The Pennsylvania blue laws still on the books in 2026 are narrower than most people assume. The general Sunday retail restrictions were struck down in 1978, and the long-standing Sunday hunting ban was repealed in 2025. What remains covers four specific areas: car dealerships cannot operate on Sundays, alcohol sales require a special Sunday permit and follow set hours, hunting is allowed only on Sundays the Game Commission has designated, and some sports and entertainment events depend on local referendum results.
Car Dealerships Cannot Sell on Sundays
Buying or selling a car through a dealer on Sunday is prohibited statewide. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 7365, anyone in the business of buying, selling, or trading new or used motor vehicles or trailers on Sunday commits a summary offense, and a second or subsequent conviction within one year carries a fine of up to $200.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 Pa.C.S.A. Crimes and Offenses 7365 The fine is modest, but the State Board of Vehicle Manufacturers, Dealers and Salespersons can also suspend or revoke a dealership’s license, which is the real deterrent.2New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Code 63 P.S. 818.318 – Grounds for Disciplinary Proceedings
Two exceptions exist. Licensed motorcycle dealers may buy, sell, and trade motorcycles on Sundays, and licensed manufactured housing dealers may sell manufactured homes on Sundays.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Board of Vehicles Act – Omnibus Amendments The exemption follows the dealer type, so a general auto dealership that also carries motorcycles cannot open its full lot on Sunday. Local governments cannot override the statewide ban or create their own exemptions.
Sunday Alcohol Sales
Whether a business can sell alcohol on Sunday depends on its license and on whether it holds a separate Sunday Sales Permit from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Without that permit, a hotel or restaurant holding a retail dispenser’s license cannot sell malt or brewed beverages between 2:00 a.m. Sunday and 7:00 a.m. Monday.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 47 P.S. Liquor 4-492
With a Sunday Sales Permit, a licensed establishment can serve alcohol from 9:00 a.m. Sunday through 2:00 a.m. Monday.5Liquor Control Board. Sunday Sales Information The permit is an annual add-on to the underlying license and costs $300 for liquor and $100 for malt or brewed beverages.6Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. PLCB License and Permit Fees Licensees with a wine expanded permit can sell wine for off-premises consumption on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores set their own Sunday hours, which vary by location. Many open around 11:00 a.m. and close by 7:00 p.m., but hours differ store to store, so the PLCB store locator is worth checking before a trip.
Selling alcohol without the right permit or outside authorized hours exposes the business to PLCB action, including fines and possible suspension or revocation of the license. Even a first violation can carry serious consequences.
Third-Party Alcohol Delivery
Pennsylvania has not authorized third-party delivery services such as DoorDash to handle alcohol orders. Legislation that would create a delivery license for such services remains in committee as of early 2026. Some retailers with their own delivery operations can fulfill Sunday orders within their permitted hours, but the broader third-party model available in other states does not yet exist here.
Sunday Hunting
The old ban on Sunday hunting is no longer in force. Act 36 of 2025, signed on July 9, 2025, repealed 34 Pa.C.S. § 2303 and gave the Pennsylvania Game Commission the same authority to regulate Sunday hunting that it holds for any other day.7Pennsylvania Game Commission. Governor Signs Sunday Hunting Bill8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 34 Pa.C.S. 2303 – Hunting on Sunday Prohibited (Repealed)
For the 2025–26 season, the Commission authorized 13 Sundays for hunting: September 14, 21, and 28; October 5, 12, 19, and 26; November 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30; and December 7. A Sunday counts only if it falls between a season’s opening and closing dates. Migratory game bird seasons are excluded, because those seasons are set through federal frameworks and adding Sundays would reduce hunting days elsewhere in the schedule.9Pennsylvania Game Commission. Sunday Hunting Days Set for 2025 Foxes, coyotes, and crows may still be hunted on any Sunday under a schedule that predates the 2025 repeal.
A hunter on private land on any designated Sunday must carry a written permission slip signed by the landowner. The slip should include the hunter’s name, address, and Customer ID license number, and the landowner’s name, address, and phone number.10Pennsylvania Game Commission. Sunday Hunting
Public land rules split. State forests are open on every Game Commission–approved Sunday. State parks limited Sunday hunting for the 2025–26 season to three dates: November 16, 23, and 30.11Pennsylvania Game Commission. Sunday Hunting – 2025-26 Hunting and Trapping Digest
Sunday Sports, Movies, and Theatrical Performances
Professional sports, movies, and theatrical performances on Sundays fall under a local option system in Pennsylvania’s amusement statutes. Unless a municipality’s residents have voted in a referendum to permit these activities, they can be restricted during certain Sunday hours. Once a community votes to allow Sunday sports or entertainment, the restriction lifts permanently in that jurisdiction. Most populated areas approved these referendums decades ago, so the restriction now mainly affects smaller municipalities that never held the vote.12Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Referendum Handbook
Religious Accommodation for Sunday Work
Public employees who observe Sunday as a religious sabbath have protection under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. No state or local government employer may discriminate against an employee for observing a particular day as a holy day, and an employee who needs to be absent for religious observance can make up the time at a mutually convenient point, use available leave, or take unpaid leave. Employers cannot retaliate for the request.13Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Human Relations Act
The protection has limits. Positions involving public health or safety where the employee must be available whenever needed are exempt, along with roles where personal presence on a specific day is essential to the job’s core function. Private-sector employees are covered separately under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate religious practices unless doing so would impose more than a minimal cost on the business.