You can buy alcohol on Sunday in Maine, but only in municipalities that have voted to allow it. Where Sunday sales are permitted, licensed businesses can sell beer, wine, and spirits from 5 a.m. until 1 a.m. the following morning, the same window that applies on any other day.1Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 4 – Business Days and Hours Because the decision sits with each city and town under Title 28-A, the same Sunday afternoon can mean a legal beer in one town and no sales at all in the next.
Sunday Sales Hours
In a municipality that has approved Sunday sales, the statutory window runs from 5 a.m. Sunday until 1 a.m. Monday.1Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 4 – Business Days and Hours That window covers both on-premises sales at bars and restaurants and off-premises sales at grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retailers. The statute does not set a later start time for retail than for restaurants on Sundays.
Those are the outer limits set by state law. A town can adopt narrower hours through its local option vote, and an individual license may carry its own conditions. If you are trying to figure out whether a specific store or restaurant can sell to you at a specific hour, the state’s local option list is the source of truth.
Why It Depends on the Town
Maine does not have a single statewide rule for Sunday alcohol. Title 28-A, §123 lays out a slate of ballot questions that municipalities put to voters, each covering a specific combination of beverage type, on-premises versus off-premises, and day of the week.2Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 123 – Local Option Questions The Sunday questions include:
- On-premises Sunday sales at bars, restaurants, and similar establishments.
- Off-premises Sunday sales of spirits at retail.
- Off-premises Sunday sales of beer (malt liquor) and wine at retail.
- Sunday operation of agency liquor stores.
A town can approve one and reject another. Voters might say yes to Sunday brunch cocktails at restaurants but no to Sunday retail spirits sales, or the reverse. A simple majority carries any question. That is why the map is a patchwork: neighboring towns can end up with very different Sunday rules, which matters if you are shopping across a municipal line or planning an event near one.
Dry Towns
Some Maine municipalities remain fully dry, prohibiting alcohol sales every day of the week. As of the most recent publicly available data, roughly 35 towns fall into that group, concentrated in rural parts of the state. Many other towns sit in between, allowing certain sales while restricting others, such as permitting beer and wine but not spirits, or weekday sales but not Sunday sales.
How to Check Your Municipality
The Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO) maintains a public list of every municipality’s local option votes on its website under liquor licensing.3Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations. Local Option Before you make assumptions about what a town allows, that list is the place to look. It tells you which specific questions each municipality has approved and which it has rejected.
Spirits at Agency Liquor Stores
Maine sells hard liquor through a state-controlled system. Spirits for off-premises consumption are sold at agency liquor stores, which are privately owned retailers operating under contract with the state. For Sundays, the rule is straightforward: if a municipality has voted to allow agency liquor stores to operate on weekdays, those stores are automatically permitted to sell spirits on Sundays as well.3Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations. Local Option
Prices for spirits sold through agency stores are set by the state, not by individual retailers. Agency stores receive a discount off the state-set retail price: BABLO has established minimum discount rates of 16% for spirits priced at $24.99 or less and 18% for spirits at $25.00 or more. Maine small distilleries selling directly to consumers at their own facilities get a 22.75% discount rate. None of that changes on Sundays.
Buying Alcohol in New Hampshire and Driving Back
Because New Hampshire liquor stores sit right on the highway and often carry lower prices, plenty of Maine residents wonder how much they can legally bring home on a Sunday drive. Maine caps personal importation:
- Spirits: no more than 4 quarts.4Justia. Maine Code 28-A 2075 – Importation and Transportation of Spirits
- Malt liquor: up to 400 fluid ounces (roughly 33 twelve-ounce cans).5Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 2073-C – Importation of Malt Liquor, Wine or Low-Alcohol Spirits Products
- Wine: up to 4 liters.5Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 2073-C – Importation of Malt Liquor, Wine or Low-Alcohol Spirits Products
- Low-alcohol spirits products: up to 4 liters.5Maine Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 2073-C – Importation of Malt Liquor, Wine or Low-Alcohol Spirits Products
Going over the limit has teeth. Importing less than 10 gallons of spirits illegally is a civil violation with a fine of up to $500. At 10 gallons or more, it becomes a Class E crime with potential jail time, and the excess alcohol is forfeited to the state either way.4Justia. Maine Code 28-A 2075 – Importation and Transportation of Spirits These limits apply every day of the week.
Cocktails to Go and Delivery on Sundays
Restaurants and bars in Maine can sell beer, wine, and spirits-based cocktails for off-premises consumption, including curbside pickup and delivery. That option is available on Sundays in municipalities that have approved the relevant local option questions. Several conditions apply:6Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations. Maine Liquor Laws Quick Reference Guide for Liquor Licensees, Agents, and Employees Spring 2025
- The licensee must hold an approved secondary license issued through the state’s BELLS system.
- Every sale has to include a qualifying food order. Snack foods alone do not count.
- Spirits-based cocktails must be prepared the same day by a qualifying employee, contain no more than 4.5 ounces of spirits, and be sealed in a tamper-evident rigid container labeled with the licensee’s name and license number, the preparation date and time, and the ingredients.
- The person picking up or receiving delivery must be verified as of legal drinking age and not visibly intoxicated.
If a restaurant offers Sunday pickup or delivery of drinks, these are the rules it is operating under. Ordering a cocktail without a food item, or expecting a loose cup instead of a sealed container, is not something the restaurant can legally do.
Sunday Catering and Private Events
Planning a wedding, fundraiser, or other event with alcohol on a Sunday runs through Maine’s qualified catering services license under Title 28-A, §1076, not a generic special-event permit.7Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 28-A 1076 – Qualified Catering Services Two location facts matter, and they trip people up:
- Both the caterer’s principal place of business and the event venue must be in municipalities that have approved on-premises alcohol sales.
- The catering service must derive at least 10% of its gross annual income from food sales, whether it operates year-round or part-time.
If your venue sits in a dry town, or in a town that has not approved on-premises Sunday sales, no license will let a caterer legally serve alcohol there on that Sunday. Verify the venue’s municipal status before you sign anything.