Beer sales in Alabama stop at 2:00 AM under state law, and the cutoff applies to bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores alike. That’s the ceiling, not the whole picture. Cities and counties can close things earlier, Sunday sales depend entirely on where you are, and 23 of Alabama’s 67 counties are classified as dry.
The 2:00 AM Cutoff Monday Through Saturday
The statewide rule comes from Alabama’s Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Code, which makes it unlawful to sell or serve alcohol after 2:00 AM.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 28, Chapter 3A, Section 28-3A-25 – Unlawful Acts and Offenses It covers both on-premise sales (bars, restaurants, taprooms) and off-premise sales (grocery, convenience, and package stores).
What the statute doesn’t fix is the opening time. That’s left to local ordinances, and those same ordinances can impose a closing time earlier than 2:00 AM if a city or county wants one. If you need exact hours for a specific town, the city hall or county commission office will have them.
Sunday Beer Sales Vary by City
Sunday is the complicated day. State law makes it illegal to sell, serve, or consume alcohol in a public place on Sunday after 2:00 AM unless a local act or ordinance specifically authorizes it.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 28, Chapter 3A, Section 28-3A-25 – Unlawful Acts and Offenses Whether you can buy beer on Sunday is a purely local question.
Many larger cities have authorized it. Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, and Auburn allow on-premise Sunday sales starting at 10:00 AM. Tuscaloosa starts at noon. Montgomery, Hoover, and Shelby County permit Sunday sales as well, with start times that vary. Where sales are allowed, the 2:00 AM closing time still governs.
Plenty of smaller towns and rural areas prohibit Sunday sales outright. Don’t assume the rule from the last town you passed through carries over to the next one.
Dry Counties and Wet Cities
Of Alabama’s 67 counties, 44 are fully wet. The other 23 are classified as dry but contain one or more wet cities where sales are legal.2Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Wet Cities A dry county can still have a town where beer is sold, but the unincorporated areas in between will have none at all. Cullman, Marshall, DeKalb, Jackson, Lauderdale, Morgan, and Blount are among the dry counties with wet cities inside them; the ABC Board publishes the full list.
Where You Can Buy Beer, and What Counts as Beer
Alabama draws a sharp line on alcohol content. Grocery and convenience stores can sell beer only if it contains less than 6 percent alcohol by volume (along with table wine under 14 percent). Most mass-market domestic beers fit under that cap. A lot of craft beers, IPAs, and Belgian-style ales don’t, and you won’t find them on grocery shelves.
For higher-gravity beer, you need a package store or another retailer with the appropriate license. State law defines beer as any malt or brewed beverage between 0.5 percent and 13.9 percent alcohol by volume.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 28, Section 28-3-1 – Definitions Anything above 13.9 percent is not legally beer in Alabama and is regulated differently. Bars and restaurants with the right license can generally serve the full range up to that 13.9 percent limit.
Penalties for Selling After Hours
Selling beer past the cutoff is a criminal offense in Alabama, not just a licensing issue. A general after-hours violation is a misdemeanor with a fine between $100 and $1,000, and a judge can add up to six months in jail for a first offense. Second and third convictions carry progressively stiffer mandatory jail time, with a third offense requiring between six and twelve months.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 28, Chapter 3A, Section 28-3A-25 – Unlawful Acts and Offenses
Sunday-specific violations are slightly lighter: $50 to $500 in fines and up to three months in jail.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 28, Chapter 3A, Section 28-3A-25 – Unlawful Acts and Offenses The ABC Board also issues its own administrative fines on top of anything a court imposes, and repeated violations can cost a business its license.4Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Violation and Penalty Schedule for Statutes and Administrative Rules