Who can delivery beer, wine, and distilled spirits directly to the homes of Florida customers? See the following summary chart and the explanations below.
| wdt_ID | Alcholic Beverage Industry Participant in Florida | Can It Make Home Deliveries? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brewery | No |
| 2 | Winery/Cidery/Meadery | Yes |
| 3 | Distillery | No |
| 4 | Distributor/Wholesaler | No |
| 5 | Non-Manufacturing Retailer | Yes |
| 6 | Retailer's Delivery Service | Follows Rules for Its Source |
| 7 | Customer's Personal Shopping Service | Probably |
While certain breweries are allowed by Florida law to sell alcoholic beverages to customers, breweries are specifically prohibited from delivering alcohol away from their licensed taproom or brewpub.
Florida breweries have two routes to selling beer to customers: a retail licensed taproom or a brewpub. Taprooms may have a retail license to sell beer, wine or distilled spirits for consumption on premises or carry-out (a 2COP or 4COP license), but the provision of Florida Statutes that makes that possibly specifically states that breweries cannot make deliveries away from the taproom. See Florida Statutes Section 561.221(2)(d). Breweries with a brewpub license (CMBP) may sell alcoholic products for consumption on premises only.
Like breweries, Florida wineries can have a retail license, which allows them to sell beer, wine or distilled spirits for consumption on premises or carry-out. For this purpose, wineries includes cideries and meaderies. Unlike breweries, Florida wineries are not prohibited from delivering alcoholic beverages to customers’ homes.
Retail-licensed vendors in Florida are generally permitted to make deliveries away from their places of business. See Florida Statutes Section 561.57. Deliveries must be made in vehicles owned or leased by the vendor or in a third-party vehicle pursuant to a contract with the third party, such as a common carrier. A winery with a retail vendor license is not prohibited from making deliveries as provided by Section 561.57.
Unlike Florida breweries and wineries, Florida distilleries are not permitted to hold a retail license. Because they cannot hold a retail license, distilleries cannot make deliveries to customers homes as provided Section 561.57.
Certain Florida distilleries, which the statutes call “craft distilleries”, are permitted to have gift shop at which packaged products can be sold. Under current law, Florida craft distilleries are limited to selling not more than 6 individual containers of each branded product to each customer per year. See Florida Statutes Section 565.03(c). The craft distillery statute requires that sales must be in face-to-face transactions, for the customers personal use and not for resale. While craft distillery gift shops can make retail sales, the craft distillery is not granted a retail vendor license. This matters, because Section 561.57 allow pertains to deliveries made by licensed retail vendors.
Licensed Florida distributors, along with importers and broker sales agents, are only permitted to sell alcoholic beverages to licensed manufacturers and other licensed distributors. Accordingly, this group is prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages directly to customers in all circumstances.
As discussed above, Florida licensed retail vendors are permitted to make deliveries to customers, as long as the vendor is not also a brewery. See Florida Statutes Section 561.57. Again, deliveries must be made in vehicles owned or leased by the vendor or in a third-party vehicle pursuant to a contract with the third party, such as a common carrier.
Florida Statutes Section 561.57 specifically authorizes licensed retailers to engage third parties to make deliveries to customers’ homes. Companies like Drizly, Shipt, and Minibar contract with Florida retailers to deliver alcoholic products.
In these cases, the retailer is treated as having sold the products directly to the customer, and the deliverer acts as an agent of the retailer. Section 561.57 requires a contract to exist between the licensed retailer and the delivery service.
Personal shopping services, like Instacart, claim to operate differently than retailer delivery services. Whereas retailer delivery services operate as an agent for the retailer, personal shopping services operate as an agent for the customer. The experience of getting deliveries through a retail delivery service versus a personal shopping service may be the same, but there is a legal distinction that matters.
While Florida Statutes Section 561.57 expressly permits retailers to engage third-party deliverers, it does not expressly authorize personal shopping services. It appears that nothing in the Florida Beverage Laws directly addresses personal shopping services, whether it is permitted or prohibited.
The Florida Statutes do prohibit the transportation of alcoholic beverages in quantities of more than 12 bottles, and it is unclear how this might apply to personal shopping services. Florida Statutes Section 562.07 provides a short list of who may transport alcohol in quantities of more than 12 bottles, including “individuals who possess such beverages not for resale within the state.” Arguably, this should cover a personal shopper, who is not intending to resell the products, but rather deliver products that have been remotely purchased to the customer, as the customer’s agent. Still, there legal situation for personal shopping services is less clear than it is for retailer delivery services.
Do you have questions about home delivery of alcohol in Florida? Contact us at contact@brewerlong.com to schedule a consultation.
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