Texas beer sales laws set a statewide schedule of 7:00 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, push the Saturday window to 1:00 a.m. Sunday, delay most Sunday sales until 10:00 a.m. or noon, and let some cities extend bar service to 2:00 a.m. Layered on top are a 21-year-old purchase age and local wet-or-dry elections that can shut off beer sales entirely in a given precinct. The details below come from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.
When You Can Buy Beer To Take Home
Grocery stores, convenience stores, and liquor stores follow the hours in Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code § 105.05. Monday through Saturday, off-premise beer sales run from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, and the Saturday window stretches to 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning to cover late Saturday-night shoppers.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 105.05 – Hours of Sale: Malt Beverages
Sunday is different. The baseline rule allows off-premise beer sales from noon to midnight, but stores holding a retail dealer’s off-premise license (BF) or a wine and malt beverage retailer’s off-premise permit (BQ) can start selling beer at 10:00 a.m. Those two permits cover most grocery and convenience stores, so 10:00 a.m. Sunday is the practical start time for a typical beer run.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 105.05 – Hours of Sale: Malt Beverages
When Bars and Restaurants Can Serve Beer
On-premise service, meaning beer you drink at the venue, is governed by the same statute. Monday through Saturday runs 7:00 a.m. to midnight, with the Saturday-night extension to 1:00 a.m. Sunday.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 105.05 – Hours of Sale: Malt Beverages
Sunday service can begin at 10:00 a.m., but only when the beer accompanies food. A brunch spot pouring a beer with eggs and brisket at 10:30 a.m. is operating legally. A bar pouring a standalone pint at the same time is not. Unrestricted on-premise beer service picks up at noon and runs through midnight.
Late Hours: Drinking Until 2 A.M.
Section 105.05(c) authorizes a retailer late hours certificate that lets on-premise license holders serve beer between midnight and 2:00 a.m. every night of the week. The certificate is on-premise only. You cannot buy a six-pack at a gas station at 1:30 a.m. no matter where you are in the state.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 105.05 – Hours of Sale: Malt Beverages
Whether a bar can even apply for the certificate depends on the local government. Cities and counties with a population of 800,000 or more are automatically eligible. Smaller cities and unincorporated areas have to opt in through a local ordinance or commissioners court order. If no local action has been taken, no establishment in that area can hold the certificate, regardless of how badly its customers want it.1State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 105.05 – Hours of Sale: Malt Beverages
Customers get a 15-minute grace period to finish a drink. Section 105.06 makes it a Class C misdemeanor to consume or possess an alcoholic beverage in a public place during off-hours. In late-hours areas, consumption must stop by 2:15 a.m. In standard-hours areas, the cutoffs are 12:15 a.m. on weeknights and 1:15 a.m. early Sunday.2State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 105.06 – Hours of Consumption
Age Rules for Buying and Serving
You must be 21 to purchase beer in Texas. The Alcoholic Beverage Code defines “minor” as anyone under 21, and § 106.02 makes it a criminal offense for a minor to buy alcohol.3State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 106.02 – Purchase of Alcohol by a Minor
Providers face heavier consequences. Under § 106.06, buying alcohol for a minor or furnishing it to them is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $4,000 fine, up to one year in jail, or both.4State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 106.06 – Purchase of Alcohol for a Minor5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor If the minor then causes serious bodily injury or death to someone else, the charge becomes a state jail felony.
The Parent Exception
Texas allows a minor to drink in one narrow situation: when they are in the visible presence of their adult parent, legal guardian, or spouse who is 21 or older. It operates as an affirmative defense under § 106.04, which means the minor bears the burden of proving the adult was present if charged.6State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 106.04 – Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor The defense protects the minor, not the establishment, so a bar or restaurant pouring beer in front of someone under 21 still carries its own exposure.
Working Behind the Bar
You do not have to be 21 to serve beer. Section 106.09 sets the floor at 18 for employees who directly sell, prepare, serve, or handle alcoholic beverages. A worker under 18 can still be employed by an on-premise establishment but cannot have direct involvement with the sale or service of alcohol. The one carve-out: a worker under 18 can ring up an alcohol transaction as a cashier if the business holds a food and beverage certificate and an employee who is at least 18 actually serves the drink.7State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code ALCO BEV 106.09 – Employment of Minors
Wet and Dry Areas
Hours and permits are secondary to a prior question: is beer legal in that specific location at all? Texas lets individual communities ban alcohol sales through local option elections. Section 251.71 classifies an area as “dry” if the sale of a particular type of alcoholic beverage is unlawful there and “wet” if it is lawful.8State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 251.71 – Wet and Dry Areas The classification can vary by beverage, so a precinct might allow beer but prohibit distilled spirits.
Elections are held at the county, justice precinct, or city level after a voter petition, under Chapter 501 of the Texas Election Code. Once an area goes dry, no business inside those boundaries can obtain a TABC permit to sell beer, and the status holds until another election changes it.9Justia. Texas Election Code Chapter 501 – Local Option Elections When a city overlaps a justice precinct that voted differently, § 251.73 sets a priority system in which the smaller political unit’s vote generally controls.10Justia. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Title 6, Chapter 251
In rural Texas, driving ten minutes can take you from a county where every gas station stocks beer to a precinct where the nearest legal sale is two towns away. If you are opening a business, confirming the wet-or-dry status of your exact address is the first step, before any TABC application.
What Happens If a Business Breaks the Rules
TABC treats after-hours sales as a direct violation of the permit holder’s responsibilities. Under § 61.71, the commission can suspend a retail license for up to 60 days or cancel it outright if the licensee sold alcohol at a prohibited time, sold to a minor, or sold to an intoxicated person.11Justia. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Chapter 61 – Retail Dealers On-Premise For a small bar, a 60-day suspension can be fatal.
Serving during late hours without the proper certificate brings its own penalties. TABC has noted that businesses operating in late hours without the right permit face administrative penalties that can include a multi-day license suspension or fines in the range of $1,500 to $2,100.12Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Abilene Alcohol Retailers May Now Apply for TABC Late Hours Permits Repeat violations make renewal progressively harder.
Employers also have a way to limit exposure when a single employee sells to a minor or an intoxicated customer. Section 106.14 creates a safe harbor: the violation is not attributed to the business if the employer required the employee to complete a TABC-approved seller training program, the employee actually attended, and the employer did not encourage the violation.13State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code Section 106.14 – Actions of Employee TABC certification is not legally mandatory for every seller, but the agency recommends it and most retailers will not hire without it.14Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC Certification
Shipping Beer
Mailing beer is not a workaround for closed stores or dry areas. The U.S. Postal Service prohibits shipping alcoholic beverages through the mail, with only narrow exceptions outlined in USPS Publication 52.15United States Postal Service. Shipping Restrictions and HAZMAT Private carriers like UPS and FedEx handle alcohol shipments, but both require the shipper to hold the appropriate permits and the recipient to be 21 or older. Texas rules apply on top of the federal ones, and shipping beer into a dry area remains illegal regardless of carrier.