Yes, you can buy liquor in Oklahoma on Sunday, but only in counties that have voted to allow package store sales, and only between noon and midnight. Beer and wine under 15 percent alcohol by volume are a different story: those are sold at grocery and convenience stores statewide, every Sunday, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following morning.
Liquor Stores Open Only in Approved Counties
Retail spirits licensees, which most people call package stores or liquor stores, are closed on Sundays by default. Under 37A O.S. ยง 3-124, a county can authorize Sunday package store sales only after a majority of voters approve the measure at a special or general election.1Oklahoma Senate. Oklahoma Statutes Title 37A – Alcoholic Beverages County commissioners can place the question on the ballot themselves, or residents can force it on by collecting petition signatures from at least 15 percent of the total votes cast in the county during the last gubernatorial election.
Where Sunday sales have passed, hours are shorter than the rest of the week. Monday through Saturday, package stores can open from 8 a.m. to midnight. On Sunday, the window is noon to midnight.2Justia Law. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-103 – Prohibited Acts of Retail Spirits Licensees A Sunday morning run for a bottle of bourbon means waiting until lunchtime, even in the counties that allow it.
Which Counties Allow Sunday Liquor Sales
Several of Oklahoma’s most populated counties have approved Sunday package store sales. Oklahoma County and Tulsa County both voted in favor by wide margins in March 2020, along with Cleveland, Creek, Kingfisher, Muskogee, and Washington counties. Many rural counties either voted no or have never put the question on the ballot. If you are not sure where your county stands, the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission or your county election board can confirm it.
Beer and Wine Are Easier to Find
Grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores operate under a different set of rules. These retailers hold retail beer or retail wine licenses and can sell every day of the week, Sundays included, without needing county voter approval. The permitted window is 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day.3Oklahoma State Courts Network. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-108 – Retail Wine or Retail Beer Licensee Prohibited Acts
What they sell is capped at 15 percent alcohol by volume.4Oklahoma ABLE Commission. Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission – FAQs That covers most craft beers, IPAs, and table wines. Anything stronger is classified as spirits and can only be bought at a licensed package store.5Justia Law. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-2-109 – Retail Spirits License, Retail Wine License, Retail Beer License So on a Sunday in Oklahoma, a grocery store can sell you a six-pack or a bottle of pinot noir starting at 6 a.m., but it cannot sell you whiskey, vodka, or any fortified wine over 15 percent ABV.
Holidays That Override a Normal Sunday
Package stores must close entirely on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, with no exceptions.2Justia Law. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-103 – Prohibited Acts of Retail Spirits Licensees If Christmas falls on a Sunday, liquor stores stay closed that day even in counties that normally allow Sunday sales.
Grocery and convenience stores have no comparable holiday blackout. Because the statute covering retail beer and wine licensees does not list any holidays as prohibited days, the regular 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. window applies year-round, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.3Oklahoma State Courts Network. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-108 – Retail Wine or Retail Beer Licensee Prohibited Acts
Bars and Restaurants Follow Separate Rules
If you are drinking out rather than taking a bottle home, a different license applies. Bars and restaurants with a mixed beverage license can serve beer, wine, and full-strength spirits on Sundays.6New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 2-110 – Mixed Beverage License Counties that have authorized sales by the individual drink can still designate Sundays as off-limits for on-premises service, though most metropolitan counties allow it.7New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 3-125 – Restrictions on Time of Sales of Alcoholic Beverages On-Premises Where it is allowed, service runs from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m., and municipalities can require the establishment to close to the public between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Counties also have the option to restrict on-premises service on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, though not every county exercises that authority.
Sunday Alcohol Delivery
Oklahoma does not allow third-party apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats to deliver alcohol. Only a liquor store’s own employees can bring bottles to a customer’s door, and the same applies for beer and wine from grocery or convenience stores: the sale happens at the licensed premises, and the retailer’s own staff handles any delivery. Sunday alcohol delivery through an app is not an available option in Oklahoma. If a delivery service appears to offer it, the order is either outside the law or limited to non-alcoholic items.
Oklahoma Sunday Alcohol Hours at a Glance
- Package stores, in counties that approved Sunday sales: noon to midnight.2Justia Law. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-103 – Prohibited Acts of Retail Spirits Licensees
- Package stores, in counties that have not: closed all day.
- Grocery and convenience stores, statewide: 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.3Oklahoma State Courts Network. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-108 – Retail Wine or Retail Beer Licensee Prohibited Acts
- Bars and restaurants with a mixed beverage license: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., subject to county restrictions.7New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 3-125 – Restrictions on Time of Sales of Alcoholic Beverages On-Premises
- All package stores, on Thanksgiving and Christmas: closed.2Justia Law. Oklahoma Code Title 37A Section 37A-6-103 – Prohibited Acts of Retail Spirits Licensees