In addition to any other period during which the sale of alcohol is authorized, a licensed or permitted premises located at a festival, fair, or concert may sell alcoholic beverages between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday in Texas according to the TABC.
What Time Can You Buy Alcohol In Texas
Responsible Alcohol Vendor Programs available in some states are free, self-monitoring programs that rewards retail licensees who take positive steps to prevent the sale and service of alcohol to minors and visibly intoxicated persons.
Local governments are not required to have these ordinances (the statute is merely permissive) and are free to grant variances as they see fit. If the city or county has not adopted such an ordinance, then there is no requirement that a location selling alcoholic beverages must be any specific distance from a church, school, public hospital, daycare center or child care facility.
A peace officer may inspect the premises covered by a license or permit at any time without a search warrant to perform any duty imposed by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code. The premises include all of the grounds and related buildings, vehicles and appurtenances (items and accessories), as well as the adjacent premises under the control of the permittee or licensee when covered by the TABC license or permit.
State law does not require that a person over 21 provide any ID to purchase alcohol in Texas. But since store clerks, wait staff and bartenders can be held criminally liable for selling to a minor, they often require a military, state or federal government-issued photo ID to prove their age.
There is no minimum age for attending a seller/server training course. Depending on the type of permit held by the establishment, there may or may not be age limits for selling/serving alcohol. The limits are as follows:
Distributors and wholesalers of malt beverages and wine can restock, rotate, affix prices, and reset or rearrange alcoholic beverages they sell from 5 a.m. to noon Sunday. See TABC Administrative Rule 45.109(d)
A winery outside of Texas or the primary American source of supply will need to hold a Nonresident Seller's Permit (S). This permit is required of all entities that export alcoholic beverages containing alcohol in excess of 4% by weight into the state. The nonresident seller must ship their products by a common carrier that holds a Carrier's Permit (C) and may only sell to the following permit holders in Texas:
Texas Penal Code Section 49.02 defines intoxication as not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties because of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body. It can also be having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
There are no statewide bring-your-own-beverage (BYOB) laws in Texas. Check with your city or county for relevant local ordinances. State law does say it's illegal to bring alcoholic beverages onto the premises of the holder of a Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) or Private Club Registration Permit (N). Otherwise, nothing in state law prohibits a guest from bringing their own alcoholic beverages onto the premises of a bar or restaurant or other establishment that is licensed to sell wine or beer, or into an establishment that is not licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.
You may allow customers to bring their own alcoholic beverages onto your premises while you are applying for a TABC permit. If you are obtaining a Wine and Beer Retailer's Permit (BG), you can continue to allow customers to bring their own alcoholic beverages, even after you obtain a TABC permit. Some establishments that sell only wine and beer allow customers to bring in distilled spirits and sell "set-ups." This would not be legal with a Private Club Registration Permit (N) or Mixed Beverage Permit (MB).
For grocery and convenience stores, Texas's alcohol sales times for wine are the same as beer: Monday through Friday, 7 am to midnight, Saturday, 7 am to 1 am; and Sundays now, from 10 am to midnight.
Aside from grocery or convenience stores, package stores sell beer and wine, not liquor. If a package store only sells wine, they have the same operating hours as a liquor store. If they sell beer and wine but nothing else, then special restrictions apply to the sales of wine with an alcohol content over 17%.
Texas liquor laws are mostly complicated because they've been around long, are regulated at multiple levels, and deal with large, complex industries. The state passed its first "Blue Laws" (alcohol bans) in 1935, two years after the end of federal Prohibition. Some counties or municipalities have separate alcohol laws enforced on top of the state laws.
That leaves a significant liability for everyone involved, and it's why Texas passed the Safe Harbor Act, which protects an employer from TABC administrative action if an employee sells or serves alcohol when they shouldn't.
