Spirits Direct-to-Consumer Shipping Rules

State-by-State Rules Governing Interstate DtC Shipping of Spirits

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The following state rules provide where we have determined that the state would or would not allow spirits to be shipped under existing DtC shipping rules. Sovos ShipCompliant offers the following compilation of state by state compliance rules that govern the interstate shipping of alcohol directly to consumers.

When reviewing this information, keep the following in mind:

The rules we’ve compiled here only reflect regulations that a state would impose on a spirits supplier located in a different state, looking to enter a new market. They do not include rules on setting up a production plant, or for federal or home-state compliance.
This is not a definitive or complete guide. It should be used only as a starting place, to help lead you in the right direction as you expand your distribution. Do not take this as the final word on any regulatory issue.
When you actually approach selling in a new state, be sure to consult with someone who can properly interpret how the rules apply to your individual circumstances: your compliance team, your legal counsel or even another distiller located in that state.

And don’t forget that Sovos ShipCompliant offers several tools to help you in this process, with a cloud-based, easy-to-use platform for your licensing, product registration, product management and state filing needs. Sovos provides complete and up-to-date state rules guidance in all ShipCompliant products. You can request a demo anytime.

*State-specific content was last reviewed and is accurate as of 09/20/2022.

Alaska

Alaska currently does not regulate direct to consumer shipping of alcoholic beverages. Instead, DtC shipping operates under a determination by the Alaska Attorney General to not prohibit DtC shipments. As such, there are very few restrictions or requirements on DtC shipping of spirits. However, there are many local communities that prohibit the sale of alcohol, and it remains illegal to ship alcohol to these communities. (Read here about DtC alcohol laws taking effect in Alaska on January 1, 2024.)

Permitted

Yes - Alaska allows DtC shipping of spirits

Licenses Required

Alaska does not require DtC shippers to hold a license.

Dry Communities

It is illegal to ship alcohol to any region in Alaska that has voted to prohibit the sale of alcohol in that region. There is no exception for DtC sales. Currently, there are 78 such cities and counties in the state. Common carriers will not accept packages containing alcohol going to one of these regions. A list of such “local option” communities can be found here.

Shipping Restrictions

All packages of spirits must be clearly labeled, “Contains Alcohol: Signature of a person aged 21 years or older required for delivery.” In addition, only licensed carriers may deliver packages containing alcohol.

Tax Rates

Excise Tax: $12.80 per gallon of spirits. Alaska does not require DtC spirits shippers to remit excise tax on their sales.

Sales Tax: Alaska does not have sales tax

Arizona

Arizona will only issue a Series 02D Microdistillery license to businesses that produce less than 20,000 gallons of spirits per year. Only craft distilleries producing below that threshold have permission to make remote sales and deliveries to Arizona consumers.

Permitted

Yes - Arizona allows DtC shipping of spirits

License Name

Out of State Craft Distillery License (Series 02D)

Instate distillery need license?

No - Arizona craft distillers may also ship under their In-State Craft Distiller (Series 18) license

License cost

$600 for an inital license; $370 for a renewal

License term

One year

Age verification

Yes - Arizona consumers must provide the distiller with verification of their legal age

Tax Rates

Sales Tax: 5.6% + local taxes -- only required for economic nexus

Excise Tax: $3.00 per gallon -- not required for DtC shippers

SUT Return: Online Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) filing

Shipping labels

"Contains Alcohol: Signature of person 21 years or older required for delivery"

District of Columbia

Permitted

Yes - D.C. allows DtC shipping of spirits

Licenses Required

There is no licensed requirement for shipping spirits DtC to DC residents.

Volume Limits

Distillers are limited to shipping no more than one case per individual per month.

Shipping Restrictions

Tax Rates

Excise Tax: $1.50 per gallon; D.C. does not require DtC shippers to remit excise tax on their sales

Sales Tax: 10.25% for alcohol (6% general tax rate); only businesses with nexus in D.C. are required to collect and remit sales taxes on their sales to resident (D.C. has economic nexus rules for non-local businesses making either $100,000 or more, or 200+ annual transactions in the district).

