The Andhra Pradesh Prohibition and Excise Department has announced the re-notification of 301 open category bar licenses under the state bar policy for 2025-2028 with a detailed schedule released for the new draw.
Director of Prohibition and Excise Sridhar Chamakuri said on Thursday that the decision follows the failure to divest the licenses in the previous round.
He explained that while 541 open category bars and 84 reserved category bars had already been allocated through the lottery system, 299 licenses remained unutilized.
Besides, the government has approved the re-notification of two more bars – one each in Guntur and NTR districts – taking the total number of re-notification licenses to 301.
NTR district tops the list with 55 bars, followed by Visakhapatnam (52), Guntur (42), SPS Nellore (27) and Palnadu (22). Smaller numbers are scattered in other districts while in ASR and West Godavari districts no re-notification has been proposed at this stage.
Mr. Chamakuri said the list of bars has been published in the respective district gazettes and the application process has already started.
Applications will be received through online, hybrid or offline mode upto 6:00 PM on 4th February 2026. Draw will be conducted by respective District Collectors at 8:00 AM on 5th February with advance license notification issued on the same day.
He directed excise officials to strictly follow procedures to ensure transparency.
Published – 29 Jan 2026 20:27 IST
