Can you mail alcohol?

The United States Postal Service (USPS) prohibits sending alcoholic beverages through the mail, but you can ship alcohol via couriers, such as FedEx or UPS if you’re a licensed alcohol shipper.

The laws around shipping liquor in the US are quite complicated, so if you’re considering setting up a business that ships alcohol, either within the US or internationally from the US, you should do plenty of research first.

FedEx and UPS have strict procedures for shipping alcohol and both require you to enter into an official Alcohol Shipping Agreement to use their services. There may be different shipping agreements required, depending on whether you’re shipping wine, beer or liquor and there are numerous restrictions on retailer to consumer shipments, including which US states you’re allowed to send consumer shipments to.

Shipping alcohol between US states

When shipping alcohol between US states, you will need to comply with not only the alcohol shipping laws for the state you’re shipping from but also the state you’re shipping to, which makes shipping alcohol between US states almost as complicated as shipping alcohol internationally from the US.

It’s important to be aware that not all US states will allow the direct shipment of alcohol to consumers. For example, Alabama, Oklahoma and Utah prohibit this.  When shipping alcohol direct to consumers, you may also have to keep a record of how many shipments you send to residential addresses, as some states have restrictions on the number of bottles that can be sent to a single customer in a year.

Can I ship alcohol as a gift?

If you’re an individual looking to send wine or beer as a gift, you’ll need to do this through an approved retailer with a license to ship alcohol on your behalf.

Can I ship alcohol through Parcel Monkey?

No. Our discounted rates can be used for sending all kinds of items, but Parcel Monkey cannot be used for shipping alcohol from the US.  Shipping alcohol is prohibited. Packages containing alcohol are likely to be seized and destroyed without compensation. 

Find out what you can send using our package delivery services.