Shipping Beer for competion

So I am thinking of entereing a competition that is not local to me. I have heard of others doing this and shipping their beer. I have also heard that we are not allowed/ permitted to ship beer using the mail system or even UPS/FEDEX? Has anyone done this before. How does one ship beer to a competion?

Shipping alcohol via USPS is a crime. Do not do it. (Although this could conceivably change, but it hasn't changed yet. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/u...ses-bill-to-overhaul-postal-service.html?_r=0)

It is nominally against UPS and FedEx policies for unlicensed senders to ship alcoholic beverages, but it is not illegal, at least not everywhere in the US. The legality of the shipment depends on state laws, both for the sending and the receiving states, though, and I'm not qualified to advise anyone about that.

In a practical sense, I've shipped many things via FedEx and UPS and have never been asked to describe the contents of the packages, so with careful packaging you are unlikely to be confronted about it. As a courtesy to other shippers whose packages will share space on a truck, I would suggest using a lot of padding and sealing any bottles in plastic bags. That way you won't leak liquid onto other packages if a bottle should break.

Googling for state alcohol laws can help find information about the state-by-state specifics.