Today’s texplainer is inspired by a question from texas tribune reader richard o’dell.
hey texplainer: can liquor be mailed to or around texas? liquor stores outside of my area say they can’t ship their products to me. I’d also like to join wine clubs out of state, but they can’t ship their merchandise. what is the problem?
Texas liquor laws are infamously complex, and the reason goes back to the end of Prohibition.
That’s when states began creating their own regulatory structures to manage the production and sale of alcohol, and when texas, in an effort to prevent manufacturers from approaching retailers, opted for a system that separates the process in three levels:
- manufacturers who make the product: wineries, breweries, and distilleries.
- wholesalers and distributors who buy from manufacturers and sell to retailers.
- retailers who sell the product to consumers.
Texas law, specifically the Alcoholic Beverage Code, only allows businesses with a proper permit to sell alcohol to consumers. therefore, if you want to purchase alcoholic beverages, you must obtain them from a retailer (for example, a grocery store, convenience store, bar, or restaurant).
the texas alcoholic beverage commission oversees all three levels and issues separate permits and licenses for each. this is where the confusion begins.
Only tabc licensed carriers can transport alcohol, and only licensed businesses, including those that are out of state, can sell alcohol to texas consumers. Without a permit, liquor cannot be shipped directly to Texas consumers, and there is currently no permit that allows out-of-state liquor stores to sell products directly to Texas consumers.
These are some of the licenses and permits that stores, carriers, and manufacturers need to transport alcoholic beverages in and around the state:
- To ship alcohol to, from, or within Texas, businesses must have a carrier’s permit.
- Wineries licensed in Texas can ship their products to people in the state.
- shops that wish to deliver within their city limits need a local transport permit. tabc spokesman chris porter said most stores have this permit because it allows them to transport alcohol within a city, both to customers and between stores.
Distilled spirits cannot legally be shipped from a store to a Texas consumer who lives outside of the city where the store is located; instead, they must be shipped from a package store in the same county as the consumer, said dick wills, chief executive of the gerald franklin agency, an alcoholic beverage licensing business.
If a company has multiple liquor stores in cities across the state, each of those stores could deliver liquor to customers who live in the cities where the stores are located.
“The company could accept orders online and then forward the order to one of its stores in the customer’s city, which would then fulfill the order and deliver the product to the customer,” Porter said.
And what about those out-of-state wine clubs?
“Wine clubs likely won’t have an out-of-state winery direct shipping permit from Tabc, as it would be required to ship wine directly to consumers in Texas,” Porter said. “Most wine clubs would fall into the ‘retailer’ category and there is no law that allows an out-of-state retailer to ship alcoholic beverages directly to Texas consumers.”
For any other out-of-state liquor manufacturers who want their product in Texan hands, a non-resident manufacturer’s license allows them to sell products to Texas distributors who, in turn, sell to Texas customers.
Another thing to note: Alcohol cannot be shipped through the US. uu. Postal Service. Only tabc licensed common carriers, which include most commercial shipping companies, are allowed to ship alcohol.
The Bottom Line: Legally, distilled spirits cannot be shipped directly to Texas consumers. they have to be shipped from a package store in the county in which you live. Any out-of-state wine club needs an out-of-state winery direct shipping permit to ship wine directly to Texas consumers.