Can You Drink on the Street in Key West? Ordinance and Enforcement

Yes, you can generally drink on the street in Key West without being stopped, even though a city ordinance technically prohibits it. Section 18-87 of the Key West Municipal Code makes open containers illegal on sidewalks, streets, parks, parking lots, and beaches, but enforcement on the main entertainment blocks of Duval Street is famously lenient. Thousands of visitors walk the strip with plastic cups every night. That gap between the written rule and the lived experience is where visitors get into trouble, so it helps to know exactly where the lines sit.

What the Ordinance Actually Says

Section 18-87 prohibits open containers of alcoholic beverages in any public or semi-public area within city limits. Streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots, and beaches are all covered. The ordinance is written with a graduated enforcement structure: a first-time offender receives a verbal or written warning as long as they comply immediately. Only second or subsequent violations can result in arrest as a misdemeanor ordinance violation.

That warning-first structure matters. When an officer does approach, the likely outcome for a cooperative first-timer is a directive to pour out the drink or drop it in a trash can. Arguing or refusing turns a disposable warning into an arrestable offense. The people who get into real trouble under this ordinance almost always escalated the encounter themselves.

How Enforcement Works on Duval Street

Duval Street is the city’s main entertainment corridor, and the 100 and 200 blocks pack bars so tightly that the sidewalk starts to feel like an extension of the barroom. Bars serve drinks in plastic to-go cups, patrons spill out with them, and officers on a typical evening frequently let the crowds moving between venues go about their business.

This tolerance is a practical reality, not a legal right. No ordinance carves out an exception for Duval Street, and the official Florida Keys tourism authority states that open container laws apply “including the world-famous Duval Street.” Police retain full authority to enforce the ordinance at any time, and periodic crackdowns happen, particularly around large events or when public safety concerns spike.

A few habits reduce your risk:

Use plastic cups. Glass containers draw the most attention and create a safety hazard.
Stay on the main entertainment blocks rather than wandering into residential side streets.
Keep the volume down.
If an officer tells you to dump a drink, do it without debate.

Beaches and Parks Are Different

The Duval tolerance does not extend to beaches or public parks. The Florida Keys tourism authority warns that alcohol is not permitted in either. Signs are posted in many of these areas, and enforcement tends to be more consistent than on the entertainment strip. Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, one of the most popular local beach destinations, follows those restrictions. Federal parkland such as Dry Tortugas National Park operates under separate federal rules that let the park superintendent close any area to alcohol and that independently prohibit being intoxicated to a degree that endangers yourself, others, or park property.¹

Drinks in Cars and Golf Carts

Whatever tolerance exists for pedestrians disappears inside a vehicle. Florida law makes it illegal for any person to possess an open container of alcohol or to drink while operating a vehicle, riding as a passenger, or sitting in a parked car on a public road.² An open container is any alcoholic beverage container whose seal has been broken or that can be drunk from immediately.

Key West’s compact layout means many visitors move between bars and hotels by car or golf cart, and a half-finished Duval Street drink tucked into a cup holder is a traffic violation regardless of who is driving or whether the vehicle is moving. Narrow exceptions exist for passengers in hired transportation like taxis and charter buses, and for passengers in the living quarters of a motorhome, but they do not cover personal vehicles, rental cars, or golf carts.²

Behavior Is Where People Actually Get Arrested

Even where officers tolerate a drink in your hand, they draw a hard line at behavior. Florida’s disorderly intoxication statute makes it illegal to be intoxicated and endanger another person or property, or to drink in a public place and cause a disturbance.³ This is the charge that catches people who walked past a dozen officers with a drink but then got into a shouting match, knocked over a vendor’s display, or stumbled into traffic.

A conviction is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.⁴⁵ Three convictions within a 12-month period classify you as a habitual offender, and a court can order commitment to a treatment facility for up to 60 days.³

Under 21

The relaxed atmosphere does not loosen the age rule. Florida law prohibits anyone under 21 from possessing alcoholic beverages, with limited exceptions for employees at licensed establishments working within the scope of their job.⁶⁷⁴ Bars on Duval do check IDs, and undercover enforcement targeting underage sales is not uncommon in high-traffic tourist areas.

1
eCFR. 36 CFR 2.35 – Alcoholic Beverages and Controlled Substances
2
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 316.1936 – Possession of Open Containers of Alcoholic Beverages in Vehicles Prohibited
3
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 856.011 – Disorderly Intoxication
4
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences
5
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 775.083 – Fines
6
Justia Law. Florida Code 562.111 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverages by Persons Under Age 21 Prohibited
7
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 562.11 – Selling, Giving, or Serving Alcoholic Beverages to Person Under Age 21