How To Ship Spirits

UPS only accepts packages containing Spirits from shippers who are licensed under applicable law and who have signed and entered into a contract with UPS for the transportation of Spirits.

Note: UPS provides service for other alcoholic beverages (beer and wine) on a contract basis only. For shipments containing beer or wine, shippers must enter into an approved UPS agreement for the transportation of beer or wine as applicable, must be licensed and authorized under applicable law to ship beer and wine. UPS accepts shipments of beer or wine only among and between selected states. For more information on shipping beer or wine visit How To Ship Beer and How To Ship Wine pages.

All spirits shippers must enter into a "UPS Agreement for Approved Spirits Shippers".

If you’re interested in becoming an approved beer shipper, schedule a free, 15-minute consultation with a UPS expert. Book a session today.

All spirits shippers must provide any required state licenses to UPS. State license must be submitted to upswinecompliance@ups.com

The ability to ship Spirits depends upon the nature of the shipper's license to sell Spirits, and the laws of the destination states.  UPS permits the following types of Spirits shipments:

Licensed to Licensed

• Shipments of Spirits from licensed shippers may be shipped to licensed consignees, where permitted by applicable law. For example, a licensed distillery may ship to a licensed distributor, or a licensed distributor may ship to a licensed retailer, so long as the shipments are made in accordance with applicable law. "Licensed to Licensed" shipments cannot be made to consumers.

Direct to Consumer

• A Distillery must hold all required licenses or permits; verified that the purchaser is of legal age to purchase Spirits; and lists the purchaser as the consignee

Interstate Distillery Shipments

• Certain states allow shipments of spirits directly to consumers when purchased from licensed out-of-state distilleries. Refer to Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Spirits Shippers for allowed Interstate Distillery Shipment States. 

Interstate Distillery Shipment

• Some states allow Spirits purchased from licensed Distilleries within the state to be shipped to consumers located in the same state. Some destination states allow shipments to consumers from licensed in-state Distilleries only when the consumer has purchased the spirits on-site at the Distillery.  These states are noted on Addendum A by “On Site only”.  Refer to Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Spirits Shippers for allowed Intrastate Distillery Shipment States.

Requirements for licensed entities to ship spirits through UPS:

Contractual Service Only

• All shippers who wish to ship Spirits must enter into an UPS Agreement for Approved Spirits Shippers. UPS DOES NOT ACCEPT SHIPMENTS OF SPIRITS FROM SHIPPERS WHO HAVE NOT ENTERED INTO THIS AGREEMENT.

Shipping Solution Requirements

• The shipper must process the Spirits shipment with a UPS Compatible Shipping solution such as WorldShip or any approved third-party vendor system.

Packaging Requirements

• All shipments must meet UPS packaging requirements for Spirits. UPS will accept inner packaging of molded Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam, folded corrugated tray, or molded fiber tray. Each packaging component secures the bottles into the center of the shipping container away from the side walls of the shipper. Sturdy outer corrugated containers are required.

Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required

• All Spirits shipments must be made using the UPS Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required service, requiring the signature of an adult 21 years of age or older upon delivery.

Spirits Shipping Label Requirement (US Domestic Shipments only)

• All packages containing Spirits must be labeled by the shipper with a special alcoholic beverages shipping label in addition to any other labeling that may be required by the origin or destination state.

UPS recommends that Spirits shippers use Quantum View Notify® for Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required Spirits shipments. UPS sends a shipment notification email to the recipient informing them when the Spirits shipment will be delivered so that an adult at least 21 years of age can be available to complete the delivery. Quantum View Notify is provided at no additional charge.

Approved Spirits shippers may use the UPS Hold for Pickup (HFPU) service for consumers who would prefer to pick up their Spirits shipments from a UPS Customer Center location. When picking up the package, the recipient is required to present a government-issued photo ID, such as driver's license, passport, military ID, permanent resident card, or alien registration card to verify that the recipient is 21 years of age or older. If the recipient fails or refuses to present proper identification (or is not 21 years of age or older), the Spirits shipment is considered undeliverable and returned to the shipper.

Approved Spirits shippers may use the Ship to a UPS Access Point® location service in conjunction with Adult Signature Required (ASR) for consumers who prefer to pick up shipments from UPS Access Point locations.

To ship spirits to a UPS Access Point location:

• Shippers must use a UPS Locator tool and the "Accepts Restricted Articles" filter to select an approved destination UPS Access Point location
• Shippers must also use approved UPS Access Point "Contains Alcohol Beverage Adult Signature Required" labels for Spirits shipments sent to UPS Access Point locations
• Spirits shipments can be redirected to UPS Access Point locations with the ability to accept restricted goods

Addendum A to the UPS Agreement for Approved Spirits Shippers identifies the approved states for Interstate Distillery and Intrastate Distillery.

The Spirits Contract Addendum A is effective as of the "revised" date noted on the Addendum, and applies to all shippers who have entered into a UPS Agreement for Approved Spirits Shippers. It is the shipper's responsibility to ensure that all shipments comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the origin and destination states, and that the consignee is authorized to receive the shipment.

View Spirits Contract Addendum A