Delaware: Where can you buy liquor?
Delaware licenses private package stores to sell spirits, wine and beer; they buy from private importers, not the state.
Package store licenses come from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner. The stores buy from licensed importers and may not allow drinking on the premises. Delaware amended this law in 2026, and a version taking effect January 23, 2027 adds delivery within three miles of the store.
What the law says
Any person in charge of a package store, whether owner, lessee, or manager, and recognized as such by the Commissioner, may apply to the Commissioner for a license to purchase from an importer ... to keep and sell and deliver on the premises only spirits, wine, or beer by the bottle, half bottle, keg, half keg, quarter keg, or sixtel, but not for consumption on the premises where sold
Sources
- 4 Del. C. § 516 Official · delcode.delaware.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Office of the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner
- Website
- oabcc.delaware.gov
How bordering states compare
- Maryland Private licensed storesMaryland licenses private stores through local boards; the state does not sell liquor, though Montgomery County runs its own system.
- New Jersey Private licensed storesNew Jersey liquor is sold by privately owned stores holding a plenary retail distribution license; the state does not sell liquor.
- Pennsylvania Government-run storesPennsylvania sells bottled liquor in state-run Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores operated by the Liquor Control Board.