Is There an Open Container Law in Florida?

Under Florida’s open container law, no one in a vehicle on a public road may possess an open alcoholic beverage in the passenger area, whether the vehicle is moving, stopped, or parked. The rule sits in Florida Statute 316.1936 and applies to drivers and passengers alike. A driver caught violating it faces a $60 base fine and three points on their license; a passenger faces a $30 base fine with no points.¹

What Counts as an Open Container

Florida defines an open container as any container of an alcoholic beverage that is immediately capable of being consumed from, or that has a broken seal.¹ Nobody has to be drinking. A can with the tab popped, a bottle of wine with the cork pulled, a flask with the cap off, all qualify. A factory-sealed bottle sitting in a cup holder is fine, but the moment you break the seal it becomes “open” no matter how full it still is.

Where the Law Reaches

The statute uses a broad definition of “road” that includes streets, highways, alleys, sidewalks, and the right-of-way alongside them. A vehicle parked on the shoulder still sits within a road, so cracking a beer there counts as a violation. To be outside the law’s reach you need to be on truly private ground, like a driveway or a private parking lot.¹

Driver Versus Passenger

For a passenger, possession is straightforward: you have the container if it’s in your physical control. For a driver, the statute creates a presumption. If an open container is anywhere in the passenger area and no passenger has physical control of it, and it isn’t locked away, the driver is treated as possessing it.¹ A half-empty beer wedged in the center console with no one claiming it becomes the driver’s ticket.

How to Legally Carry Opened Alcohol

You can transport opened alcohol as long as it’s stored in a locked glove compartment, a locked trunk, or another locked area outside the passenger compartment.¹ The word that matters is “locked.” Tossing a bottle behind the back seat of an SUV or hatchback doesn’t work, because that space is still accessible from the passenger compartment. An unlocked glove compartment doesn’t work either. If your vehicle has no separate trunk, you need a locked storage area passengers can’t reach.

The Restaurant Wine Bottle

Florida lets you take home a partially consumed bottle of wine from a restaurant, but every step has to be followed. You must have bought a meal and consumed part of the bottle on the premises. The restaurant has to reseal the bottle and place it in a bag or container that shows visible evidence if it’s tampered with or reopened. A dated receipt for both the wine and the meal has to be attached to the outside of the bag.² Skip a step, ditch the receipt, or pull the bottle out of the sealed bag before you get home, and it can be treated as an open container.

Fines and License Points

Neither version of the violation is a criminal offense, so neither creates a criminal record. The driver’s version is a noncriminal moving traffic violation; the passenger’s is a nonmoving traffic violation.¹

Those are the base statutory fines. What you actually pay at the clerk’s window will be higher once court costs and county surcharges are added, and those extras can roughly double the total depending on the county.

The three points count the same as three points from any other moving violation. A single ticket won’t cost you your license on its own, but if you already carry points from speeding or other citations, another three can push you across a suspension threshold. Insurance carriers also review driving records, and a points-bearing violation can raise premiums for years.

Exceptions for Passengers in Certain Vehicles

Passengers, but never drivers, are exempt from the rule in a few specific settings:

Passengers riding in a vehicle where the driver is operating under a transportation contract and holds a valid commercial driver’s license with a passenger endorsement.
Passengers on a bus where the driver holds a commercial license with a passenger endorsement.
Passengers in a self-contained motorhome longer than 21 feet.

Together these cover limousines, party buses, charter buses, and large motorhomes.¹ The person behind the wheel is never exempt. A limo driver can’t drink while operating the vehicle even though the passengers in back can.

If You Hold a Commercial Driver’s License

For CDL holders the stakes are different. Federal regulations bar a CDL holder from possessing any alcoholic beverage in a commercial motor vehicle unless the alcohol is part of a documented shipment or is being consumed by bus passengers. A driver found in violation is placed out of service for 24 hours and cannot operate any commercial vehicle during that period. The violation also has to be reported to the employer within 24 hours and to the state within 30 days.⁶ For a commercial driver, what looks like a $60 traffic ticket can turn into lost work time and employer discipline.

Walking Around With a Drink

Section 316.1936 governs vehicles. It does not address carrying a drink down a sidewalk, sitting with one in a park, or holding one on the beach. Florida has no statewide open container law for those situations. Cities and counties set their own rules through local ordinances, and those rules differ sharply from place to place. Some municipalities ban open alcohol in nearly all public areas; others have designated entertainment districts where public drinking is allowed within set boundaries. Check the local ordinance before you carry an open drink outside a private residence or a licensed establishment. A violation of a local ordinance can bring penalties beyond a traffic fine, sometimes including misdemeanor charges.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIII Chapter 316 Section 316.1936 – Possession of Open Containers of Alcoholic Beverages in Vehicles Prohibited; Penalties
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 564 Section 564.09 – Restaurants; Off-Premises Consumption of Wine
3
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 318.18 – Amount of Penalties
4
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 318.18 – Amount of Penalties
6
eCFR. 49 CFR 392.5 – Alcohol Prohibition