Alcohol shipping laws in Texas

Sec. 54.01. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. The holder of an out-of-state winery direct shipper's permit may sell and deliver wine that is produced or bottled by the permittee to an ultimate consumer located in the State of Texas. Delivery must be by the holder of a carrier permit. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 36 (S.B. 877 ), Sec. 2, eff. May 9, 2005. Sec. 54.02. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. The holder of an out-of-state winery direct shipper's permit may not: (1) sell or ship wine to a minor; (2) deliver wine to a consumer using a carrier that does not hold a carrier's permit under this code; (3) deliver to the same consumer in this state more than nine gallons of wine within any calendar month or more than 36 gallons of wine within any 12-month period; or (4) sell to ultimate consumers more than 35,000 gallons of wine annually. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 36 (S.B. 877 ), Sec. 2, eff. May 9, 2005. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 346 (H.B. 1084 ), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009. Sec. 54.03. QUALIFICATIONS FOR PERMIT. An out-of-state winery direct shipper's permit may only be issued to a person who: (1) does not hold a winery permit in the State of Texas; (2) operates a winery located in the United States and holds all state and federal permits necessary to operate the winery, including the federal winemaker's and blender's basic permit; (3) holds a Texas sales tax permit; (4) expressly submits to personal jurisdiction in Texas state and federal courts and expressly submits to venue in Travis County, Texas, as proper venue for any proceedings that may be initiated by or against the commission; and (5) does not directly or indirectly have any financial interest in a Texas wholesaler or retailer as those terms are used in Section 102.01 .

Sec. 54.09. DELIVERY AREAS. Wine shipped under this chapter may be delivered to persons located in a dry area.
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Sec. 54.12. PENALTY FOR SHIPPING WITHOUT A PERMIT. Any person who does not hold an out-of-state winery direct shipper's permit who sells and ships alcohol from outside of Texas to an ultimate consumer in Texas commits on first offense a Class B misdemeanor, on second offense a Class A misdemeanor, and on third offense a state jail felony.

(f) Except as provided by Chapter 54 , any person in the business of selling alcoholic beverages in another state or country who ships or causes to be shipped any alcoholic beverage directly to any Texas resident under this section is in violation of this code.

Sec. 106.01. DEFINITION. In this code, "minor" means a person under 21 years of age.
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Sec. 106.03. SALE TO MINORS. (a) A person commits an offense if with criminal negligence he sells an alcoholic beverage to a minor.

§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.