Floor Plan Specifications

A guide to floor plan creation and submission for alcoholic beverage licensees.

Overview

Specific information is required on a floor plan at initial application and when you alter your premises. This helps the Cannabis & Alcohol Regulation Division (CARD) determine the suitability of the premises and demonstrates that the licensee has adequate control over all alcoholic beverage sales, service, consumption, and storage in accordance with the laws and rules.

What is required depends on your license type and premises type (bar, restaurant, ski hill, golf course, hotel, swimming pool, guest ranch, and so on). See 16-3-311 and 16-3-302, MCA, and ARM 42.12.101, 42.12.145, 42.12.146, 42.12.147, and 42.12.149.

If you submit architect or blueprint drawings, make sure they are easy to read (not too “busy”), have clear labels, and are legible.

Requirements for All Floor Plans

All floor plans (including each building, if more than one is allowed) must include the following with clear labels and must be legible:

  • Exterior dimensions.
  • Entity name and DBA name, if different.
  • Alcoholic beverages license number, if existing.
  • Complete physical address.
  • Date of submission (month/day/year).
  • Other buildings or structures on the property, if applicable.
  • All storage areas for alcoholic beverages.
  • All sales areas for alcoholic beverages.
  • Interior access to any interior portion of the building(s) on the licensed premises.
  • All walls, doors, and stairs — including where stairs lead.
  • A door for every room.
  • The whole licensed premises highlighted, showing where you intend to sell, serve, and/or store alcoholic beverages.
  • A key explaining any highlights, colors, or symbols, if needed.

Hand-drawn on-premises floor plan example. The exterior perimeter is highlighted in pink to show the licensed premises (23 feet by 30 feet). Inside, two dining rooms contain tables labeled with seating capacity (2 pp, 4 pp). The bar seating area along the top is labeled 'Beer/Wine/Liquor Service and Storage.' A storage area along the right side is labeled 'Beer/Wine/Liquor Storage.' Other rooms shown include a coat closet, lockable wine closet, bathrooms, prep kitchen, main kitchen, dish room, and office. A hallway runs through the center connecting the front and rear exits. A placeholder block lists Entity Name, Business Name, Location Address, License Number (if available), and Date.
Example of a compliant on-premises floor plan with the licensed premises perimeter highlighted, all rooms labeled, and storage and service areas identified.

Additional Requirements by License Type

Find your license type below and include those requirements in addition to the universal ones above.

Note: Some floor plans may require additional information based on their specific situation — for example, a license operated at a golf course or movie theater, or where a concession agreement is in place for operations at the licensed premises. Contact your licensing specialist with any questions.

For each building (if more than one is allowed), the floor plan must also show:

  • At least one stationary drink prep area. Additional fixed or moveable drink prep areas are also permitted.
  • All service and consumption areas.
  • Sales and service in one building, or a specific portion of one building.
  • Any patio or deck where alcohol will be sold and served, immediately accessible from the interior premises. Show a clearly marked path connecting the interior premises and the patio/deck, plus any perimeter barrier or natural boundary defining its border (with type and height).
  • Drive-through window(s), if applicable.
  • Concessioned areas, differentiated with another highlighted color and labeled with the concessionaire’s DBA. Maximum 3 concessionaires per license (1 for resort licenses) under 16-4-418, MCA, unless grandfathered.

Leased or subleased kitchens (or other shared areas, not concessions)

If another business operates on your licensed premises in a leased or subleased space that is not a concessioned area, the floor plan must clearly mark that area (highlighted in another color). The other business must have a separate point-of-sale system, may participate in the sales or service of alcoholic beverages, and adequate physical safeguards must prevent the other business from accessing your alcoholic beverage inventory.

Noncontiguous storage areas

If you store alcoholic beverages in an area that is not located within or accessible from the interior of the licensed premises, show that noncontiguous storage area on the floor plan.

The floor plan must also show:

  • Kitchen.
  • Dining room.
  • Seating, with at least ½ of the seating capacity located within the dining room.
  • At least one stationary drink prep area. Additional fixed or moveable drink prep areas are also permitted.
  • All service and consumption areas.
  • Sales and service in one building, or a specific portion of one building.
  • Any patio or deck where alcohol will be sold and served, immediately accessible from the interior premises. Show a clearly marked path connecting the interior premises and the patio/deck, plus any perimeter barrier or natural boundary defining its border (with type and height).
  • Drive-through window(s), if applicable.

Leased or subleased kitchens (or other shared areas)

If another business operates on your licensed premises in a leased or subleased space, the floor plan must clearly mark that area (highlighted in another color). The other business must have a separate point-of-sale system, may participate in the sales or service of alcoholic beverages, and adequate physical safeguards must prevent the other business from accessing your alcoholic beverage inventory. Your premises must still meet the definition of “restaurant” and fulfill the license requirements.

Noncontiguous storage areas

If you store alcoholic beverages in an area that is not located within or accessible from the interior of the licensed premises, show that noncontiguous storage area on the floor plan.

The floor plan must also show:

  • All manufacturing and storage areas located on the contiguous property. Any manufacturer locations not on the contiguous property must be on a separate sheet with the required floor plan information.
  • Drive-through window(s), if applicable.
  • Permanent floor-to-ceiling walls when next to another alcoholic beverage license that is not a collocated (a.k.a. stacked) license.

