Calhoun County Judge of Probate

Retail Spirits/Wine Special License and County Alcohol Tax

Calhoun County is listed Wet on the Alabama ABC Board's own Wet Cities/Counties page, with no dry sub-precincts called out, so retail spirits, wine and on-premise alcohol sales are permitted subject to the requirements below. A restaurant or retail store selling spirits or wine needs a county special license, with the fee set by the county commission, plus an additional percentage sales tax also set by the commission; both are collected under Ala. Code §45-8-22 and Act No. 92-465, and licensees must report purchases monthly by the 20th. Unlike Calhoun's general business license, which the Commissioner of Licenses now issues after the county's 1965 consolidation of Probate Judge functions, §45-8-22 contains its own express carve-out naming the Judge of Probate solely responsible for this specific section — a deliberate exception, not an inconsistency, confirmed by the Judge of Probate's own current webpage listing liquor licensing as an active function, with payments addressed to 1702 Noble Street, Suite 102, Anniston. A business seeking to sell alcohol for on-premise consumption also needs prior approval from the county commission (for unincorporated areas) or the relevant city council (for incorporated areas) before the state ABC Board may issue any on-premise license at all, under Ala. Code §45-8-21.01; a denial can be appealed to Circuit Court within 14 days on an arbitrary-and-capricious standard.