Florida Beer, Wine & Liquor Distributor Bond
If your Florida license covers spirituous liquor — the KLD “Distributor of Beer, Wine, and Liquor” class — the surety bond is a flat $100,000. What makes it unusual is not the size but the rigidity: the statute fixes that sum with no volume carve-out. A first-year distributor and the largest wholesaler in the state file the identical penal sum, and no hardship or low-volume argument moves it a dollar. Below, exactly how the license-class ladder sets your amount — and how to file it on DBPR Form ABT-6032.
Your license class sets the bond — not your sales, not your credit
The wide $500–$150,000 range you see quoted for “the Florida liquor bond” isn’t a pricing spread — it’s the entire alcohol-and-tobacco bond family collapsed into one number. Pulled apart, each license class carries a single statutory amount, and that amount climbs as your license reaches further up the three-tier supply chain. Find your class on the ladder and you have your number.
Florida distributor & manufacturer bond amounts by license class
Each amount is fixed by Florida Statute — the KLD tier is the target beer-wine-liquor bond
Wine / Cordial Manufacturer
$5,000
AMW class · F.S. 561.37
- Winery / cordial producer
- Reducible to $1,000 for experimental FL-product makers
Malt Beverage Manufacturer
$20,000
CMB brewer · F.S. 561.37
- Reducible to $10,000 by the Division
- Bond scales down with volume
Beer &/or Wine Distributor
$25,000
JDBW class · F.S. 561.37
- Reducible to $10,000 by volume of business
- Division can restore $25,000 at any time
Beer, Wine & Liquor Distributor
$100,000
KLD class · F.S. 561.371
- Fixed — no volume reduction clause
- Same amount for a startup or the largest wholesaler
Fla. Stat. §§ 561.37 (JDBW / manufacturers) and 561.371 (KLD, $100,000 fixed). Verified against flsenate.gov and the DBPR 2025 license-type chart.
The jump that surprises people is the last one. Moving from beer-and-wine (JDBW) to full beer-wine-liquor (KLD) is not a proportional step up — it quadruples the bond from a reducible $25,000 to a fixed $100,000, because liquor distribution is governed by a different statute entirely. For how carriers turn a penal sum into an annual premium, see our guide to what determines surety bond cost.
Why the $100,000 can’t be reduced — two statutes, one word of difference
The reason the KLD bond behaves so differently from every other distributor bond in Florida is that it lives in its own statute. Read the two provisions side by side and the design choice is obvious.
F.S. § 561.371 — liquor
Fixed $100,000, no reduction clause
Each distributor of spirituous liquors “shall file…a surety bond…in the sum of $100,000 as surety for the payment of all taxes.” There is no language authorizing the Division to lower it for a small operator. The number is the number.
F.S. § 561.37 — beer/wine
$25,000, reducible to $10,000
The beer/wine (JDBW) and manufacturer bonds set a $25,000 (or $20,000/$5,000) amount that the Division may reduce based on volume of business — and restore later. That discretion simply does not exist for liquor.
Practically, that means there is no paperwork, volume history, or hardship argument that lowers a KLD bond. Do not let a low-volume startup pitch you a “reduced” liquor bond — it would be filed on the wrong amount and rejected by the division. The only variable you control is the premium on that fixed $100,000, which underwriting sets from your credit and financials, not the bond size.
Official Florida Requirements
"Each distributor of spirituous liquors shall file with the division a surety bond acceptable to the division in the sum of $100,000 as surety for the payment of all taxes provided under the provisions of this chapter."2025 Florida Statutes, The Florida Senate • Fla. Stat. § 561.371
The bond is not the license fee — keep them separate
This trips up applicants because both numbers appear on the same DBPR paperwork. They are entirely different obligations with different payees, and conflating them either overstates your out-of-pocket cost or leaves a required payment unmade.
The $100,000 surety bond
A guarantee, not a cash payment. You buy it from a surety for an annual premium and file the ABT-6032 form. The $100,000 is the penal sum the state can claim against — you never write a $100,000 check unless a claim is proven and you indemnify the surety.
The KLD license fee
A separate $4,000 per establishment or branch, paid to DBPR under F.S. 565.03(3). The small-county KLD2 variant pays a reduced $1,000 license fee — but note its bond is still $100,000, because the license-fee break is not a bond break.
The three exposures the $100,000 answers for
This is a tax-payment guarantee, not a liability policy. The ABT-6032 form ties the bond to the Beverage Laws in Chapters 561–568 and to “the payment of all taxes” under the chapter. Three kinds of exposure are collectible against it:
Unpaid state beverage excise taxes
The core exposure. § 561.371 makes the bond "surety for the payment of all taxes" a spirituous-liquor distributor owes under the Beverage Law. When remittance falls short, the division assesses the balance and can demand it from the surety up to $100,000.
Penalties tied to Chapter 561–568 violations
The ABT-6032 bond conditions payment on compliance with the Beverage Laws in Chapters 561–568. Penalties assessed for code or rule violations become collectible against the bond alongside the underlying tax.
Liabilities incurred before a cancellation takes effect
A surety that cancels gives the division 60 days’ notice and remains liable for everything the distributor did up to the cancellation date. Letting the bond lapse mid-license does not erase liabilities that accrued while coverage was required.
Think of the $100,000 as the State of Florida’s tax collateral, not a safety net for the distributor. A proven tax claim runs one direction: the division draws on the surety, and the surety then recovers every dollar from you under the indemnity you signed to get the bond issued. That is exactly why a KLD bond is priced on your financial strength — the carrier is underwriting the odds it never has to come after you. Distributors who also owe state excise sometimes pair it with the parallel liquor tax bond that secures excise remittance.
