Can you ship alcohol? Rules for wine, beer and spirits makers

Can you ship alcohol?

Yes, if you are a licensed producer or retailer and you ship through a private carrier that has approved you. No, if you are a private person or a hobbyist, and no for anyone through the US Postal Service.

Three layers of rules decide every shipment. Federal law keeps alcohol out of the mail: TTB, the federal alcohol regulator, states that the law 18 U.S.C. 1716(f) prohibits sending alcohol beverages through the mail either domestically or internationally. The carriers then decide who they will carry for: UPS accepts wine only from shippers who are licensed under applicable law and who have signed and entered into a contract with UPS, and FedEx accepts alcohol only from licensed businesses enrolled in the FedEx alcohol shipping program. Finally, the destination state decides whether a business in another state may ship to its residents at all.

This page is for people who make and sell wine, beer, cider or spirits. It covers the federal and carrier rules that apply everywhere and points to the state agencies for the rest. It is general information, not legal advice. Alcohol shipping rules vary by state, and some cities and counties restrict delivery further.

USPS, UPS and FedEx alcohol rules side by side

The table sets out what each carrier publishes about alcohol for US shipments. None of them carries alcohol for a sender who has no license.

The carrier agreement does not replace your licenses. UPS asks alcohol shippers to submit copies of your state licenses, and complete a shipping agreement, and its wine page says that legal compliance in the origin and destination states is the shipper's responsibility.

Can you mail alcohol with USPS?

No. USPS Publication 52, the Postal Service rulebook for restricted mail, defines intoxicating liquors as beverages with an alcohol content of 0.5 percent or more by weight. It states that intoxicating liquors and taxable liquors, including those obtained under a prescription or as a collector‘s item, are nonmailable. That covers beer, hard cider, wine, mead and spirits, whether you bought them or made them, and whether the package is a sale or a gift.

A few products that contain alcohol can be mailed because they are not drinks. Publication 52 lists cold remedies, cooking wine, and mouthwash as examples. A product qualifies only if it meets each test in the rule, including that it Is not classified as a taxable alcoholic beverage.

The ban reaches past the bottle. Advertising, promotional or sales materials that encourage or solicit the mailing of intoxicating liquors are nonmailable, so a mailer offering to post your wine to buyers is itself not mailable. Producers who ship use UPS or FedEx, and TTB's own advice is to contact a private courier service such as FedEx or UPS.

Why a hobbyist cannot ship homemade wine or beer to buyers

Federal law lets an adult make beer at home without paying tax, but only for personal or family use and not for sale. The wine rule is the same: any adult may, without payment of tax, produce wine for personal or family use and not for sale. A household may make up to 200 gallons per calendar year of beer with two or more adults, or 100 gallons per calendar year with one adult, and the wine limits are 200 gallons per calendar year and 100 gallons per calendar year. Home wine may not under any circumstances be sold or offered for sale. It may leave the house for events such as home winemaker's contests, tastings or judgings, but not to a buyer.

Spirits have no home allowance at all. TTB states: There are no personal exemptions for production of distilled spirits.

So selling homemade wine, beer or cider by post or courier fails twice. The product cannot be sold without federal and state licenses, and the carriers will not take it without those licenses and a signed agreement. If you want to sell what you make, the path is a bonded winery or a licensed brewery, then a carrier agreement.

How to ship wine, beer or liquor as a licensed producer

These steps are the order most small producers follow. The details of each state permit sit with that state's alcohol agency.

1. Hold your federal and home-state licenses

   Get the federal and home-state licenses for your winery, brewery or distillery before you ship anything. UPS asks beer shippers for a valid retailer or brewery license in their home states, and a license or permit in the destination state where one applies. Wine shippers give UPS their licenses and a signed agreement.

2. Get permission from each destination state

   Each state decides whether out-of-state producers may ship to its residents. States may set quantity limits, reporting requirements, licensing obligations, limits on frequency of shipments. Look up each state you want to ship to in TTB's directory, Alcohol Beverage Authorities in United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

3. Sign the carrier's alcohol agreement

   To ship wine with UPS you open a dedicated account and provide us with licenses and a signed UPS agreement. Beer shippers sign the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers. With FedEx, you apply to be enrolled in the FedEx alcohol shipping program.

4. Label every package and require an adult signature

   FedEx says of its Adult Signature Required service: Required for alcohol shipments. The signer must be at least 21 years old and show government-issued photo identification. UPS uses Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required, and for Hold for Pickup the buyer shows a government-issued photo ID.

5. Track each state's limits

   Some states ban delivery to dry or damp jurisdictions. Keep a record of how much you send to each buyer and each state, since states can limit both quantity and frequency.

How to pack wine and beer bottles for shipping

FedEx publishes packing guidance for wine, beer and spirits bottles:

• Use polystyrene inner packaging with a corrugated outer container. FedEx also accepts molded pulp or die-cut corrugated packaging.
• Avoid packaging that lets bottles touch, such as single corrugated partitions, and fill that settles, such as polystyrene peanuts, or compresses, such as wadded paper.
• If you use bubble wrap, it should be at least two inches thick around the sides, top and bottom of each bottle.
• Put the shipping label on the top of the box. FedEx explains that directional arrows can’t always be honored.
• FedEx advises: Avoid shipping your alcohol in extreme weather temperatures. In summer, use an insulated box.

Direct-to-consumer shipping permits by state

Whether you can ship wine or beer to a buyer in another state depends on that state's law, and the answer differs for wineries, breweries, distilleries and retailers. Some states allow direct shipping with a permit, and some do not allow it. UPS notes that some states allow shipments from out-of-state wineries only when the consumer has purchased the wine on-site at the winery.

This page does not list the states, because the rules and the carriers' approved lists change. UPS keeps its approved wine states in Addendum A to its wine agreement. For the law itself, contact the alcohol agency of each state in TTB's directory, Alcohol Beverage Authorities in United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, before your first sale there.

Can you ship a bottle of wine or liquor as a gift?

Not by mail, and usually not by courier either. USPS will not carry it, FedEx states that Individuals (consumers) are prohibited from shipping beer, wine, or spirits, and UPS accepts alcohol only from licensed shippers under contract. TTB's advice for a person sending alcohol to family is to contact a private courier service such as FedEx or UPS, and to contact the States to and from which you are shipping for laws that prohibit it.

In practice, a gift is sent by buying from a licensed winery or retailer that ships to the recipient's state, so the licensed seller handles the shipment.

When these rules were checked

The federal and carrier rules on this page were read on their official pages on 3 Oct 2026. Alcohol law and carrier programs change, so the page is re-checked every six months. Check your state alcohol agency and your carrier agreement before you ship, since state rules vary and this is not legal advice.

Where Nation fits

Questions about shipping alcohol