What is the penalty for mailing alcohol?

[Bungbanger]

I'm not wanting to break any laws I just can't find any answers online. Looked up the federal law and its 190 pages of legal mumbo jumbo.

I wish I could send an old pal in England some of my home brew, mead, and such. But it's not worth any trouble.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Death by nose hair plucking.

 

[falkaveli]

Not sure what it is now, but this is what happened to me last time I tried sending a bottle...

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

It's only illegal if you get caught.


I think as long as you aren't receiving payment for it, and the only thing inside the bottles is alcohol and not some sort of banned substance, I don't think you would run afoul of any import/export laws. Worst case the UK say's you are a terrorist and you never go back there. Tell your buddy if the cops come knocking to disavow any knowledge of the package and its contents.

 

[OkanaganMike]

Not sure what it is now, but this is what happened to me last time I tried sending a bottle...

Was that you over there?! I woulda stopped and talked shop if I knew you were in for the same thing

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Second offense is a full body shave with a Stanley smoothing plane.

 

[falkaveli]

Was that you over there?! I woulda stopped and talked shop if I knew you were in for the same thing

I knew I heard another American's voice! :cross:

 

[falkaveli]

To kinda answer your question...

Having been deployed in the military many times and having sent contraband to many buddies who were deployed...if they catch it, it will just disappear. Not worth any other action on their part. Now...if you start sending 10,000 barrels of illegal moonshine...disregard my answer. It may be different.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

Just use UPS or Fed Ex. It's only illegal through the USPS.

 

[DromJohn]

18 U.S.C. § 1716
Injurious articles as nonmailable
....
(f) All spirituous, vinous, malted, fermented, or other intoxicating liquors of any kind are nonmailable and shall not be deposited in or carried through the mails.
....
(j)(1) Whoever knowingly deposits for mailing or delivery, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail, according to the direction thereon, or at any place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, anything declared nonmailable by this section, unless in accordance with the rules and regulations authorized to be prescribed by the Postal Service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
....

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Just use UPS or Fed Ex. It's only illegal through the USPS.

Not true. It is also illegal through Fed Ex and UPS unless you have a license to sell alcohol and have signed a shipping agreement.

"Alcoholic Beverages

Only licensed entities may ship alcohol of any type with FedEx. For more information, go to fedex.com/us/wine. Consumers may not ship alcohol.

Licensee to Licensee. FedEx will accept alcohol shipments (beer, wine and spirits) when both the shipper and recipient are either licensed wholesalers, licensed dealers, licensed distributors, licensed manufacturers or licensed importers, subject to additional requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. Contact your FedEx account executive for complete details.

Licensee to Consumer. FedEx will accept wine shipments from licensed entities directly to consumers, subject to additional requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. Contact your FedEx account executive for complete details. Shipments of beer or spirits to consumers are prohibited."

 

[fsr_racer]

Just use UPS or Fed Ex. It's only illegal through the USPS.

I recently tried to use UPS to send a bottle of mead out of state and they turned me away. Now it may have been Office Depot policy, or it could even have been specific to the state of WV, idk. I asked the girl for some clarification, but of course she didn't know the law, just pointed to the little diagram of things not ok to ship.

 

[sfish]

Just use UPS or Fed Ex. It's only illegal through the USPS.

You will need to state what it it for international shipping. Whatever you say it is say it is samples no cash value... gifts no value

 

[Yooper]

I wouldn't attempt to mail beer via USPS, but I've used UPS.

The thing is- I would NEVER ship alcohol of any sort internationally. That's something I wouldn't risk. If you get caught shipping beer via UPS, they might take the beer if it's against their policy.

Mailing it overseas to another violates several laws, and probably would be a huge deal if you got caught.

It's different to soldiers and those deployed, as it doesn't have such strict restrictions on packages using APO address (although I still wouldn't recommend it). But shipping homemade alcohol internationally would be breaking the laws of at least two countries and I'm not a fan of committing felonies.

 

[DurtyChemist]

Just use UPS or Fed Ex. It's only illegal through the USPS.

Incorrect. Read the UPS and FedEx policy on mailing alcohol. Both require a License to mail alcohol AND require it to go to someone with a license.

