Can You Have Open Alcohol in Your Trunk in Florida?

Keeping open alcohol in the trunk of your car is legal in Florida, and it is the cleanest way to move a previously opened bottle without violating the state’s open container law. Florida Statute 316.1936 prohibits open containers in the passenger area of a vehicle, but a locked trunk is treated as outside the driver’s possession.¹ The rule gets more complicated in vehicles that don’t have a traditional trunk, and the penalties for getting it wrong can reach beyond a traffic ticket.

What Counts as an Open Container

Florida defines an open container as any container of alcohol that is immediately capable of being consumed from, or that has a broken seal.¹ An open beer, a cup of wine, and a half-finished handle of liquor all qualify. So does a bottle you cracked once and screwed the cap back on — once the factory seal is broken, it’s open under the statute.

A flask with a screw top, a growler from a brewery, and a resealed liquor bottle are all covered. A fully sealed, unopened bottle is not, and can ride anywhere in the car.

Where the Trunk Rule Actually Sits in the Law

The statute spells out exactly which parts of a vehicle are not the “passenger area” for open container purposes: a locked glove compartment, a locked trunk, or another locked nonpassenger area.¹ The word “locked” runs through every option. A standard sedan trunk qualifies because it is separated from the cabin and latches shut. An unlocked center console, a door pocket, or a cup holder does not.

The ban itself has two triggers. No one in the vehicle — driver or passenger — can possess or drink from an open container while the vehicle is moving. The same prohibition applies when the vehicle is parked or stopped on any road, street, highway, alley, shoulder, or right-of-way open to public travel. Sitting in a parking spot on a public street with an open beer counts as a violation even with the engine off.

SUVs, Hatchbacks, and Minivans

Vehicles without a walled-off trunk are where compliance gets thin. The general open container statute doesn’t carve out a special rule for them — it only recognizes “locked nonpassenger area.” In most SUVs and hatchbacks, the cargo space behind the rear seats is open to the cabin, which arguably makes it part of the passenger area.

The safer options are a locked glove compartment or a locked container, such as a lockbox or a locking cooler, placed in the cargo area. Dropping a bottle behind the back seat with no locked barrier between it and the driver is a risk. You may have heard that the “area behind the last upright seat” is acceptable — that phrase does appear in Florida law, but only in the restaurant wine statute discussed below, not in the general open container rule.² For anything other than a properly resealed restaurant wine bottle, don’t rely on it.

Pickup Trucks

A pickup bed is clearly not a passenger area, and a driver can’t reach it while driving. Whether it counts as “locked” is the question. A truck bed with a locking tonneau cover or a locked toolbox in the bed satisfies the statute. An open bed is harder to defend — it is a nonpassenger area, but it is not locked. A locking bed cover, a lockbox in the bed, or simply using the locked glove compartment removes the ambiguity.

The Restaurant Wine Bottle Exception

Florida allows you to take home a partially consumed bottle of wine from a restaurant, but only if the steps are followed exactly. The restaurant itself must reseal the bottle. It then goes into a bag or container secured so tampering would be visible, with a dated receipt for the meal and the wine attached to the outside.²

Once the resealed bottle is in the vehicle, it must ride in a locked glove compartment, a locked trunk, or, for vehicles without a trunk, the area behind the last upright seat.² Skip any step — no receipt, you resealed the bottle yourself, the bottle rides on the passenger seat — and the exception disappears. You’re back under the general open container rule.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

For a driver, an open container violation is a noncriminal moving traffic violation. It adds points to your driving record and carries a fine set by Chapter 318 of the Florida Statutes.¹ For a passenger, it is a nonmoving violation with a smaller fine and no points.

The base fine is modest, though court costs and surcharges usually push the actual bill well above it. The larger financial hit tends to come from auto insurance. An open container conviction can raise premiums by roughly 40 to 50 percent on average, and that increase often stays on the policy for three to five years. Counties and municipalities can also impose stricter penalties than the state, so local rules are worth checking.¹

The DUI Connection

An open container ticket is not a DUI charge on its own, but the two interact in ways that matter. An open container in plain view during a traffic stop gives an officer additional grounds to investigate impairment, and it can support probable cause for field sobriety testing even if your driving was otherwise unremarkable.

If a DUI charge follows, the open container becomes evidence of alcohol consumption at trial. It does not automatically enhance a DUI sentence under the statute, but it colors the case in ways that make plea negotiations harder. The trunk rule is worth following for reasons well beyond the fine on the ticket itself.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 316.1936 – Possession of Open Containers of Alcoholic Beverages in Vehicles Prohibited; Penalties
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 564.09 – Restaurants; Off-Premises Consumption of Wine