Trying to transport alcohol in North Carolina? Here’s a refresher on the state law
Driving under the influence can be extremely dangerous and can come with serious criminal consequences.
According to North Carolina state law, it is illegal to drive a vehicle while noticeably impaired or with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. The maximum punishment carries a fine up to $4,000 and a minimum jail sentence of 30 days and a maximum of two years.
Intoxication aside, what are the rules for transporting alcoholic beverages in the state?
Open container laws in NC
“Simply put, no person in a vehicle, regardless of where the person is seated, is authorized to possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage,” Sergeant Marcus Bethea from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety told The Charlotte Observer.
State law prohibits anyone from possessing “an alcoholic beverage other than in the unopened manufacturer’s original container, or consume an alcoholic beverage, in the passenger area of a motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is on a highway or the right-of-way of a highway.”
But there are a few exceptions to this law:
- If the passenger area is “designed, maintained or used primarily” for paid transportation.
- If the passenger is in the living quarters of a motor home or house car.
- If the passenger is in a house trailer.
[RELATED: Can NC passengers drink a beer (or any booze) while someone else drives? Here’s the law]
Additionally, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety says open and closed containers of all alcoholic beverages are prohibited in all commercial motor vehicles, including buses and eighteen-wheelers.
Alcohol transportation laws
Drivers 21 and older are allowed to transport any unopened alcohol, depending on the amount.
Here’s what to know about what alcohol is and isn’t allowed to be transported for those who do not have an ABC permit:
No more than 80 liters of malt drinks
No more than 20 liters of unfortified wine
No more than eight liters of either fortified wine or spirituous liquor, or eight liters of the two combined.
According to state law, “the only exception for having an alcoholic beverage other than in the unopened original container, or for a passenger to consume an alcoholic beverage, if the container is in the passenger area of a motor vehicle that is designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation, in the living quarters of a motor home or house car... or in a house trailer.”
In other words, if the seal has been broken on a bottle of alcohol, it cannot be in the passenger area of a car or truck.
You can find more information about the state’s alcohol laws online here.
This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Trying to transport alcohol in North Carolina? Here’s a refresher on the state law."
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