Arkansas liquor laws combine a statewide framework under Title 3 of the Arkansas Code with a local option system that lets each county and city decide whether alcohol can be sold within its borders.1Justia. Arkansas Code Title 3 – Alcoholic Beverages The Alcoholic Beverage Control Division licenses and enforces at the state level, but where you are in Arkansas determines whether you can buy a drink at all, and when. Layered on top are strict rules on the drinking age, open containers, public drinking, and driving under the influence.
Wet Counties, Dry Counties, and Private Clubs
Every county and city in Arkansas starts dry. It becomes wet only if voters approve a referendum at a November general election, and a wet jurisdiction can go dry the same way. In a dry area, selling or manufacturing alcohol is prohibited.
You can still possess alcohol for personal use and transport it through a dry county, as long as it stays sealed or is stored properly outside the passenger area of your vehicle. Dry counties also have one significant on-premises exception: a private club may serve alcohol to its members and to guests who are physically present with a member. Club employees cannot act as the host for a guest, and the club needs its own permit from the ABC Division.2Code of Arkansas Rules. 3 CAR 5-306 – Private Club in Dry Area to Dispense Alcoholic Beverages to Members and Guests
When Alcohol Can Be Sold
State law shuts off sales between 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays for both package stores and on-premises establishments.3Justia. Arkansas Code 3-3-210 – Sale on Sunday or Early Weekday Mornings Local governments can tighten those hours by ordinance but not loosen them.
Sunday sales split by license type. Restaurants, bars, and other on-premises permit holders can serve from 10:00 a.m. to midnight on Sundays, again subject to any shorter window a city or county imposes. Package stores are a different story: off-premises Sunday sales require a separate local referendum authorizing them. Without that vote, liquor stores stay closed Sunday. Where voters have approved it, the same 10:00 a.m. to midnight window applies.
Drinking Age and Underage Possession
You must be 21 to purchase, possess, or publicly consume any alcoholic beverage in Arkansas. Alcohol in a minor’s body counts as possession under the statute, so a minor who has been drinking can be charged without ever holding a bottle.4Justia. Arkansas Code 3-3-203 – Purchase or Possession by Minor
An offender 18 or older faces a fine of $100 to $500 plus an automatic driver’s license suspension: 60 days for a first offense, 120 days for a second, and one year for a third or later offense. Courts can also order probation or require essays on alcohol as an educational measure. Offenders under 18 go through the juvenile system.
Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
Giving alcohol to someone under 21, without payment, is a Class A misdemeanor on a first conviction. A second conviction within three years becomes a Class D felony. Selling alcohol to a minor is treated more harshly: a Class D felony on the first conviction and a Class C felony on a second within five years.5Justia. Arkansas Code 3-3-202 – Knowingly Furnishing or Selling to Minor
Two narrow exceptions apply: a family member may serve alcohol to their own family, and wine or beer may be used in a religious ceremony within an established church. These exceptions protect the person providing the alcohol. The minor’s possession statute has no matching family or religious carve-out, so a minor could still be charged with possession even if a parent handed them the drink.
Open Containers in Vehicles
It is illegal to possess an open alcoholic beverage container in any area of a motor vehicle designed for seating, or readily accessible to the driver or a passenger, while the vehicle is on a public highway. The rule applies equally to drivers and passengers.6Justia. Arkansas Code 5-71-218 – Possession of Open Container Containing Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle
You can legally transport an opened container in the trunk or cargo area, in a locked glove box or center console, or behind the last upright seat in an SUV or hatchback that lacks a separate trunk. Passengers in buses, hired vehicles, and RVs are exempt when the container is in the living quarters or passenger-only section and out of the driver’s reach.
A violation is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail.7Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence
Drinking in Public
Drinking in public is a separate offense from the open container law. It covers streets, highways, public transit vehicles, train platforms, waiting areas, and other public spaces. The only place you can lawfully drink in public is a business holding an on-premises consumption license.8Justia. Arkansas Code 5-71-212 – Public Intoxication – Drinking in Public The penalty is the same as an open container violation: a Class C misdemeanor with up to 30 days in jail.
DWI: Limits and Penalties
The standard blood alcohol concentration limit is 0.08 for drivers 21 and older. DWI is a strict liability offense in Arkansas, meaning prosecutors do not need to prove intent. Being behind the wheel at or above the limit is enough.9Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-103 – Driving or Boating While Intoxicated Drivers under 21 face a 0.02 zero-tolerance threshold. Commercial drivers are held to 0.04.
Penalties climb sharply with each conviction, counted within a ten-year lookback window.10Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-111 – Periods of Incarceration A first offense is an unclassified misdemeanor carrying 24 hours to one year in jail. If a passenger under 16 was in the vehicle, the minimum jumps to seven days. Courts can order community service in place of jail for first offenders, with written reasons.
- Second offense within 10 years: 7 days to one year in jail, $400 to $3,000 in fines, and a 24-month license suspension. Minimum rises to 30 days with a passenger under 16.
- Third offense: 90 days to one year in jail, $900 to $5,000 in fines, and a 30-month license suspension. Minimum rises to 120 days with a passenger under 16.
- Fourth offense: felony, one to six years in prison and $900 to $5,000 in fines.
- Fifth offense: two to ten years in prison and $900 to $5,000 in fines.
- Sixth or later: five to twenty years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.
A DWI that causes a death can be charged as negligent homicide, a Class B felony carrying five to twenty years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.
Implied Consent
Driving on Arkansas roads means you have consented in advance to chemical testing of your breath, saliva, or urine if arrested on suspicion of DWI. That consent kicks in when an officer has reasonable cause to believe you are intoxicated or when you are involved in an accident.11Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-202 – Implied Consent A blood draw is different. It requires a warrant supported by probable cause or your express consent, unless exigent circumstances apply. If you are unconscious or physically unable to refuse, the law treats you as not having withdrawn consent, and testing can go forward.