Kentucky

In April 2020, Kentucky passed a statute that enables DtC shipping of spirits. As written, this law will require DtC spirits shippers to be licensed by the Kentucky Alcohol Beverage Control division, abide by customer volume limits, take efforts to not ship to any dry community in the state, and collect and remit both the state’s excise and sales taxes.

Permitted

Yes - Kentucky allows DtC shipping of spirits

Licenses Required

Only holders of a License to Direct Ship to Consumers are permitted to ship spirits DtC to Kentucky residents. The license costs $100 and must be renewed annually.

Volume Limits

Spirits shippers are limited to shipping no more than 10 gallons per individual per month.

Product Restrictions

DtC spirits shippers are permitted to ship only brands that they produce or bottle themselves, or are produced or bottled for them in an exclusive agreement. DtC shippers must be at least the Primary American Source for the spirits they will ship.

Shipping Restrictions

Dry Communities

DtC shippers are prohibited from delivering spirits into any community in Kentucky that prohibits the local sale of alcohol (“dry” communities). These communities are based on election precincts and no set list of dry communities is available. However, under the state’s DtC laws, it is the consumer that is liable for any delivery to a dry community, and the DtC shipper and their carrier may be held blameless if they take good faith efforts to prevent delivery to dry communities. As such, during a sale, DtC shippers should make sure to inform their Kentucky consumers of the prohibition and risk of shipping to a dry community, and have their Kentucky consumers positively affirm that they reside in a community that permits the sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages.

Tax Rates

Excise Tax: $1.92 per gallon

Sales Tax: 6%

Wholesale Sales Tax: in addition to other taxes, Kentucky imposes an ad valorem tax on the wholesale price of spirits sold into the state, which includes on DtC shipments; for DtC sales, the state has determined that the wholesale price can be deemed to be 70% of the stated retail price; the Wholesale Sales Tax for spirits is then 11% of the wholesale price

Tax Reports

Sales tax: Online filing only

Excise Tax and Wholesale Sales Tax: both taxes must be remitted together using the 73A550 return, due quarterly; this return must be accompanied by a schedule providing summary information of each delivery made in the previous quarter

Nebraska

Permitted

Yes - Nebraska allows DtC shipping of spirits

Licenses Required

Only holders of a Type S1 Direct to Consumer Shipper License are permitted to ship spirits DtC to Nebraska residents. The license costs $500 and must be renewed annually.

Volume Limits

S1 Licensees are limited to shipping no more than 108 liters per individual per month.

Product Restrictions

DtC spirits shippers who also sell their products to Nebraska wholesalers for distribution in the state are required to provide their Nebraska wholesalers with a list of the brands they will sell DtC.

Shipping Restrictions

Tax Rates

Excise Tax: $3.75 per gallon of spirits

Sales Tax: 5.5% + local rates

Tax Reports

Excise Tax: 35-7140 Direct Shipper Tax, due monthly

Sales tax: Form 10 SUT Return

New Hampshire

Permitted

Yes - New Hampshire allows DtC shipping of spirits

Licenses Required

Only holders of a Direct Shipper’s License are permitted to ship spirits DtC to New Hampshire residents. The license costs $500 and must be renewed annually.

Volume Limits

Direct Shipper’s Licensees are limited to shipping no more than the equivalent of 60 1-Liter bottles of spirits per individual per year.

Customer Information

Direct Shipper’s Licensees must collect sales information, including the name and address of purchaser and recipient (if different), and the amount of product shipped for further reporting requirements.

Shipping Restrictions

Dry Communities

There is one town in New Hampshire that prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages, including by DtC shipping: Ellsworth

Tax Rates

In lieu of excise or sales taxes, New Hampshire imposes a mark up of 8% on all DtC shipments of spirits into the state. This tax may be collected at the time of purchase from the customer.

Tax Reports

Direct Shipping Monthly Report, due monthly. This return is where the DtC shipper will remit the 8% tax and provide summary details of all shipments made in the previous month.