Filing the bond on DBPR Form ABT-6032
Florida does not accept a generic bond form. The distributor bond is executed on the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’s own Form ABT-6032, and getting the details right is what keeps your license application moving.
Use an admitted, approved surety
The bond must come from a surety company licensed to do business in Florida and approved by the division director. A carrier that is not admitted in Florida cannot write it.
Check the correct license-type box
ABT-6032 has boxes for JDBW Distributor, KLD Distributor, Bonded Warehouse, and more. For the beer-wine-liquor bond, the KLD Distributor box is the one that matters — the wrong box is the wrong bond.
Confirm the Beverage Law scope
The form conditions payment on compliance with the Beverage Laws (Chapters 561–568) — a distinct checkbox from the Cigarette and Tobacco tax laws. Your distributor bond is a Beverage Law bond, not a tobacco bond.
File the original with your Auditing District Office
The completed bond is submitted to your local Auditing District Office as part of the license application — which is why your county matters. The license is not issued until the bond is on file and accepted.
Know your license class? We write the ABT-6032 bond to the exact statutory amount and get it filed.
Start my Florida liquor bond quoteRenewal, the 60-day cancellation window, and the late penalty
The bond is continuous, but “continuous” hides two deadlines that can cost you the license. Both come straight from Florida law and the operative text of the ABT-6032 bond itself.
60-day surety cancellation notice
The surety can cancel by giving the Division 60 days’ written notice — and remains liable for everything the distributor did up to the cancellation date. If your carrier moves to cancel, you have a 60-day window to file a replacement bond before the license security lapses.
Renewal “as a matter of course” — if you’re on time
Under F.S. 561.27 you are entitled to renew on paying the annual license tax and keeping the bond in force. Late renewal costs the greater of $5 per month of delinquency or 5% of the fee; a license not renewed within 60 days of expiration is cancelled by the division.
The takeaway: treat a surety cancellation notice and a renewal deadline with the same urgency — both run on a 60-day clock, and both, if missed, put the underlying license at risk. Keeping the $100,000 bond continuous and in force is a licensing obligation, not just a purchase.
What distributors actually ask about the $100,000 bond
Why is the Florida beer, wine, and liquor distributor bond exactly $100,000?
Because the statute fixes it. Fla. Stat. § 561.371 says each distributor of spirituous liquors "shall file with the division a surety bond acceptable to the division in the sum of $100,000 as surety for the payment of all taxes." That is the KLD license class — the "Distributor of Beer, Wine, and Liquor." Unlike the beer/wine distributor bond under § 561.37, there is no clause letting the division reduce it for a low-volume operation, so a brand-new KLD distributor and the largest wholesaler in the state file the identical $100,000 penal sum.
Is the $100,000 the bond or the license fee? They keep getting mixed up.
They are two separate payments. The $100,000 is the surety bond penal sum — you buy that from a surety for a premium, not out of pocket. The KLD license fee is a separate $4,000 per establishment or branch paid to DBPR (the small-county KLD2 variant pays a reduced $1,000 license fee, but its bond is still $100,000). Competitor pages routinely blur these together; on your application they are distinct line items with distinct payees.
I only distribute beer and wine, not liquor. Do I still need $100,000?
No. Beer and/or wine distribution is the JDBW class under Fla. Stat. § 561.37, which sets a $25,000 bond that the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco may reduce to as low as $10,000 based on your volume of business (and can raise back to $25,000 at any time). The $100,000 fixed amount applies only when your license covers spirituous liquor — the full beer-wine-liquor KLD tier. Match the bond to the exact license class you hold.
What form does Florida require, and where does the bond get filed?
The bond is executed on DBPR Form ABT-6032, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Surety Bond Form. It names a surety licensed to do business in Florida and approved by the division director, checks the applicable license-type box (the "KLD Distributor" box for this bond), and conditions payment on compliance with the Beverage Laws in Chapters 561–568. The completed original is submitted to the applicant’s local Auditing District Office as part of the license application.
How does canceling or renewing the bond work?
The bond is continuous, but the surety can cancel it by giving the Division 60 days’ written notice — and it stays liable for anything the distributor did up to the cancellation date. On renewal, Fla. Stat. § 561.27 entitles you to renew "as a matter of course" once you pay the annual license tax and keep the bond in force. Miss the deadline and a late penalty applies (the greater of $5 per month of delinquency or 5% of the fee); go 60 days past expiration with no renewal and the division cancels the license outright.
What can the state actually collect against the bond?
The bond secures "the payment of all taxes provided under" the Beverage Law — principally the state excise taxes a spirituous-liquor distributor owes, plus related penalties for non-compliance with Chapters 561–568. It protects the State of Florida, not your business: if the division establishes a valid claim, the surety pays up to the $100,000 penal sum and you reimburse the surety in full under your indemnity agreement. It is a tax-payment guarantee, not insurance for the licensee.
Distributing beyond Florida, or holding other Florida licenses?
Distributing in more than one state, or running other regulated operations in Florida? Start here.
New to how surety pricing works? See what determines your surety bond cost before you apply.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.
General information, not legal, tax, or underwriting advice. Florida beer, wine, and liquor distributor bond amounts, license fees, forms, and renewal rules are set by the Florida Legislature (Fla. Stat. §§ 561.27, 561.37, 561.371, 565.03) and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and change over time. Confirm your license class, the current form, and the exact bond amount with DBPR before filing, and request a quote for current pricing.
The amount is fixed — the premium isn’t
Your KLD bond is a flat $100,000 no matter what, but what you pay for it comes down to underwriting. Tell us your license class and business details and we’ll shop the $100,000 penal sum across surety markets, write it on ABT-6032, and file it with your Auditing District Office — free quote, no obligation.
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