 

[hunter_le five]

Incorrect. Read the UPS and FedEx policy on mailing alcohol. Both require a License to mail alcohol AND require it to go to someone with a license.

Is this a policy issue or a legal issue? Not the same thing.

 

[Psylocide]

The biggest penalty is that you no longer have it.

 

[EJay]

Is this a policy issue or a legal issue? Not the same thing.

Due to the pesky 21st amendment, states can actually regulate interstate commerce when it comes to alcohol. So most states have some prohibition against shipping unless you're licensed (i.e. so they can get their tax cut). There may be some combinations where its allowed. Also, the rules are typically different for wine vs spirits vs beer.

Fedex and UPS don't have anything against alcohol - they're trying to stay out of legal trouble with the states.

I have a non-beer-related side business and I ship internationally all the time. Everything that goes in a package to the UK is opened, so I wouldn' expect your beer to make it through.

 

[RandallFlag]

Better Call Saul.

 

[hunter_le five]

Due to the pesky 21st amendment, states can actually regulate interstate commerce when it comes to alcohol. So most states have some prohibition against shipping unless you're licensed (i.e. so they can get their tax cut). There may be some combinations where its allowed. Also, the rules are typically different for wine vs spirits vs beer.

Fedex and UPS don't have anything against alcohol - they're trying to stay out of legal trouble with the states.

I have a non-beer-related side business and I ship internationally all the time. Everything that goes in a package to the UK is opened, so I wouldn' expect your beer to make it through.

Right, the laws vary from state-to-state.

Just because a company has a blanket policy against shipping alcohol doesn't automatically make it illegal in every situation. Something can be against company policy and not against the law.

 

[EJay]

Right, the laws vary from state-to-state.

Just because a company has a blanket policy against shipping alcohol doesn't automatically make it illegal in every situation. Something can be against company policy and not against the law.

Of course. There may be some combination of origin/destination where its legal for an unlicensed consumer to ship, via common carrier, alcohol to another unlicensed entity. In those situations, if they exist at all, there may be some combination where its legal for the carriers to do so but choose not to because of policy.

But those situations, if they exist at all, are rare. There actually is some carve-out for home brew competitions in certain jurisdictions. And it may be legal for the consumers involved, but technically not legal for the carriers. Even among licensed shippers, there's places the common carriers won't ship because they're liability is huge due to the intricacies of the laws involved, if technically not illegal. Laws like "you have to verify the ID of the recipient".

In numerous places, its a felony.

I do this and support this for my living (for a wine company) and we've looked at it extensively. The rules and laws change all the time too.

To the OP: I don't know what the penalties are, they likely vary. You can likely count on confiscation however.

 

[hunter_le five]

Of course. There may be some combination of origin/destination where its legal for an unlicensed consumer to ship, via common carrier, alcohol to another unlicensed entity. In those situations, if they exist at all, there may be some combination where its legal for the carriers to do so but choose not to because of policy.

But those situations, if they exist at all, are rare. There actually is some carve-out for home brew competitions in certain jurisdictions. And it may be legal for the consumers involved, but technically not legal for the carriers. Even among licensed shippers, there's places the common carriers won't ship because they're liability is huge due to the intricacies of the laws involved, if technically not illegal. Laws like "you have to verify the ID of the recipient".

In numerous places, its a felony.

I do this and support this for my living (for a wine company) and we've looked at it extensively. The rules and laws change all the time too.

To the OP: I don't know what the penalties are, they likely vary. You can likely count on confiscation however.

I don't disagree with you, at all. My point is simply that saying "activity ABC is illegal because it's against the policy of private company XYZ" is false.

The fact that some jurisdictions have specific exclusions for homebrew competitions and "testing purposes" is further exemplifies the point.

I make no assumptions about the legality of what the OP is trying to do, and in fact I would venture to guess that several laws of two different countries might be broken in the process.

 

[EJay]

Agreed. We're debating two sides of the same coin

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

Not true. It is also illegal through Fed Ex and UPS unless you have a license to sell alcohol and have signed a shipping agreement.

"Alcoholic Beverages

Only licensed entities may ship alcohol of any type with FedEx. For more information, go to fedex.com/us/wine. Consumers may not ship alcohol.