The current alcohol laws in Texas limit selling beer, wine, or liquor before 10 am on a Sunday morning. Here's a trick, buy everything you need for Sunday on Saturday night. Anyway, this limit is in place from midnight until noon and is applicable at all locations where alcohol is sold. Liquor stores are closed all day on Sunday.
The new Texas law, also known as House Bill 1518, was signed into law by Greg Abbot in the fall of 2020. It makes the sale of alcohol before noon on a Sunday legal and loosens the requirements for liquor stores to sell later in the evenings. This law makes it easier for the owners of liquor stores and anyone trying to buy liquor outside the regular hours.
Liquor stores, however, are required to ask for ID at all times and can be fined if they fail to ask. Selling liquor to minors is a huge offense and will undoubtedly land a liquor store owner or cashier in jail. The store could lose the permits required to sell the liquor and go bankrupt.
Before, Sunday alcohol sales were completely prohibited based on the old Texas alcohol laws. But with the new Texas beer laws, you can buy liquor from 10 AM to 12 AM, as long as it is served with food.
Greg Abbot signed House Bill 1518, the new law in Texas, into law in the fall of 2020. It makes it legal for liquor stores to sell alcoholic beverages before noon on Sundays and makes it easier for them to sell in the evening later that day.
Texas is one of ten states (California, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, New York, Texas, West Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) that allow consumption by minors in the presence of consenting and supervising family members. In the state of Texas, parents accept responsibility for the safety of minors under 18 when the minor is on their property or on property leased by them and under their care, custody, and control; an adult may provide alcohol to a minor if they are the minor's adult parent, guardian, or spouse, and is visibly present when the minor possesses or consumes the alcoholic beverage.[2] It is against the law to make alcohol available to a non-family person younger than 21, even in one's own residence and even with that parent's permission.[2]
Texas holds parents/adults civilly liable for damages caused by the intoxication of a minor younger than 18 if they knowingly provided alcohol or allowed alcohol to be served on property owned or leased by them and the minor:
An operator of a motor vehicle is considered automatically under the influence of alcohol if a chemical screening shows a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 percent or greater. If under the age of 21, a driver in Texas is not able to test positive for any blood-alcohol content (BAC) under penalty of DUI charges.
People must be at least 21 years of age to legally consume alcoholic beverages in Texas with certain exceptions, as in any other state in the United States. However, employment at a company serving alcoholic beverages can be entered into at age 18 provided they get certified by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.[10]
No specific training is required to serve alcohol; however, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code states that the actions of an employee (such as serving alcohol to a clearly intoxicated patron) will not be imputed to the employer if 1) the employer requires the employee to complete training approved by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, 2) the employee actually completes the training, and 3) the employer has not directly encouraged the employee to violate the law.[11]
All previously opened containers of alcoholic beverages must be stored and transported in a vehicle's trunk (or behind the last row of seats in the case a vehicle does not have a partitioned trunk) or other storage to which the driver and or any passengers do not have access.
An operator of a motor vehicle is considered under the influence of alcohol if a chemical screening test shows a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher. No other evidence (such as Field Sobriety tests) need be presented to the court to obtain a DUI (driving under the influence) conviction. A driver testing 0.15 percent or more over the legal limit of 0.08 percent faces more severe penalties for enhanced BAC. When under the age of 21, a driver in Texas must not test positive for any blood-alcohol content (BAC) and may be charged with DUI even if the amount tested is under 0.08 percent.
However, Texans will now be able to buy alcohol to-go as a result of bipartisan legislation meant to keep restaurants and bars afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Customers can now pick up alcohol with food orders, and alcohol can also be delivered with food orders.
However, if you're at a fair, festival, concert, bar, restaurant or a sporting event in the morning, you can buy alcohol from 10 a.m.-noon on Sundays as long as the facility you're at has the proper permits. If you're at a bar or restaurant, you have to buy food with your drink before noon.
While a Sunday holiday is great for those who will now also get to claim a long holiday weekend, Texas' often-complained-about law dictating Sunday alcohol sales may put a damper on your Christmas planning this year.
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