ACORD Forms
ACORD 185: Restaurant/Tavern Supplement
The ACORD 185 is the Restaurant/Tavern Supplement. It rides along with the ACORD 125 and the line sections when the risk cooks food or serves alcohol, and it asks what restaurant underwriters actually price on: the type of establishment, the kitchen's fire protection, the liquor operation, and how receipts split between food and alcohol.
What it is
The ACORD 185 is the Restaurant/Tavern Supplement. It rides along with the ACORD 125 and the line sections when the risk cooks food or serves alcohol, and it asks what restaurant underwriters actually price on: the type of establishment, the kitchen's fire protection, the liquor operation, and how receipts split between food and alcohol.
The form is completed per location. Three restaurants means three supplements, because the fryer setup and the bar crowd at one location tell the underwriter nothing about the other two.
When it's used
- New business and remarketing submissions for restaurants, diners, fast food, family style spots, banquet halls, taverns, nightclubs, and bed and breakfast inns.
- Any submission where liquor liability is quoted alongside the general liability.
- When a carrier or wholesaler asks for a restaurant supplemental with the ACORD application, this is the standard one.
Section-by-section walkthrough
Establishment information
The type of business (restaurant, diner, fast food, family style, banquet hall, tavern, nightclub, bed and breakfast inn), whether it is franchised, seasonal or year-round, and the hours of operation.
Watch for: Checking restaurant for what is functionally a bar with a menu. The type box drives carrier appetite, and the inspection report will tell on you.
General information
Ownership history questions, the building's original and current occupancies, seating capacity, employee counts, whether alcohol service is restricted to beer and wine, and whether the building owner needs additional insured status.
Watch for: Skimming the question about how long the business has operated at the location. Newer operations get asked about the owner's prior restaurant experience, and a good answer helps the risk.
Entertainment
Whether there is entertainment at all, and if so the nights, the age of the clientele, the acts (bands, DJs), dance floors, whether dancing is permitted, bouncers or doormen, and amusement devices like pool tables.
Watch for: Answering no for a place with live music every weekend. Entertainment is a priced exposure, and undisclosed exposure is how claims get contested.
Kitchen fire protection
The automatic extinguishing system and whether it is under a maintenance contract, whether it covers all cooking surfaces, automatic fuel shutoffs, and the hood and duct cleaning routine.
Watch for: Naming a system but leaving the maintenance contract detail empty. The form asks specifically, because an unserviced system is the difference between a kitchen fire and a total loss.
General liability detail
Three years of receipts split into food, liquor, and other, square footage, parking, catering and banquet work as a share of receipts, valet parking, deliveries, and emergency exits.
Watch for: Receipts that contradict the establishment type checked up top. A tavern whose receipts say mostly food raises questions in both directions.
Liquor liability
The liquor license type and number, bartender and server counts, alcohol service training, the written policy on serving, happy hour and last call practices, and any liquor board violations.
Watch for: Leaving the violations question blank. State liquor boards keep public records, and a blank reads worse than a disclosed violation with context.
Bed and breakfast inn
Completed only when the risk is an inn: guest rooms, whether the owners live on premises, woodburning stoves and fireplaces, emergency lighting, and smoke alarms.
Financial information
The most recent twelve months: operating expenses, net profit or loss, and payables. A loss means a financial statement gets attached.
Remarks and attachments
Photos, financial statements, and anything that gives the underwriter a picture of the operation. Photos of the kitchen and the hood system earn their space.
In Relay
ACORD Generation is live in Relay. It drafts the ACORD 185 from the client record and the documents you already have, and a person reviews every field before anything goes out. See how →
Common errors
- One supplement submitted for a multi-location account. The 185 is completed for each location.
- Entertainment answered no at venues that host live music or DJs.
- Receipts splits that do not match the establishment type checked at the top of the form.
- An extinguishing system listed with no maintenance contract detail.
- Liquor board violation history left blank instead of answered.
Common questions
Do I need the ACORD 185 if the restaurant only serves beer and wine?
If the carrier wants the supplement, yes. The form itself asks whether alcohol service is restricted to beer and wine, and that answer generally helps the risk, so complete it rather than argue about it.
Is the 185 required on every restaurant submission?
No. Many carriers and wholesalers use their own supplemental applications. When a market asks for the ACORD restaurant supplement, this is the form they mean, usually attached to a 125 with a 126 or a 160.
Can Relay fill out an ACORD 185?
Yes. ACORD Generation is live in Relay. It drafts the supplement from the client record and the documents on file, and a person reviews it before it goes to the carrier.
Related forms
Part of the Relay ACORD form library. Updated 2026-07-11. See how we source content.
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