ORLANDO, Fla. — Starting Monday, bars in the Downtown Entertainment Area of Orlando will be required to have a new permit if they plan to sell alcohol after midnight. As of Thursday, only 16 bars received an ‘After Midnight Sales Permit,’ out of the 80 bars in the area. However, 51 businesses applied for the permit.

What You Need To Know

  • In order to maintain their permit, bars will need to comply with different safety measures determined on a case-by-case basis by the Chief of Police

  • Safety measures can include hiring extra law enforcement as security, having I.D. scanners, or using metal detector wands

  • The new permit system begins Monday. This is the last weekend bars without one will be able to sell alcohol after midnight

Businesses with the permit will have a decal issued by the city, displaying their hours of operation, occupancy, and expiry of the permit.

Based on factors like bar size and history of violent incidents, select bars will be required by the chief of police to hire law enforcement to post outside of the building.

If a bar has an occupancy of over 50 people, it must use a metal detector wand.

Finally, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., all bars must use I.D. scanners and keep a log of occupancy numbers.

Bars are subject to additional measures at the discretion of the chief of police.

Failure to comply results in the suspension of a business’ permit, forfeiting its ability to sell alcohol after midnight.