What Time Can You Buy Alcohol on Sunday in Arkansas?

In Arkansas, what time you can buy alcohol on Sunday depends on where you’re buying it. At a restaurant, bar, or hotel lounge, sales run from 10:00 a.m. to midnight anywhere in the state. At a liquor store, grocery store, or convenience store, Sunday sales are only allowed if the voters in your city or county have approved them through a local referendum — and even then, the window is 10:00 a.m. to midnight unless the ballot set shorter hours.

Buying at a Bar, Restaurant, or Hotel

Any business holding an on-premises consumption permit can serve alcohol on Sundays between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight.¹ No local vote is required. If the permit is in order and the city or county hasn’t imposed tighter hours, that window applies every Sunday.

Cities and counties can narrow the hours by ordinance, but they cannot push them past midnight. A city could, for example, limit Sunday on-premises sales to noon through 10:00 p.m. Before you head out, it’s worth knowing that local rules can shrink the state window, not expand it.

Buying at a Liquor Store, Grocery Store, or Convenience Store

Off-premises retailers cannot sell alcohol on Sundays in Arkansas unless voters in their city or county have specifically authorized it. The state law creates a petition-and-election process: supporters gather signatures from at least 15% of the qualified electors who voted in that jurisdiction for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election, and if a majority then votes yes at the election, licensed retailers may sell for off-premises consumption on Sundays between 10:00 a.m. and midnight — or within a shorter window if the ballot said so.¹

Roughly two dozen Arkansas cities have approved Sunday off-premises sales this way, most of them in the northwest and north-central parts of the state. Northwest Arkansas cities including Bentonville, Rogers, and Springdale are on that list. If your city hasn’t held a successful referendum, no retailer there can legally sell you a bottle of wine on a Sunday afternoon, no matter what the next county does.

When New Year’s Eve Falls on a Sunday

When December 31 lands on a Sunday, licensed restaurants and hotels already authorized for on-premises sales can serve from 10:00 a.m. that Sunday through 2:00 a.m. on Monday, January 1. This happens automatically, with no special application or local vote required, though a city or county can still shorten the window by ordinance.²

Private Clubs Serve Later Than Regular Bars

Private clubs in Arkansas operate under a different permit structure than public bars and restaurants, with hours set by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division that apply every day, Sunday included:

Class A private clubs may dispense alcohol from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the following day.
Class B private clubs may dispense alcohol from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. the following day.

These hours come from ABC Division regulation, not the Sunday-specific statute that governs public venues.³ So a Class B private club can legally serve members until 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, while the bar across the street with a standard on-premises permit has to stop at midnight. Cities and counties can impose stricter hours by local ordinance.

This distinction shows up in dry counties too. Even where package sales are prohibited, private clubs with memberships can and do serve alcohol.

Near Stadiums, Arenas, and Other Large Venues

Arkansas law creates a separate Sunday exception for large-attendance facilities and for restaurants located in the same city as one of those facilities. Qualifying restaurants with a valid on-premises permit can sell alcohol on Sundays from 12:00 noon to 2:00 a.m. the following Monday, in addition to any hours state law already authorizes.⁴ That 2:00 a.m. cutoff is two hours later than the standard midnight closing, which matters on game days and concert nights.

Why the Answer Changes by City and County

Arkansas has a patchwork of wet and dry jurisdictions, and that underlying status shapes everything above. Before Sunday hours even come into play, on-premises sales under the state’s local-option framework must first be authorized in the jurisdiction.⁵ A dry county that hasn’t voted to allow alcohol sales cannot skip ahead to Sunday sales.

The same logic applies to Sunday off-premises sales. A city in a wet county has a relatively straightforward path to a Sunday sales vote; a city in a dry county faces a more complicated situation because retail may already be prohibited. If you’re planning to buy on a Sunday, check both your county’s wet/dry status and whether your specific city has passed a Sunday sales referendum.

Penalties for Selling Outside Allowed Hours

If you’re on the retail side of the counter, selling on a Sunday without proper authorization, or outside the permitted window, is a state-law violation. A first offense carries a fine of $100 to $250, and second and later offenses become a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines up to $1,000.¹

Violating a stricter local closing-hours ordinance is handled separately, with fines of $100 to $500 enforced through local courts. A local-hours citation does not count as an administrative violation against a state-issued permit.⁶