Licensee to Licensee. FedEx will accept alcohol shipments (beer, wine and spirits) when both the shipper and recipient are either licensed wholesalers, licensed dealers, licensed distributors, licensed manufacturers or licensed importers, subject to additional requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. Contact your FedEx account executive for complete details.

Licensee to Consumer. FedEx will accept wine shipments from licensed entities directly to consumers, subject to additional requirements and all applicable laws and regulations. Contact your FedEx account executive for complete details. Shipments of beer or spirits to consumers are prohibited."

I recently tried to use UPS to send a bottle of mead out of state and they turned me away. Now it may have been Office Depot policy, or it could even have been specific to the state of WV, idk. I asked the girl for some clarification, but of course she didn't know the law, just pointed to the little diagram of things not ok to ship.

Interesting

You will need to state what it it for international shipping. Whatever you say it is say it is samples no cash value... gifts no value

This. I ship "pickled peppers" at least once a month via UPS.

Incorrect. Read the UPS and FedEx policy on mailing alcohol. Both require a License to mail alcohol AND require it to go to someone with a license.

I admit to not having read the rules, but it has always been my understanding that in some cases it is company policy, but not illegal.

Right, the laws vary from state-to-state.

Just because a company has a blanket policy against shipping alcohol doesn't automatically make it illegal in every situation. Something can be against company policy and not against the law.

see?

Of course. There may be some combination of origin/destination where its legal for an unlicensed consumer to ship, via common carrier, alcohol to another unlicensed entity. In those situations, if they exist at all, there may be some combination where its legal for the carriers to do so but choose not to because of policy.

But those situations, if they exist at all, are rare. There actually is some carve-out for home brew competitions in certain jurisdictions. And it may be legal for the consumers involved, but technically not legal for the carriers. Even among licensed shippers, there's places the common carriers won't ship because they're liability is huge due to the intricacies of the laws involved, if technically not illegal. Laws like "you have to verify the ID of the recipient".

In numerous places, its a felony.

I do this and support this for my living (for a wine company) and we've looked at it extensively. The rules and laws change all the time too.

To the OP: I don't know what the penalties are, they likely vary. You can likely count on confiscation however.

Also interesting.

 

[fsr_racer]

I also recently looked into joining one of the rare beer of the month clubs:

http://www.beermonthclub.com/the-rare-beer-club.htm

If you read the fine print, they will ship straight to your residential address, no alcohol license required; however, there does have to be an adult (21+) to sign for it with proof of age. Not sure what delivery service they use though.

 

[sfish]

I also recently looked into joining one of the rare beer of the month clubs:

http://www.beermonthclub.com/the-rare-beer-club.htm

If you read the fine print, they will ship straight to your residential address, no alcohol license required; however, there does have to be an adult (21+) to sign for it with proof of age. Not sure what delivery service they use though.

It however once again needs to be legal in the receiving state. I think the law in MD is item needs to be shipped to a liquor store where they collect the 9% sales tax and a fee.

And for homebrew Maryland law repeats the words "home consumption" IE:
Maryland statute Article 2B, §1 provides that a license or permit is not required for the manufacture of family beer exclusively for home consumption, competition, or use in a licensed national family wine exhibition and not for sale.. You could read this as transportating your beer to a freinds house breaks the statue.

 

[fsr_racer]

I agree. They do list a few states they won't ship to, but MD is not one of them. Maybe they have a deal worked out to charge the appropriate taxes at the time of sale and forward them to your state, like if I were to drive across the border to PA to purchase a car, the dealership would charge me WV sales tax and forward it to the WV tax office. It's a lot easier to do those things electronically than it used to be.

I never did sign up, don't have anyone to sign for me at home and don't trust my neighbors not to "lose" it for me, but never considered shipping to a local liquor store. Something to consider I guess.

 

[Dopeybrew]

A suggestion from my brother who works in the post office. Design a gift basket for it. Put in some cheap food and some of that leftover easter grass in the basket add a bow and a card congratulating them on something on the outside of the basket, wrap it in that colored saran wrap type crap and viola it should clear customs. Just declare it as a gift basket.