How To Ship Beer

UPS only accepts packages containing beer from shippers who are licensed under applicable law and who have been approved for and entered into a contract with UPS for the transportation of beer. Shippers must possess a valid retailer or brewery license in their home states, and where applicable obtain a license or permit in the destination state.

Note: UPS provides service for other alcoholic beverages (wine and spirits) on a contract basis only. For shipments containing wine or spirits, shippers must enter into an approved UPS agreement for the transportation of wine or spirits as applicable, must be licensed and authorized under applicable law to ship wine or spirits. UPS accepts shipments of wine or spirits only among and between selected states. For more information on shipping spirits or wine visit How To Ship Wine and How To Ship Spirits pages.

All beer shippers must enter into a UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers.

If you’re interested in becoming an approved beer shipper, schedule a free, 15-minute consultation with a UPS expert. Book a session today.

All beer shippers must provide any required state licenses to UPS. State license must be submitted to upswinecompliance@ups.com

The ability to ship beer depends upon the nature of the shipper's license to sell beer, and the laws of the destination states. UPS permits the following types of beer shipments:

Licensed to Licensed

• Shipments of beer from licensed shippers may be shipped to licensed consignees, where permitted by applicable law. For example a licensed brewery 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.

Direct to Consumer

• Breweries and Retailers must hold all required licenses or permits; verified that the purchaser is of legal age to purchase Beer; and lists the purchaser as the consignee. 

Interstate Brewery Shipments

• Certain states allow shipments of beer directly to consumers when purchased from licensed out-of-state breweries. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Interstate Brewery Shipment States.

Intrastate Brewery Shipment

• Some states allow Beer purchased from licensed Breweries within the state to be shipped to consumers located in the same state. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Intrastate Brewery Shipment States.

Interstate Retailer Shipments

• Certain states allow shipments of beer directly to consumers from licensed out-of-state retailers. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Interstate Retailer Shipment States.

Intrastate Retailer Shipment

• Some states allow beer purchased from licensed Retailers within the state to be shipped directly to consumers in the same state. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Intrastate Retailer States.

Requirements for licensed entities to ship beer through UPS:

Contractual Service Only

• All shippers who wish to ship beer must enter into the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers. UPS DOES NOT ACCEPT SHIPMENTS OF BEER FROM SHIPPERS WHO HAVE NOT ENTERED INTO ONE OF THESE AGREEMENTS.

Shipping Solution Requirements

• The shipper must process the beer shipment with a UPS Compatible Shipping solution such as WorldShip or any approved third-party vendor system.

Packaging Requirements

• All shipments must meet UPS packaging requirements for beer. UPS will accept inner packaging of molded Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam, folded corrugated tray, or molded fiber tray with dividers. Each packaging component secures the bottles into the center of the shipping container away from the side walls of the shipper. Sturdy outer corrugated containers are required.

Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required

• All beer 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.

Beer Shipping Label Requirement 

• All packages containing beer must be labeled by the shipper with a special alcoholic beverages shipping label in addition to any other labeling that may be required by the origin or destination state.

Approved beer shippers may use the UPS Hold for Pickup (HFPU) service for consumers who would prefer to pickup their beer shipments from a UPS Customer Center location. When picking up the package, the recipient is required to present a government-issued photo ID, such as driver's license, passport, military ID, permanent resident card, or alien registration card to verify that the recipient is 21 years of age or older. If the recipient fails or refuses to present proper identification (or is not 21 years of age or older), the beer shipment is considered undeliverable and returned to the shipper.

Approved beer shippers may use the Ship to a UPS Access Point® location service in conjunction with Adult Signature Required (ASR) for consumers who prefer to pick up shipments from UPS Access Point locations.

To ship beer to a UPS Access Point location:

• Shippers must use a UPS Locator tool and the "Accepts Restricted Articles" filter to select an approved destination UPS Access Point location
• Shippers must also use approved UPS Access Point "Contains Alcohol Beverage Adult Signature Required" labels for beer shipments sent to UPS Access Point locations
• Beer shipments can be redirected to UPS Access Point locations with the ability to  accept restricted good

Addendum A to the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers identifies the approved Interstate Brewery States, Intrastate Brewery States, Interstate Retailer States, and Intrastate Retailer States.

The Beer Contract Addendum A is effective as of the "revised" date noted on the Addendum, and applies to all shippers who have entered into a UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers. It is the shipper's responsibility to ensure that all shipments comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the origin and destination states, and that the consignee is authorized to receive the shipment.

View Beer Contract Addendum A