Online services expand with new TAP
By John Flynn, Bureau Chief
Liquor Licensing Bureau
May is National Tavern Month, and wishes for full tables and barstools go out to everyone in the industry. May is also classic Montana springtime (witness the softball and fishing amidst snow squalls) and time to renew liquor licenses. The renewal deadline is June 30.
Here at the Liquor Control Division we are continually working to make the renewal process better, more efficient, and less time-consuming for our licensees. This year, we offer more time-saving opportunities through our expanded Taxpayer Access Point (TAP). This follows our commitment to streamline the renewal process and make it as paperless as possible.
New features this year in TAP allow you not only to complete the renewal form online, but also to pay online. We encourage you to use this service, which is a simple and convenient way to manage your liquor license account.
It allows you to view your account history and payments, make changes to your account, file your annual license renewal, make payments, and more. Simply log on to https://tap.dor.mt.gov and use your Account ID to register.
TAP offers many other tools that allow you to do the following:
• Request nonuse status.
• Request approval to begin an alteration.
• Request addition of a new manager.
• Request addition of a new secured party.
• Request an address or name change.
• Add a catering endorsement to a retail license.
• Add a wine amendment to an existing retail beer license.
• Add wine or beer to an existing wholesale license.
TAP has a searchable database that includes approximately 5,000 restaurants, taverns, beer distributors, manufacturers, convenience stores and other businesses licensed by Montana to serve, sell, manufacture or distribute alcoholic beverages.
This comprehensive database is available around the clock and ensures Montanans citizens and businesses have easy access to information about licensees.
Although we encourage TAP use, we will still mail paper renewal forms on May 16.
As always, we value your suggestions of how we can handle procedures better. With each license that we send out this year, we will include a survey. We ask that you please take the time to complete it. You can mail your responses or even e-mail them to us at dorliquorcontrol@mt.gov.
Call us at toll free at 1-866-859-2254 (444-6900 in Helena) with any questions.