Apply for an Alcoholic Beverages Ship Master License (ABCC)

To apply for a Ship Master License pursuant to M.G.L. c. 138, § 13 you will need electronic copies of the documents listed below.

Required Documents for ALL new Ship Master licenses:

• Coast Guard Certificate for the ship being licensed.
• Personal Information Form for anyone with Beneficial or Financial Interest in this license (any person or business entity with ownership).
• Manager Information Form for each manager of record. There must be one manager of record per ship.
• CORI Release Form for the liquor license manager.
• Proof of Citizenship for the liquor license manager. Any one of the following is acceptable: US Passport, US Passport Card, Birth Certificate, Voter Registration or Naturalization Papers.
• Lease / Occupancy Documents for each proposed ship. If you own the ship in question, you must provide proof of ownership.
• Security Plan for the proposed ship. This plan indicates what the policies and procedures are to card patrons and prevent patrons from being overserved.
• Floor Plan (Deck Plan) for the proposed ship to be licensed.
• Financial Statement and Documents for the proposed transaction.

In addition

    If entity applying is a business:

• Vote of the Corporate Board or LLC is required authorizing any transaction you are applying for.
• Business Structure Documents: Articles of Organization, Partnership Agreement, Bankruptcy Documents, Estate Documents, Trust Documents or Business Certificate, are required depending on your corporate structure.

    If Pledging license/stock/beneficial interest/inventory, the following is required:

• Pledge Agreement
• Promissory Note
• Vote of the Corporate Board or LLC approving the Pledge.

• Ship Masters can only purchase from licensed Massachusetts Wholesalers or Ship Chandlers.
• No more than two drinks shall be sold, delivered, or in possession of any passenger at any one time.
• If your company has a cruise ship that stops in Massachusetts, this is the license you would apply for.
• ABCC Regulations state that no manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, certificate of compliance holder or other Massachusetts licensee shall directly or indirectly sponsor "sponsor", promote or advertise or use its name or the trade or brand name of any alcoholic beverage in connection with any cruise or event, public or private, aboard a ship. No ship shall allow or accept funds for such sponsorship, promotion, or advertisement.

Regulations regarding serving on passenger ships can be found in 204 CMR 19.00.
These regulations include general restrictions such as:

• All alcoholic beverages shall only be sold or delivered between 8:00 am and 12:30 am on Mondays through Saturdays and between 11:00 am and 12:30 am on Sundays.
• No alcoholic beverages shall be sold or delivered to passengers at dockside or prior to casting off, unless the ABCC gives specific permission in writing.
• On trips of more than two hours, alcoholic beverages shall not be sold or delivered to passengers within thirty minutes before the ship docks.

To generate a list of the most current Wholesalers, please use our General Search Function provided on our eLicensing and ePermitting portal.