Texas alcohol cut off times depend on what you’re buying and where. Liquor stores stop selling at 9 p.m. and stay closed all day Sunday. Grocery and convenience stores can sell beer and wine until midnight most nights. Bars and restaurants also stop at midnight by default, but those with a late-hours permit can keep serving until 2 a.m. All of these windows come from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code and are enforced by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).1Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. About Us
When Bars and Restaurants Stop Serving
A bar or restaurant with a mixed beverage permit can serve alcohol from 7 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.03 – Hours of Sale: Mixed Beverages Saturday service carries over until 1 a.m. Sunday morning, so last call on a Saturday night sits an hour later than on a weeknight.
Sunday service begins at 10 a.m., but any drink poured between 10 a.m. and noon has to go with a food order. After noon, the food requirement drops away and normal service runs until midnight. Private clubs that hold a registration permit follow the same schedule.3Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Private Club Registration Permit
Late-Hours Permit: Serving Until 2 a.m.
Bars that stay open past midnight hold a retailer late hours certificate, which extends service to 2 a.m. every day of the week.4Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) That 2 a.m. mark is the latest alcohol can legally be served anywhere in Texas.
Late hours aren’t available in every town. In cities and counties with a population of 800,000 or more, the extended hours apply by default. Everywhere else, the local commissioners court or city council has to pass an ordinance opting in.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.03 – Hours of Sale: Mixed Beverages If the bars in a smaller Texas town all close at midnight, that’s usually why.
Liquor Store Cutoff: 9 p.m. and Closed Sundays
Package stores selling distilled spirits face the tightest schedule of any alcohol retailer in the state. They can sell liquor only between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.5State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor On Sundays, they close entirely. No late-hours permits apply, and there are no exceptions.
One trap worth knowing: a package store that also stocks beer and wine cannot sell those during its closed hours either, because the whole premises falls under the package store permit. Walk in at 9:15 p.m. and you can’t buy a bottle of wine, even though the convenience store down the block can sell it for almost three more hours. On a Sunday, skip the liquor store entirely and head to a grocery or convenience store for beer or wine.
Three Holidays Liquor Stores Must Close
Package stores must shut their doors on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When Christmas or New Year’s falls on a Sunday, the closure rolls over to Monday as well, locking the store for two straight days.5State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor The holiday rule only hits distilled spirits. Grocery stores can still sell beer and wine on those dates during their normal hours, and bars and restaurants can serve as usual. Buy your liquor before the holiday or go without.
Beer and Wine at Grocery and Convenience Stores
Off-premise retailers of beer and wine can sell from 7 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday.6State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.05 – Hours of Sale: Beer Saturday sales keep running until 1 a.m. Sunday morning as a carryover from the previous day.
Sunday has its own rules. The general statute allows beer sales from noon to midnight, but retail dealers with an off-premise license can start at 10 a.m., which is why most grocery and convenience stores open their beer coolers at 10. Wine sold under a wine and malt beverage retailer’s permit tracks the same hours as beer.7State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.04 – Hours of Sale: Wine and Malt Beverages
Quick reference for retail beer and wine:
- Monday through Friday: 7 a.m. to midnight
- Saturday: 7 a.m. straight through to 1 a.m. Sunday
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to midnight at retail dealers; noon to midnight under the general rule
The 15-Minute Grace Period to Finish Your Drink
When the serving window closes, you don’t have to drop your drink and run. The consumption rules give patrons an extra 15 minutes to finish what’s already in front of them. In midnight areas, that means possession and consumption can continue until 12:15 a.m. In late-hours areas, the cutoff is 2:15 a.m.8State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.06 – Hours of Consumption On Sundays, consumption has to stop by 1:15 a.m. in standard areas or 2:15 a.m. in extended-hours areas, with no drinking again until noon.
Once the grace period runs out, holding an open drink in a bar, restaurant, or other public place is a Class C misdemeanor, and the citation falls on the person holding the glass, not just the business. Registered hotel guests drinking in the hotel bar are the one exception; they aren’t bound by the clock.
Dry Areas: The Cutoff Doesn’t Matter If Sales Are Banned
All of these times assume the local area allows alcohol sales at all. Texas lets voters decide at the county, city, or precinct level what can be sold where. As of early 2025, only 60 of Texas’s 254 counties are fully “wet.” Three are entirely “dry,” and everywhere else sits somewhere between, with some precincts allowing beer and wine but not liquor, or on-premise service but not package sales.9Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Local Option Elections If you can’t find anywhere selling what you want in an unfamiliar part of the state, local option rules are the likely reason. The TABC keeps a searchable map.
Penalties for Selling Past the Cutoff
Selling alcohol during prohibited hours is treated by the TABC as a public safety violation and can trigger both an administrative case against the business and criminal charges against the individual who made the sale.10Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Violations On the administrative side, the TABC can suspend a permit for up to 60 days or cancel it outright for an Alcoholic Beverage Code violation.11State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 11.61 – Grounds for Cancellation or Suspension of Permit A two-month shutdown is enough to put many small bars under, which is why operators tend to take the cutoff times seriously.
Criminal charges are usually handled by the local county attorney, and repeat violations stack. Separately, providing alcohol to anyone under 21 is a Class A misdemeanor with up to a year in jail, and it rises to a state jail felony if the minor goes on to cause serious injury or death.12State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 106.06 – Purchase of Alcohol for a Minor; Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor