You can take alcohol to go in California from a qualifying restaurant, and the authorization runs through December 31, 2026. Sealed bottles and cans can be sold on their own. Freshly made cocktails and poured wine have to come with a real meal, in a sealed container, picked up in person. Once the drink is in your car, California’s open container laws take over.
Which Restaurants Can Sell You a To-Go Drink
Senate Bill 389 lets restaurants with an on-sale license for a bona fide public eating place sell alcohol for off-site consumption. Licensed beer manufacturers, wineries, and craft distillers also qualify if they run a food-serving operation on site.1Alcoholic Beverage Control. SB-389 Guidance: Off-Sale Privileges for Certain On-Sale Licensees A bar that doesn’t serve meals cannot. The whole program sunsets on January 1, 2027 unless the legislature extends it.2California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 389 – Alcoholic Beverages: Retail On-Sale License: Off-Sale Privileges
Do You Have to Order Food?
It depends on the container.
Sealed Bottles and Cans: No Food Required
Distilled spirits, beer, and wine in manufacturer-sealed containers can be sold to go on their own. Order, show valid ID, and pick it up. A bottle of wine or a canned cocktail falls here.3California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Sales of Alcoholic Beverages To-Go
Cocktails and Poured Wine: Meal Required
Freshly made cocktails, wine by the glass, and anything else not in a manufacturer-sealed container can only be sold with a bona fide meal, and you’re capped at two such drinks per meal ordered. A meal here means the kind of food a restaurant would serve during regular meal hours. A bag of chips, a side salad on its own, or a plain sandwich doesn’t count.4California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Sales of Alcoholic Beverages To-Go Requirements and Guidelines
How the Drink Has to Be Packaged
A to-go cocktail can’t leave the restaurant in an ordinary cup. The container needs a secure lid or cap sealed so no one can drink from it without breaking the seal. If the lid has a straw hole, that hole has to be sealed shut too. The container also has to be clearly labeled as containing alcohol, so your margarita isn’t mistaken for lemonade.4California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Sales of Alcoholic Beverages To-Go Requirements and Guidelines If a restaurant hands you an unsealed cup of wine, something has gone wrong on their end.
Pickup Only, No Delivery
You have to physically pick up the order from the licensed premises. SB 389 does not authorize delivery, whether by the restaurant’s own drivers or a third-party app, and this holds for both sealed bottles and freshly made cocktails sold under the to-go rules.3California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Sales of Alcoholic Beverages To-Go Delivery of alcohol through licensed retailers exists, but under a different licensing framework.
Getting It Home in Your Car
Buying the drink legally is one thing. California’s open container laws take over the moment you’re in a vehicle.
Under Vehicle Code Section 23222, a driver cannot possess any bottle, can, or container of alcohol that has been opened, has a broken seal, or has had any contents removed.5California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 23222 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage or Cannabis While Driving Section 23226 applies the same rule to passengers and to the passenger compartment itself. A properly sealed to-go cocktail is not an open container. Pop the lid before you get home and it becomes one.
If a container is open, Section 23225 requires the registered owner to keep it in the trunk. If the vehicle has no trunk, it has to go in an area not normally occupied by the driver or passengers. The glove compartment and other utility compartments are specifically ruled out. Off-highway vehicles without trunks need a locked container like a padlocked box.6California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 23225 – Keeping Open Containers in Motor Vehicles A sealed to-go drink technically isn’t covered by the trunk rule, but putting it back there anyway is the safest practice if you get stopped.
Taxis, Limos, and Rideshares
Vehicle Code Section 23229 exempts passengers in buses, licensed taxis, limousines for hire, housecars, campers, and pedicabs from the open container and drinking-in-vehicle prohibitions.7California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 23229 – Exceptions for Passengers in Certain Vehicles
Whether Uber and Lyft fit the statute is less clear. It references vehicles licensed under the Public Utilities Code or by local authority, and rideshare companies operate under a different regulatory framework than taxis. Both Uber and Lyft also ban passenger drinking as a platform policy, and a driver report can get your account banned. Keep the drink sealed in any rideshare.
Can You Drink It on the Sidewalk?
No, in most places. California has no statewide ban on public drinking, but Business and Professions Code Section 25620 lets cities and counties prohibit open containers and alcohol consumption in parks and other public places, and a violation of those local ordinances is an infraction.8California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 25620 – Open Containers in Public Places Nearly every major California city has one. A few designate entertainment districts or special event zones where open containers are allowed temporarily. Everywhere else, your to-go drink is meant to go home.
What a Violation Costs You
For an adult over 21, an open container violation is an infraction, not a criminal charge. The base fine is up to $250, but penalty assessments and court fees routinely push the actual cost past $1,000. No jail, no criminal record.
For anyone under 21, the stakes rise sharply. Vehicle Code Section 23224 makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly drive with alcohol in the vehicle, or to be a passenger knowingly possessing alcohol. Conviction can bring a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, and vehicle impoundment for up to 30 days at the owner’s expense.9California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code VEH 23224 – Persons Under 21 Possessing Alcohol in Vehicle