Beer Manufacturer Bond - Statewide in Florida

Brief Summary

This is a tax bond, not a general compliance bond, and the brewer figure is its own line in the statute. F.S. 561.37 sets $25,000 for manufacturers and distributors generally, but states that the amount of bond required for a brewer shall be $20,000. The division may accept less if the volume of business makes a smaller bond adequate to secure the taxes, though in no event less than $10,000, and it may at any time require a bond under $20,000 to be increased back toward that figure. So the number on your filing is $20,000 unless the division has agreed otherwise in writing.

Florida requires each manufacturer and each distributor to file a surety bond with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco as surety for the payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law. Under F.S. 561.37 the amount for a brewer is $20,000. The bond runs to the State of Florida on DBPR form ABT-6032 and is filed with the appropriate district auditing office.

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How to Apply for a Beer Manufacturer Bond:

• File a $20,000 surety bond as a brewer, unless the division has agreed in writing to a lesser amount, which can never be below $10,000
• Use DBPR form ABT-6032, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco surety bond form
• Name the State of Florida as obligee
• Include a properly certified copy of the surety agent's power of attorney
• File the bond with the appropriate district auditing office of the division
• Pay the annual state license tax of $3,000 per plant or branch, or $500 per plant or branch if brewing fewer than 10,000 kegs annually for on premises consumption under s. 561.221(3)
• Keep the bond in force for the entire license period, since it secures Beverage Law taxes
• Renew the license on time, since a delinquent renewal carries a penalty of $5 for each month or fraction of a month

Detailed Information About the Florida Beer Manufacturer Bond:

The amounts in 561.37

• Manufacturers and distributors generally: $25,000, and the division may accept less where the volume of business makes it adequate, but never less than $10,000
• Brewers: $20,000, with the same discretion to accept less and the same $10,000 floor
• Wine or wine and cordial manufacturers: $5,000, with a $1,000 floor for a manufacturer engaged solely in the experimental manufacture of wines and cordials from Florida products
• Distributors selling only beverages not more than 4.007 percent alcohol by volume in counties where liquor sales are prohibited, and distributors selling only beverages not more than 17.259 percent by volume and wines regardless of alcohol content in counties where sales are permitted: $25,000, with a $1,000 floor
• Distributors in a county of 15,000 or less whose sales are restricted to distributors and vendors licensed in the same county: $5,000

The discretion runs both directions. The division may at any time require a bond written below the statutory figure to be increased, so a reduced bond is not permanent.

What it secures

Payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law. That framing matters when you read the form. The State of Florida is the obligee, and the surety's exposure follows unpaid excise tax rather than consumer complaints.

Form and cancellation

DBPR form ABT-6032 is the surety bond form, citing 561.37. It lists malt beverage manufacturer at $20,000, wine manufacturers at $5,000, distilled spirits at $25,000, beer and wine distributors at $25,000, and beer, wine and liquor distributors at $100,000. The surety may cancel by giving sixty days notice in writing to the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and remains liable for acts committed before the cancellation takes effect. A properly certified copy of the surety agent's power of attorney goes in with the bond, filed at the appropriate district auditing office.

The license fee beside it

Under F.S. 563.02 a manufacturer engaged in the business of brewing only malt beverages pays an annual state license tax of $3,000 for each plant or branch operated. A manufacturer brewing less than 10,000 kegs of malt beverages annually for consumption on the premises under s. 561.221(3) pays $500 for each plant or branch instead. That is the license tax, not the bond, and neither one substitutes for the other.

Renewal

Beverage licenses run annually. Under F.S. 561.27 a license may be renewed after expiration on payment of a penalty of $5 for each month or fraction of a month of delinquency, so a late renewal is survivable but not free. The bond has to stay in place across the license period, since the division holds it as security for taxes for as long as the license is active.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Florida Beer Manufacturer Bond:

• Bond amount of $20,000 for a brewer, or the reduced amount the division has accepted, never below $10,000
• State of Florida as obligee, filed with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
• Bond conditioned as surety for the payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law
• Surety acceptable to the division, with a certified power of attorney attached
• Business name on the bond matching the license application exactly
• Sixty days written notice to the division before a cancellation takes effect, with the surety still liable for prior acts

Florida Beer Manufacturer Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Florida Beer Manufacturer Bond: