statewide Sunday restriction therefore does not justify changing every checkout system to 24-hour beer sales. Match the configuration to the particular store and county.

What changed on Sundays and holidays?

Sunday store hours are different from older summaries

The 2023 legislation expanded liquor and wine stores’ statewide Sunday window to 10 a.m.–10 p.m. It also removed the former statewide Sunday overnight restriction for off-premises beer sales and related products. A chart repeating a universal Sunday 3 a.m.–8 a.m. beer-sales ban is outdated. [13] [5]

That change does not authorize a restaurant to serve beer at 8 a.m. every Sunday. On-premises Sunday hours remain governed by § 106(5), including its specific exceptions. [1]

Christmas is not a statewide mandatory closure for liquor stores

The 2022 budget legislation removed the statewide Christmas Day closure for liquor and wine stores. Current § 105(14) no longer contains that prohibition. The applicable day-of-week schedule, county rules and individual conditions still matter; permission to open is not an obligation to do so. [14] [2]

County holiday provisions deserve separate attention. Suffolk permits liquor stores to remain open until 10 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and during December. Cattaraugus’s on-premises schedule prohibits Christmas Eve sales after 10 p.m. Those rules concern different license classes and cannot be transferred from one column to another. [10] [12]

The temporary June–July 2026 county-hours override has ended

The statute temporarily allowed on-premises licensees to use the statewide schedule notwithstanding more restrictive county hours from June 11 through July 20, 2026. It expressly preserved stricter conditions imposed on an individual license. The version of § 106(5) effective July 21, 2026 restores the ordinary county-rule framework. [1]

An advertisement, staffing plan or online summary prepared for that temporary period is not authority to continue those expanded hours in October 2026.

Can a permit authorize earlier Sunday or later overnight service?

Sunday morning permits outside New York City

ABC Law § 99-h allows an eligible on-premises licensee to obtain a permit for Sunday service from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Each permit covers one calendar day, and no more than 12 per calendar year may be issued to the same licensee. The statute excludes premises in a city with a population of one million or more, which means this permit is unavailable in New York City. The statutory charge is $25 plus a $10 filing fee. [15]

Municipal notice is required, and the permit must actually be issued before the additional service begins. A brunch reservation, televised sporting event or application submission does not itself create an exception. This is a limited permit, not a permanent change to every Sunday’s schedule. [15]

New Year’s all-night permits

Section 99 authorizes special early-morning permits, and the SLA currently offers its All Night Permit for New Year’s. The agency’s published instructions call for filing by November 16 and list a $61 fee per licensed premises. The permit can extend eligible on-premises service through 8 a.m.; the SLA does not issue it for a Sunday morning. Ordinary county holiday extensions may already allow some additional hours without that permit. [16] [17]

For example, Monroe and Cattaraugus publish an on-premises New Year’s Eve extension until 4 a.m. New Year’s Day. That county extension is different from approval to continue serving until 8 a.m. An earlier restriction specific to the establishment still needs to be addressed. [11] [12] [4]

Specified international-airport premises

Section 106(5)(c) sets a different prohibited-sales period—3 a.m. to 6 a.m. every day—for premises within an international airport owned or operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The statute excludes that particular schedule from the county-hours change mechanism. It is a location-specific exception, not an exception for any business near an airport. [1]

Does last call allow another half hour of sales?

No. Section 106(5) prohibits selling, offering for sale or giving away alcohol during the prohibited sales period. Its separate consumption provision permits no consumption later than one-half hour after prohibited sales begin. A complimentary round is not a way around the cutoff. [1]

Where the applicable statutory/county sales cutoff is 4 a.m., the ordinary consumption deadline is 4:30 a.m. Where it is 2 a.m., the corresponding deadline is ordinarily 2:30 a.m. Stop taking and fulfilling drink orders in time to satisfy the sales cutoff; do not treat drinks ordered just before the deadline as authority to continue service afterward. [1]

The half-hour rule concerns consumption. It does not, by itself, say that every patron must leave every licensed restaurant at 4:30 a.m. A requirement to close the establishment, clear a patio or stop entertainment may come from a different applicable condition or approval. Do not add a half-hour extension to an individually imposed closing condition unless that condition actually permits it. [1] [4]

Hypothetical: A business’s approved operation requires the premises to close at midnight, although the county permits alcohol sales until 4 a.m. The owner cannot assume that guests may keep drinking until 12:30 a.m. The actual midnight condition must be read and followed.

