Carrier Spotlight
You’ve just tasted a great selection of Belgian beers. You want your friend in the next city or state to enjoy them too. Can you mail a case of amber ale, Oud Bruin, and dubbels to him using the USPS? What if you own a vineyard and you want to ship a bottle of red wine to a customer?
Shipping Alcoholic Beverages using the USPS is Prohibited
Intoxicating liquors, defined by the USPS as “drinkable beverages that have 0.5 percent or more alcoholic content by weight,” unfortunately cannot be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service. This includes beer, wine and liquor.
What if, instead of mailing a case of beer, you just want to send a catalog that advertises new products offered by your microbrewery or wine club? Promotional material associated with intoxicating liquors is also not allowed.
Items that cannot be shipped with the USPS:
·Beer
·Wine
·Liquor
·Advertising, promotional or sales matter (catalogs) containing sales offers for beer, wine or liquor
·Boxes with alcoholic beverage markings
·Wooden containers (wine crates) with alcoholic beverage markings
What if you’re using an empty wine crate or box branded with a beer label to mail documents or some other item that isn’t liquor? Reusing old boxes can be risky if the markings or labels are associated with prohibited and non-mailable items. We recommend removing or completely obliterating any alcohol-related markings, labels and descriptors, so that your mailpiece is not deemed nonmailable. In other words, don’t just cross out “Cabernet Sauvignon” or “American Lager.” Completely black out or cover the wording on the old box.
Are Consumer Products that Contain Alcohol Prohibited?
You can send products that may have some alcoholic content, such as cold remedies, mouthwash, and cooking wine, as long as it meets the applicable requirements of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Also, if you work for a federal or state agency, such as an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or Liquor Enforcement Division, the mailing of liquor is allowed for official purposes.
Can I Ship Alcohol to an International Address?
Unfortunately, you cannot ship alcohol to an international address. The USPS applies its domestic shipping policy to all international addresses as well. Keep in mind that mailing liquors internationally may also violate a country’s import policy.
For further USPS details on these policies, please see https://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c4_005.htm.
