Yes, you can get alcohol to go from restaurants in Texas. House Bill 1024, signed into law on May 12, 2021, made pickup and delivery of beer, wine, and mixed drinks a permanent option for restaurants that hold the right permits, as long as the alcohol goes out the door with a food order the kitchen prepared on-site.1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Alcohol-To-Go Is Now Permanent Law of the Land in Texas The catches are in the details: what kind of container the drink comes in, when you can order, and how you carry it home.
What You Can Order
The law covers beer, ale, wine, and mixed drinks containing distilled spirits.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Industry Notice: House Bill 1024 Pickup and Delivery of Alcoholic Beverages for Off-Premises Consumption A margarita, an old fashioned, a paloma — the same cocktails you’d order at the table can leave with you.
Straight spirits are treated differently. If you want the liquor by itself rather than mixed into a cocktail, it has to come in an original, manufacturer-sealed, single-serving container no larger than 375 milliliters, which is roughly a half-bottle.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 28.1001 Once the spirit is mixed with other ingredients into an actual cocktail, that size limit drops away and the drink can go in any tamper-proof container the restaurant uses.
Not every place with a liquor license can sell to go under these rules. If you’re at a spot that only serves beer and wine, it may operate under a different retail permit that allows beer and wine pickup without a food order at all.4Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Alcohol Delivery and Pickup The food requirement below applies specifically to restaurants and private clubs with full mixed-drink service.
The Food Requirement
Every to-go alcohol order from a mixed-beverage restaurant must accompany a food order, and the statute specifies that the food has to be “prepared at the permitted premises.”3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 28.1001 A bag of chips grabbed from behind the counter doesn’t satisfy the rule. You need something the kitchen actually makes.
How the Drink Has to Be Packaged
Beer and wine in their original, manufacturer-sealed cans or bottles are fine as they are. Anything the restaurant pours into a different container — a to-go cocktail, wine transferred into a cup — has to leave in a tamper-proof container, meaning one that clearly shows whether it has been opened after sealing.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Industry Notice: House Bill 1024 Pickup and Delivery of Alcoholic Beverages for Off-Premises Consumption
Acceptable methods include a cup placed in a bag closed with a zip tie or staple, heat-shrink plastic over the opening, tamper-evident tape that visibly breaks or changes when disturbed, or a can seamed shut on-premises. A regular to-go cup lid that pops on and off is not enough. Freezing the drink and leaving the straw hole empty, or sealing with a plain sticker, also fail the test on their own.5Cornell Law Institute. 16 Texas Admin Code 41.16 – Tamper-Proof Containers
Every container that isn’t in its original manufacturer packaging must also carry a label showing the restaurant’s business name and the words “alcoholic beverage.”3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 28.1001 If you pick up a to-go cocktail and don’t see that labeling, the restaurant isn’t following the rules.
When You Can Order
To-go alcohol follows the same hours as on-premises service. For a mixed-beverage restaurant, that’s 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday nights, and 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday, with any alcohol served between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday requiring food.6Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. FAQs Restaurants in cities or counties that permit late hours can extend sales to 2 a.m. any night if they hold a late-hours permit, which covers most urban Texas restaurants.7State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 105.03
Delivery and ID at the Door
Restaurants can deliver alcohol themselves or use a third-party service operating under a Consumer Delivery Permit. Either way, the driver has to be at least 21.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 28.1001
When the order arrives, whoever accepts it also has to be 21 or older and has to show a valid government-issued photo ID. The recipient then signs a paper or electronic receipt confirming they got the alcohol.8Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Alcohol Delivery and Sales by Certain Retail Permit Holders It doesn’t have to be the person who placed the order, but it does have to be someone at the delivery address who meets the age requirement.
If no one is home, or the person at the door is underage or visibly intoxicated, the driver has to bring the alcohol back to the restaurant. Leaving it at the door isn’t allowed. Selling or providing alcohol to a minor in Texas is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail.9Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Underage Drinking
Getting It Home Without Breaking Open Container Law
Once the drink is in your car, the responsibility shifts to you. Texas Penal Code Section 49.031 makes it illegal to have an open container of alcohol in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public road, whether the car is moving or parked.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 49.031 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle An “open container” means any bottle, can, or receptacle containing alcohol that has been opened or has a broken seal.
A properly sealed tamper-proof to-go container should not count as open, since the seal is intact. If the seal breaks in transit, though, or if you crack the drink before getting home, you’re exposed to a citation. The violation is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.23 – Class C Misdemeanor
The statute carves three spots out of the passenger area:
- The trunk of a sedan or similar vehicle
- A locked glove compartment or similar locked storage container
- Behind the last upright seat in vehicles without a trunk, such as SUVs and hatchbacks
Tossing the bag on the back seat keeps the drink in the passenger area. Even with the seal intact, putting it in the trunk (or behind the last row in an SUV) removes any ambiguity at a traffic stop.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 49.031 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle Passengers in taxis, rideshare vehicles, buses, and the living quarters of RVs are exempt from the open container rule.