Sample room (if applicable)

For a sample room, show the drink preparation areas and the service and consumption areas. If alcohol will be sold and served on a patio or deck, the patio/deck must be immediately accessible from the interior premises, with a clearly marked path connecting them and a perimeter barrier or natural boundary defining the patio/deck border (with type and height).

The floor plan must also show drive-through window(s), if applicable.

The floor plan must also show:

  • Sufficient space for the storage and distribution of beer and/or table wine in large quantities.
  • Interior access to any interior portion of the premises.
  • More than one building for storage and distribution purposes on contiguous property, if applicable.

The floor plan must also show:

  • The whole property.
  • Other buildings on the property, with a note indicating whether each is part of the licensed premises.
  • At least one stationary drink prep area. Additional fixed or moveable drink prep areas are also permitted.
  • All service and consumption areas.
  • Any patio or deck where alcohol will be sold and served, immediately accessible from the interior premises. Show a clearly marked path connecting the interior premises and the patio/deck, plus any perimeter barrier or natural boundary defining its border (with type and height).
  • Drive-through window(s), if applicable.
  • Concessioned areas, differentiated with another highlighted color and labeled with the concessionaire’s DBA. Maximum 1 concessionaire per license under 16-4-418, MCA, unless grandfathered.

Noncontiguous storage areas

If you store alcoholic beverages in an area that is not located within or accessible from the interior of the licensed premises, show that noncontiguous storage area on the floor plan. A resort alternate alcoholic beverage storage facility is also shown here.

Additional retail service buildings or structures

Certain licensees may have additional retail service buildings or structures. To use one, submit a plat-style map showing the location of each proposed building or structure on the licensee’s property, show adequate physical safeguards preventing access by anyone other than the licensee or its employees, and apply to and receive approval from CARD before using the building or structure.

Golf course beer/wine and all-beverages licenses

May use one additional building or structure per nine holes of the golf course, designed to serve golfers alcoholic beverages during the course of play.

All-beverage and resort all-beverage licenses

May use any of the following, separate from the main licensed premises:

  • A building in the primary indoor lodging quarters of a hotel or other short-term lodging facility.
  • A permanent alcohol service structure in a swimming area.
  • Up to two additional permanent structures on a ski hill.
  • An additional structure that constitutes the clubhouse or primary indoor recreational quarters of the golf course.

CARD-designated guest ranches

Must submit a plat-style map that accurately describes the guest ranch property, including all indoor and outdoor portions of the premises, the permanent building where alcoholic beverages will be served, all other temporary, mobile, or partial structures, and the property’s boundaries.

The floor plan must also show:

  • The whole property.
  • Other buildings on the property, with a note indicating whether each is part of the licensed premises.
  • At least one stationary drink prep area. Additional fixed or moveable drink prep areas are also permitted.
  • All service and consumption areas.
  • Any patio or deck where alcohol will be sold and served, immediately accessible from the interior premises. Show a clearly marked path connecting the interior premises and the patio/deck, plus any perimeter barrier or natural boundary defining its border (with type and height).
  • Drive-through window(s), if applicable.
  • Concessioned areas, differentiated with another highlighted color and labeled with the concessionaire’s DBA. Maximum 1 concessionaire per license under 16-4-418, MCA, unless grandfathered.

Noncontiguous storage areas

If you store alcoholic beverages in an area that is not located within or accessible from the interior of the licensed premises, show that noncontiguous storage area on the floor plan. A resort alternate alcoholic beverage storage facility is also shown here.

Additional retail service buildings or structures

Certain licensees may have additional retail service buildings or structures. To use one, submit a plat-style map showing the location of each proposed building or structure on the licensee’s property, show adequate physical safeguards preventing access by anyone other than the licensee or its employees, and apply to and receive approval from CARD before using the building or structure.

Golf course beer/wine and all-beverages licenses

May use one additional building or structure per nine holes of the golf course, designed to serve golfers alcoholic beverages during the course of play.

All-beverage and resort all-beverage licenses

May use any of the following, separate from the main licensed premises:

  • A building in the primary indoor lodging quarters of a hotel or other short-term lodging facility.
  • A permanent alcohol service structure in a swimming area.
  • Up to two additional permanent structures on a ski hill.
  • An additional structure that constitutes the clubhouse or primary indoor recreational quarters of the golf course.

CARD-designated guest ranches

Must submit a plat-style map that accurately describes the guest ranch property, including all indoor and outdoor portions of the premises, the permanent building where alcoholic beverages will be served, all other temporary, mobile, or partial structures, and the property’s boundaries.

Stacked license premises must meet the requirements for both on-premises consumption: all-alcoholic beverages and beer and wine and manufacturers. See those sections above.

Questions?

Contact an Alcohol Licensing Specialist

Legal References

All licensees must comply with all federal and Montana alcoholic beverage laws and rules. See 16-3-311 and 16-3-302, MCA; 16-4-418, MCA; and ARM 42.12.101, 42.12.145, 42.12.146, 42.12.147, and 42.12.149.

Updated August 2024. Please note the information in department communications may have been modified, superseded, or made obsolete by changes in federal or state law or the Administrative Rules of Montana. To verify the current validity of any Department of Revenue communication, please contact us at DORCARDEducation@mt.gov.