Yes, buying alcohol on Sundays in Massachusetts is legal. Package stores can sell from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM, and bars and restaurants can serve from 10:00 AM until as late as 2:00 AM Monday morning. Those are the statewide ceilings. Your city or town can set tighter hours, and a few holidays change the rules when they fall on a Sunday.
Package Store Hours
Package stores (also called liquor stores) hold Section 15 licenses to sell beer, wine, and spirits for you to take home. On Sundays they can open at 10:00 AM. The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission confirmed that start time in an official advisory tied to an amendment of the state’s blue laws.1Mass.gov. ABCC Advisory on Package Store Sunday Opening Hours 10 AM
Closing time is 11:00 PM, same as a weekday. Section 15 allows package store sales between 8:00 AM and 11:00 PM on any day, with the Sunday opening pushed to 10:00 AM.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 15 One wrinkle from the ABCC advisory: an individual store’s permitted hours are whatever the local licensing authority has written on its license. A store that never updated to the 10:00 AM Sunday opening still has to follow its older, more restrictive schedule until it notifies the local board.1Mass.gov. ABCC Advisory on Package Store Sunday Opening Hours 10 AM
Bar and Restaurant Hours
Bars and restaurants hold Section 12 licenses for on-site consumption. On Sundays they cannot serve between 1:00 AM and 10:00 AM, so Saturday night service ends at 1:00 AM Sunday and Sunday service picks up again at 10:00 AM.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 33
Sunday evenings follow the regular weekday closing rule. Section 12 prohibits sales on any day between 2:00 AM and 8:00 AM, so a bar running late on Sunday night has to stop serving by 2:00 AM Monday.4General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 12
One category is shut out entirely. Tavern license holders cannot sell alcohol on Sundays at all under Section 33. Most bars in Massachusetts operate under a Section 12 restaurant or club license, but a handful still carry the older tavern license, and those will be dry on a Sunday visit.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 33
Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries
Manufacturers hold Section 18 or 19 licenses, and the general rule is no Sunday sales. The statute carves out an exception for retail bottle sales to consumers at the production facility: wineries, breweries, and distilleries can all sell their products by the bottle for off-premise consumption on Sundays and legal holidays.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 33
That exception covers taking a bottle home, not on-site pouring. Many taprooms hold a separate pouring or farmer-series license whose Sunday hours vary by location, so call ahead if you’re planning a tasting visit.
When a Holiday Falls on a Sunday
Three holidays change the Sunday rules: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Memorial Day.
Package Stores
Package stores cannot sell at all on Thanksgiving or Christmas, no matter what day of the week. On Memorial Day they can open, but not before noon.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 33
Bars and Restaurants
Section 12 licensees can serve on Thanksgiving under the normal Sunday hours. On Christmas and Memorial Day, they cannot serve between 1:00 AM and noon (2:00 AM to noon in Suffolk County). A local licensing authority that has accepted Section 33B can authorize a 10:00 AM start instead of noon on those two holidays.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 335General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 33B
Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries
Section 18 and 19 licensees face a full ban before noon on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Memorial Day. The bottle-sale exception applies on “Sundays and legal holidays,” so retail bottle sales at the production facility are still permitted on those holidays within the hours the facility is otherwise allowed to open.3General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 33
Your Town May Be Stricter
Massachusetts gives cities and towns real power over alcohol hours. Section 12 states that the hours “shall be fixed by the local licensing authorities either generally or specially for each licensee.”4General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 12 Section 11A adds further local control over which parts of Chapter 138 apply in that community.6General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 138, Section 11A
The statewide hours in this article are ceilings, not guarantees. A town could require package stores to close at 9:00 PM on Sunday, or push bar openings back to noon. If you’re in an unfamiliar part of the state, check with the local licensing board or the town clerk before assuming Sunday hours match the ones at home.
Sunday Delivery
Alcohol delivery through a licensed retailer follows the retailer’s hours. A package store using a delivery app or its own drivers cannot deliver before 10:00 AM or after 11:00 PM on a Sunday, because the delivery runs on the store’s license. Age verification and adult-signature rules at the door are the same as in-store. Holiday blackouts carry over too: no package store deliveries on Thanksgiving or Christmas, and none before noon on Memorial Day. The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission oversees compliance for both in-store and delivery sales.7Mass.gov. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission