Beer sales in Texas run from 7:00 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, with Saturday night sales continuing until 1:00 a.m. Sunday. Sunday hours start later and depend on the seller’s permit type. Every stage of the sale is regulated by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and local elections can narrow or ban sales entirely in a given precinct, city, or county.
Legal Hours to Buy Beer
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code § 105.05 governs off-premise sales, meaning beer you take home. From Monday through Saturday, retailers can sell between 7:00 a.m. and midnight. Saturday sales can run through to 1:00 a.m. Sunday, then stop.
Sunday is split. The general rule is that off-premise beer sales resume at noon and continue until midnight. A 2021 amendment, HB 1518, created an earlier Sunday window for certain license types: holders of a retail dealer’s on-premise or off-premise license can sell beer for off-premise consumption starting at 10:00 a.m. Bars and restaurants with on-premise permits can also serve beer beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday if it accompanies a food order.1Texas Legislature. HB 1518, 87th Legislature – Section 4 In practice, your neighborhood grocery or convenience store (typically holding a BQ permit) usually waits until noon on Sunday, while a gas station with a different license type may open its beer cooler at 10:00 a.m.
Cities and counties with populations over 800,000, or that meet certain census thresholds, can authorize late-hours licenses extending on-premise service until 2:00 a.m. Smaller jurisdictions can adopt extended hours through a commissioners court order or city ordinance. Late-hours provisions apply only to drinks served on the premises, not to beer you take home.
Holidays
Package liquor stores must close on Sundays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. If Christmas or New Year’s falls on a Sunday, the store also stays closed the following Monday. Beer sold at grocery stores and convenience stores is not subject to these holiday closures, so a BQ-permitted retailer that chooses to open on Thanksgiving or Christmas can sell beer that day.
Where You Can Buy Beer
The most common retail license for beer is the Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Off-Premise Permit (BQ), carried by grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. Beer and wine sold under a BQ permit are for consumption elsewhere. The maximum alcohol by volume allowed is either 14% or 17% depending on the local option election in the area where the store sits, and the applicable percentage is printed on the face of the permit.2Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Wine and Malt Beverage Retailers Off-Premise Permit BQ
Liquor stores operate under Package Store permits and face tighter restrictions, including no Sunday sales and closures on the holidays listed above. If you need beer on a Sunday, a grocery or convenience store is the option, not a liquor store.
Wet, Dry, and Partially Wet Areas
State law sets the floor, but local voters decide whether alcohol can be sold in their area at all. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Chapter 251 establishes a local option system where precincts, cities, and counties hold elections to go wet, dry, or something in between.3Justia Law. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Title 6 – Local Option Status A dry area prohibits sales of all alcoholic beverages. A partially wet area might allow beer and wine but not liquor, or permit on-premise consumption but not off-premise. Combinations vary.
The result is a genuine patchwork. A business cannot simply obtain a TABC permit and start selling; the applicant has to confirm that the specific precinct where the store will operate has voted to allow the type of sales being proposed. An area’s status stays in place until another local option election changes it. When overlapping jurisdictions conflict, say a city precinct voting one way and the surrounding county another, the more localized election result generally controls.3Justia Law. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Title 6 – Local Option Status
Age and ID Rules
Texas law defines a minor as anyone under 21, and it is illegal for a minor to purchase, possess, or consume beer.4State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 106.01 – Definition
Texas law does not actually require you to show ID to buy alcohol if you are over 21, a point the TABC has stated directly.5Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. FAQs The under-30 ID check rule applies to tobacco purchases, not alcohol. Clerks and bartenders carry personal criminal liability for selling to a minor, though, so most retailers have internal policies that require ID from anyone who looks young. Refuse to show it and the store can refuse the sale.
Acceptable identification includes a driver’s license from any state, a U.S. passport, a military ID, or any other photo ID issued by a state or federal government agency.6Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Age Verification A photo of your ID on a phone screen does not count. Mobile driver’s licenses using cryptographic verification are gaining traction nationally, but retail adoption in Texas is still limited and depends on whether the store has the reader technology.
Employees Who Handle Beer
Workers must be at least 18 to sell, prepare, serve, or handle alcoholic beverages at a retail location. Some on-premise establishments, specifically restaurants and bars that hold a food and beverage certificate or earn less than half their revenue from alcohol, can employ workers under 18 as cashiers for alcohol transactions, but someone 18 or older must actually serve the drinks.7State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 106.09
Beer Delivery
Texas allows beer delivery to your door, with the rules shaped by the retailer’s permit. Grocery and convenience stores holding a BQ permit can arrange delivery through a third-party service that holds a Consumer Delivery Permit (CD). The beer has to be in its original sealed container, and deliveries are limited to within two miles of the city, county, or town limits where the retailer’s location sits.8Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Alcohol Delivery and Pickup
Retailers with a Retail Dealer’s Off-Premise License (BF) follow the same two-mile radius rule and also route delivery through a CD permit holder. On-premise retailers such as bars and brewpubs may have additional options tied to their permit type, and some can self-deliver with a Local Cartage Permit. Delivery orders still have to fall inside the daily sale hours that apply to in-store purchases.
Buying Beer Directly from a Texas Brewery
Texas breweries holding a Brewer’s License (BW) can sell beer directly to visitors for off-site consumption. The industry pushed for years to legalize this, and the beer-to-go provision now lets you leave a taproom with cans, bottles, or growlers without routing the purchase through a third-party retailer.
A single customer cannot buy more than 288 fluid ounces of beer from a brewery in one day, roughly two cases of 12-ounce cans.8Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Alcohol Delivery and Pickup Brewpubs operating under a Brewpub License (BP) have their own set of rules and may face additional delivery restrictions depending on what other permits they hold. Taproom hours follow the manufacturing permit’s operating schedule, which can differ from the retail hours above.
Open Containers in Vehicles
Once you buy beer, Texas restricts where you can have an open one. Under Texas Penal Code § 49.031, possessing an open container of any alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public road is a Class C misdemeanor, whether the vehicle is moving or parked. The passenger area covers anywhere designed for seating but excludes a locked glove compartment, the trunk, or the area behind the last upright seat in vehicles without a trunk.9State of Texas. Texas Penal Code PENAL 49.031 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage in Motor Vehicle Exceptions apply to passengers in taxis, buses, limousines, and the living quarters of motorhomes or campers.
Dram Shop and Social Host Liability
Retailers and bars face civil liability under the Texas dram shop law. A business that sells beer to someone obviously intoxicated to the point of being a clear danger can be held liable if that person later causes injury or property damage. The intoxication must be apparent at the time of sale and must be a direct cause of the harm.10State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 2.02 A separate provision imposes liability on any adult 21 or older who knowingly provides alcohol to a minor under 18, other than the minor’s parent, guardian, or spouse, when the minor’s intoxication causes damage. Party hosts and older friends who buy for teenagers carry real legal exposure under this rule.
Penalties for Selling to a Minor
Selling beer to anyone under 21 is a Class A misdemeanor.11State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 106.03 – Sale to Minors That carries a maximum fine of $4,000 and up to one year in county jail.12State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor The charge lands on the individual employee who made the sale, not just the business. On top of criminal penalties, the TABC can pursue administrative action against the permit holder, which can mean fines or suspension or revocation of the license.
A narrow defense exists. If the minor presented a fake government-issued photo ID that appeared valid and showed them as 21 or older, and the physical description and photo were consistent with the minor’s appearance, the seller may not be convicted. The defense does not apply if the retailer used an electronic ID scanner that flagged the document as invalid.11State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 106.03 – Sale to Minors