Texas To-Go Cocktail Rules: What You Can and Can't Buy
In Texas you can buy cocktails, beer and wine to go from a restaurant, but only with a food order, only from places that hold a Mixed Beverage Permit (or private club permit) and a Food and Beverage Certificate, and only in sealed, labeled containers. Here's what that means when you're the customer.
Myths and truths
| Myth | Truth |
|---|---|
| Any bar or restaurant can sell cocktails to go. | Only places with a Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) or Private Club Registration Permit (N) plus a Food and Beverage Certificate (FB). |
| You can order just drinks for pickup. | The alcohol has to go with a food order prepared at that restaurant. |
| You have to buy a certain amount of food. | There's no required food-to-alcohol ratio. |
| There's a two-drink limit. | The rules allow any number of beers, wines or cocktails with a food order. |
| You can buy a bottle of liquor from the bar to go. | Liquor goes out only mixed into a cocktail in a sealed container, or in a factory-sealed single serving of 375 mL or less, like a cocktail kit. |
| A cup with a lid is fine. | Mixed drinks must be in a tamper-proof container, such as a cup inside a bag sealed with a zip tie, staple or shrink wrap, labeled with the business name and the words "alcoholic beverage." |
| It's fine in the cup holder. | Drinks sealed by the restaurant can't ride in the passenger area. Put them in the trunk, behind the last upright seat if there's no trunk, or in a locked glove compartment. |
| The driver can leave it at the door. | Whoever receives it must show ID proving they're 21 or older, can't be intoxicated, and must sign for it (an app confirmation by the driver also counts). |
| They'll deliver anywhere. | Only where that kind of alcohol is legal, and only within the restaurant's county, or up to 2 miles past the city limits if the city crosses a county line. |
| Beer and wine bars need a food order too. | No. Places with a beer-and-wine permit (BG) or beer license (BE) can sell to go without food, in containers they seal themselves. |
What you can buy to go from a restaurant
- Cocktails mixed in-house, in a sealed, labeled tamper-proof container.
- Liquor only in a factory-sealed single serving up to 375 mL, like a cocktail kit.
- Beer and wine in the original sealed bottle or can, or in a tamper-proof container the restaurant seals and labels, like a growler.
- Your unfinished bottle of wine, at any restaurant with a Mixed Beverage Permit, if you ordered it with your meal there.
Delivery
Restaurants can deliver themselves, use their own agents, or use companies holding a Consumer Delivery Permit. The same rules apply: food order, sealed containers, ID at the door, and the county limit. Restaurants can't deliver alcohol to another licensed business. Who can deliver alcohol in Texas.
For restaurants
Restaurants keep the signed receipts or app records for a year so TABC can audit them. To-go and delivery alcohol sales aren't charged mixed beverage taxes; they're taxed as regular sales. How Texas taxes alcohol.
Check whether a restaurant holds an MB permit and a Food and Beverage Certificate. Search Bar Sales IQ
Sources: TABC Industry Notice: House Bill 1024 Pickup and Delivery · TABC Alcohol Delivery and Pickup · Texas Comptroller Mixed Beverage Taxes FAQ. This guide explains what public records show; it isn't legal advice. Check with TABC before acting on a licensing question.
Questions
Can you buy cocktails to go in Texas?
Yes, from restaurants that hold a Mixed Beverage Permit (or private club permit) and a Food and Beverage Certificate, as long as the drinks go with a food order and are in a sealed, labeled container.
Do you have to buy food to get a to-go cocktail in Texas?
Yes, at restaurants. The alcohol must go with a food order prepared there, but there's no minimum amount of food.
Is there a limit on to-go drinks in Texas?
TABC's guidance allows any number of beers, wines or cocktails with a food order.
Where do I put a to-go cocktail in my car in Texas?
Drinks sealed by the restaurant can't be in the passenger area. Keep them in the trunk, behind the last upright seat if there's no trunk, or in a locked glove compartment.
Can I take my unfinished wine home from a Texas restaurant?
Yes, from a restaurant with a Mixed Beverage Permit, if you ordered the bottle with your meal there.