What if the SLA approved earlier hours for your business?

The county schedule establishes the general county framework. It does not erase an earlier closing time incorporated into the license’s method of operation, a Full Board approval or a stipulation on which the SLA issued or renewed the license. 9 NYCRR § 53.1(l) expressly identifies violation of such conditions, stipulations or agreements as grounds for discipline. [4]

The SLA directs licensees to apply for approval before changing their method of operation. For an hours extension, identify the existing approved schedule, the proposed schedule and any separate limits for outdoor areas, entertainment or particular days. Obtain the necessary approval before advertising or implementing the later hours. [18]

A community board’s recommendation is different from the SLA’s final licensing action. Read the actual approval record to determine which stipulations became enforceable conditions. A lease or other binding premises agreement can also impose operating limits independently of the general alcohol-sales schedule.

Can a city simply set different alcohol hours?

County alcohol-hours changes operate through the State’s statutory framework. ABC Law § 17 provides for a county legislative resolution, notice and a hearing, followed by SLA approval or disapproval. It is inaccurate to say that every city council or community board can independently rewrite the State’s alcohol-sales hours. [19]

The Court of Appeals addressed the distinction in Matter of Lansdown Entertainment Corp. v. New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, 74 N.Y.2d 761, 762–765 (1989). It affirmed the ruling that the City’s cabaret-closing requirement could not be applied to cut off the consumption period State law allowed at the licensed establishment. The decision concerned a direct conflict between the local restriction and the State’s alcohol-regulatory scheme. [20]

A liquor license nevertheless does not provide immunity from generally applicable local regulation. In DJL Restaurant Corp. v. City of New York, 96 N.Y.2d 91, 93–98 (2001), the Court affirmed judgment for the City and rejected an ABC Law preemption challenge to zoning restrictions on adult establishments. The restrictions regulated land use and applied independently of alcohol sales. [21]

These decisions explain why both broad claims—“the city can set any alcohol cutoff” and “a liquor license overrides all local rules”—are unreliable. Building, fire, health and safety requirements remain relevant; § 48.3 expressly requires conformity with applicable regulations. A disputed restriction should be evaluated through its actual source, wording and legal effect. [22]

Do delivery and takeout follow the same hours?

For liquor or wine sold under an on-premises retailer’s drinks-to-go privilege, § 106(2-a)(a)(iv) expressly ties takeout and delivery to the applicable county on-premises hours or the different hours in the licensee’s approved method of operation. An online order does not authorize an after-hours delivery. [1]

Set ordering cutoffs early enough to complete lawful fulfillment. Coordinate the business’s point-of-sale system, website and delivery platform so that one channel does not continue offering alcohol after another has stopped. These are practical controls, not a separate statewide deadline requiring all restaurants to stop online orders a fixed number of minutes before closing.

Liquor-store consumer sales also remain subject to the store’s permitted hours. Section 105(14)(b) distinguishes public sales from other work that can continue while the store is closed, such as stocking, arranging displays and receiving wholesaler deliveries. An employee working after closing does not thereby gain authority to reopen the retail sales counter. [2]

How should an operator put the correct schedule into practice?

Keep a short, dated operating schedule with the manager’s licensing materials:

Identify the authority. Record the license class, premises address, county and any special permit for the date.
Record each relevant cutoff. Separate alcohol sales, the applicable consumption deadline, required premises closing and any outdoor-area or entertainment limit.
Include exceptions by date. Note Sunday reopening, holiday rules and the exact term of any permit. Remove expired temporary arrangements.
Match the business systems. Configure checkout restrictions, delivery availability, staff rosters and advertised hours consistently.
Assign closing responsibilities. Tell staff who stops orders, checks remaining drinks and supervises departures under the applicable conditions.
Retain the approval record. Keep the county schedule and the establishment’s actual SLA approvals together so a manager can explain the basis for the hours.

Hours compliance does not excuse other service violations. The prohibitions on service to people actually or apparently under 21 and visibly intoxicated people apply throughout authorized hours, including during special events. Sales-hours and license-condition violations can also lead to suspension, cancellation or revocation under the SLA’s disciplinary regulations. [23] [4]

Rodriguez Law can assist with identifying the hours that apply to a proposed business, seeking approval for a later schedule and addressing allegations of after-hours sales or violations of operating conditions.

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