Alcohol shipping laws in Illinois

DEFINITION: A Winery Shipper's License allows a person with 1) a first-class or second-class wine manufacturer's license; 2) a first-class or second-class wine-maker's license; or 3) a limited wine manfacuturer's license or who is licensed to make wine under the laws of another state, to ship wine made by that licensee directly to a resident of Illinois, who is 21 years of age or older, for that resident's personal use and not for resale.
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An Out-of-State Winery Shipper's License shall allow a person who is licensed to make wine under the laws of another state to sell directly to Illinois residents (e.g., anyone in the general public who is 21 years of age or older) up to 12 cases per adult resident per year. This wine must be for personal use and not for resale.

The Illinois statute bars anyone from shipping or trans- porting "any alcoholic liquor from a point outside this State to a person in this State who does not hold a manufacturer's, distributor's, importing distributor's, or non-resident dealer's license issued by the Liquor Control Commission. " 235 ILCS 5/6-29.1(b). Put more simply, subject to certain exceptions, any alcohol shipped to Illinois must go through a distributor on the second tier of the three -tier system. Additionally, the out-of-state shipper must itself be licensed in Illinois. See 235 ILCS 5/2-1; Ill. Admin. Code tit. 11, § 100.480(a) ("[N]o person shall import alcoholic liquor into this State for a non-personal or commercial use without first obtaining a license to import issued by the Commission.

The Illinois statute bars anyone from shipping or trans- porting "any alcoholic liquor from a point outside this State to a person in this State who does not hold a manufacturer's, distributor's, importing distributor's, or non-resident dealer's license issued by the Liquor Control Commission. " 235 ILCS 5/6-29.1(b). Put more simply, subject to certain exceptions, any alcohol shipped to Illinois must go through a distributor on the second tier of the three -tier system. Additionally, the out-of-state shipper must itself be licensed in Illinois. See 235 ILCS 5/2-1; Ill. Admin. Code tit. 11, § 100.480(a) ("[N]o person shall import alcoholic liquor into this State for a non-personal or commercial use without first obtaining a license to import issued by the Commission.

Both a "first-class wine manufacturer" and a "second-class wine manufacturer" who obtains a Winery Shipper's License can directly sell to Illinois residents (e.g., anyone in the general public who is 21 years of age or older) up to 12 cases per adult resident per year.

§1716. Injurious articles as nonmailable
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(f) All spirituous, vinous, malted, fermented, or other intoxicating liquors of any kind are nonmailable and shall not be deposited in or carried through the mails.
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(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 781; May 8, 1952, ch. 246, 66 Stat. 67; June 29, 1955, ch. 224, 69 Stat. 191; Pub. L. 85–268, Sept. 2, 1957, 71 Stat. 594; Pub. L. 85–623, §5, Aug. 12, 1958, 72 Stat. 562; Pub. L. 91–375, §6(j)(25), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 779; Pub. L. 92–191, §1, Dec. 15, 1971, 85 Stat. 647; Pub. L. 99–570, title X, §10003, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–167; Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, §60003(a)(7), title XXXIII, §330016(1)(H), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1969, 2147; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, §607(g), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3511; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, §4002(b)(2), (6), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1807; Pub. L. 109–435, title X, §1008(d), Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3261.)

Only FedEx-approved, licensed alcohol shippers that have entered into a FedEx Alcohol Shipping Agreement may ship alcohol via FedEx services. Consumers may not ship alcohol of any type via FedEx services.
For all alcohol shipments, you’ll need to sign a FedEx Alcohol Shipping agreement. Contact your FedEx account executive for details and assistance and if you don't have an assigned account executive, call FedEx Customer Services at 1.800.463.3339.
Adult signature service option. State law, as well as FedEx policy, requires an adult signature at the time of delivery for every U.S. package containing alcohol. It is your responsibility to ensure the adult signature requirement service option is selected so that FedEx requests and obtains the required adult signature. A $5.75 fee per shipment applies for this service.

FedEx currently only permits wine shipments under licensee-to-consumer agreements; beer and spirits require licensee-to- licensee.
Licensee-to-consumer
FedEx only transports wine licensee-to-consumer.

UPS only accepts packages containing wine from shippers who are licensed under applicable law and who have signed and entered into a contract with UPS for the transportation of wine.
All wine shippers must enter into a UPS Agreement for Approved Wine Shippers.
All alcohol shippers must schedule a consultation call or speak to their Account Manager to review UPS alcohol shipping policies, submit copies of your state licenses, and complete a shipping agreement.
The ability to ship wine depends upon the nature of the shipper's license to sell wine, and the laws of the destination states. UPS permits the following types of wine shipments:
Shipments of wine from licensed shippers may be shipped to licensed consignees, where permitted by applicable law. For example, a licensed manufacturer may ship to a licensed distributor, or a licensed distributor may ship to a licensed retailer, so long as the shipments are made in accordance with applicable law. "Licensed to Licensed" shipments cannot be made to consumers.
All wine shipments must be made using the UPS Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required service, requiring the signature of an adult 21 years of age or older upon delivery.
Some states also allow shipments of wine from out-of-state licensed wine retailers to consumers. These states are known as "Retailer Direct Shipment States." Shipments of wine from licensed out-of-state retailers may be made to consignees in "Retailer Direct Shipment States" subject to all of the conditions applicable to Winery Direct Shipment States, except that the purchase is made from a licensed out-of-state retailer rather than a winery. Refer to Addendum A for approved Retailer Direct Shipment States.
All shippers who wish to ship wine must enter into either the UPS Agreement for Approved Wine Shippers, or the UPS Wine Industry Fulfillment House Agreement For Approved Wine Shippers. UPS DOES NOT ACCEPT SHIPMENTS OF WINE FROM SHIPPERS WHO HAVE NOT ENTERED INTO ONE OF THESE AGREEMENTS.