North Dakota

Permitted

Yes - North Dakota allows DtC shipping of spirits

Licenses Required

Only holders of a Direct Shipping License are permitted to ship beverage alcohol DtC to North Dakota residents. The license costs $50 and must be renewed annually.

Volume Limits

spirits Shipper’s Licensees are limited to shipping no more than 9 liters of spirits per individual per month.

Customer Information

Fulfillment House Requirements

All third-party fulfillment warehouses facilitating DtC sales to North Dakota residents must be licensed by the state.

Shipping Restrictions

Tax Rates

Excise Tax: $2.50 per gallon of spirits

Sales Tax: 7%

Tax Reports

Excise Tax: Schedule H Excise Tax Report for wine and spirits, which is due annually; Schedule G Excise Tax Report for beer, which is due annually; these returns must also be accompanied by order-specific customer and shipment data.

Sales tax: ST Return

Shipping Reports

Per-order sales and customer data must be reported along with the monthly excise tax return.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island permits residents of the state to personally import spirits that they purchased while physically present at a distiller’s licensed premises, both from distillers located in and outside of the state. To facilitate these sales, Rhode Island also permits the resident to have the distiller ship the purchased spirits back to the resident’s home through a common carrier. There are no provisions in Rhode Island law that would permit a local or remote distiller to solicit or fulfill orders online or by phone from Rhode Island residents.

Licenses Required

There is no license required for distillers to ship spirits to Rhode Island residents. However, distillers may only ship spirits direct to consumers in Rhode Island when the Rhode Island resident was physically present at the distillery premises at the time of purchase.

Shipping Restrictions

Vermont

Permitted

Yes - Vermont allows DtC shipping of RTD cocktails made from spirits with an ABV less than 12%

License Name

A Direct Ship To Consumer License is required to DtC ship RTD cocktails in Vermont.

Instate distillery need license?

Yes, Vermont distillers must hold a Direct Shipper License in addition to their production license.

License cost

A Vermont Direct Ship to Consumer License costs $330.

License term

Vermont Direct Ship to Consumer Licenses expire annually on April 30 and should be rewened before that date.

NOOP/product limits

Vermont says that DtC shippers may only direct ship RTD cocktails that they produce themselves. Only spirits products marketed and sold as RTD cocktails may be DtC shipped; such products may not have an ABV over 12% or be sold in containers greater than 24 oz.

Product registration

No, DtC shippers do not need to register their products prior to shipping them

Volume limits

RTD cocktail shippers are limited by Vermont to shipping no more than 12 cases per individual per year.

Record collection

RTD cocktail shippers to Vermont must collect the name and address of persons delivered to; shipment dates; carrier used; and quantity and value of each shipment for reporting purposes.

Age verification

While RTD cocktail shippers are not explicitly required by Vermont state law to verify consumers' ages at the time of purchase, it is recommended they take steps to limit minors' ability to make purchases.

Tax Rates

Sales tax: Vermont imposes a tax on all sales of alcohol in the state at a state rate of 6% with local rates ranging from 0-1%.

Excise tax: Vermont assesses a tax of $1.10 per gallon on RTD cocktails sold in the state.

Tax Reports

SUT return: RTD cocktail shippers to Vermont should use the SU-451 form, which can be filed online through the myVTAX portal, for sales tax filings. The filing frequency can vary depending on the shipper's annual sales tax liability.

EXT return: RTD cocktail shippers to Vermont should use the MVB-612 form to remit their excise taxes, which is due semi-annually.Shipping Reports

Per-order sales and customer data must be reported along with the monthly excise tax return.

Shipping report

RTD cocktail shippers to Vermont must include a summary report of their shipments with their excise tax return.

Shipping labels

"Contains Alcohol: Signature of person 21 years or older required for delivery" is required to appear on packages of alcohol being shipped DtC to Vermont.

Delivery restrictions

Alcoholic beverages may not be shipped into dry cities in Vermont, of which there are two: Athens and Baltimore.