(a) Possession at Home. – It shall be lawful, without an ABC permit, for any person at least 21 years old to possess for lawful purposes any amount of fortified wine and spirituous liquor at his home or a temporary residence, such as a hotel room.

(b) Possession on Other Property. – It shall be lawful, without an ABC permit, for a person to possess for his personal use and the use of his guests not more than eight liters of fortified wine or spirituous liquor, or eight liters of the two combined, at the following places:

(1) The residence of any other person with that person’s consent;

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 18B-301

  • Alcoholic beverage: means any beverage containing at least one-half of one percent (0. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • Commission: means the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission established under N. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Fortified wine: means any wine or alcohol consumable containing more than sixteen percent (16%) and no more than twenty-four percent (24%) alcohol by volume, made by fermentation from grapes, fruits, berries, rice, or honey; or by the addition of pure cane, beet, or dextrose sugar; or by the addition of pure brandy from the same type of grape, fruit, berry, rice, or honey that is contained in the base wine and produced in accordance with the regulations of the United States. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • liquor: means distilled spirits or ethyl alcohol, and any alcohol consumable containing distilled spirits or ethyl alcohol, including spirits of wine, whiskey, rum, brandy, gin and all other distilled spirits and mixtures of cordials, liqueur, and premixed cocktails, in closed containers regardless of their dilution. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • Local board: means a city or county ABC board, or local board created pursuant to the provisions of N. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • Mixed beverage: means either of the following:

    a. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101

  • permit: means a presently valid permit. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • Person: means an individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, other organization or group, or other combination of individuals acting as a unit. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • Premises: means a fixed permanent establishment, including all areas inside or outside the licensed establishment, where the permittee has control through a lease, deed, or other legal process. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Sale: means any transfer, trade, exchange, or barter, in any manner or by any means, for consideration. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
  • Unfortified wine: means any wine or alcohol consumable containing sixteen percent (16%) or less alcohol by volume made by fermentation from grapes, fruits, berries, rice, or honey; or by the addition of pure cane, beet, or dextrose sugar; or by the addition of pure brandy from the same type of grape, fruit, berry, rice, or honey that is contained in the base wine and produced in accordance with the regulations of the United States. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101

(2) Any other property not primarily used for commercial purposes and not open to the public at the time the alcoholic beverage is possessed, if the owner or other person in charge of the property consents to that possession and consumption;

(3) An establishment with a brown-bagging permit as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1001(7).

(b1) Possession in a Social District or Common Area. – It shall be lawful, without an ABC permit, for a person to possess an open container of fortified wine or spirituous liquor in a social district or a designated consumption area under a common area entertainment permit in compliance with the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-300.1 or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1001.5, respectively.

(c) Special Occasions. – It shall be lawful for a person to possess, without a permit and not for sale, any amount of fortified wine or spirituous liquor for a private party, private reception, or private special occasion, at the following places:

(1) His home or a temporary residence, such as a hotel room;

(2) Any other property not primarily used for commercial purposes, which is under his exclusive control and supervision, and which is not open to the public during the event;

(3) The licensed premises of any business for which the Commission has issued a special occasions permit under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1001(8), if he is the host of that private function and has the permission of the permittee.

(d) Consumption. – It shall be lawful for a person to consume fortified wine and spirituous liquor in any place where it is lawful for him to possess those alcoholic beverages under subsections (a) through (c).

(e) Incident to Sale. – It shall be lawful to possess fortified wine and spirituous liquor at any place, such as an ABC store, where possession is a necessary incident to lawful sale. Consumption at such a place shall be unlawful unless the establishment has a permit authorizing consumption on the premises as well as sale.

(f) Unlawful Possession or Use. – As illustration, but not limitation, of the general prohibition stated in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-102(a), it shall be unlawful for:

(1) Any person to consume fortified wine, spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages or to offer such beverages to another person at any of the following places:

a. Unless a consumer tasting authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1114.7 is being conducted, on the premises of an ABC store.

b. Upon any property used or occupied by a local board.

c. On any public road, street, highway, or sidewalk, unless a consumer tasting authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-1114.7 is being conducted.

(2) Any person to display publicly at an athletic contest fortified wine, spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages;

(3) Any person to permit any fortified wine, spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages to be possessed or consumed upon any premises not authorized by this Chapter;

(4) Any person to possess or consume any fortified wine, spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages upon any premises where such possession or consumption is not authorized by law, or where the person has been forbidden to possess or consume that beverage by the owner or other person in charge of the premises;

(5) Any person to possess on any of the premises described in subsections (a) through (c) a greater amount of fortified wine or spirituous liquor than authorized by this Chapter;

(6) Any permittee, other than a mixed beverage or culinary permittee, to possess spirituous liquor or mixed beverages on his licensed premises.

(7) Any person to possess on his person or consume malt beverages or unfortified wine upon any property owned or leased by a local board of education and used by the local board of education for school purposes. Provided, however, the prohibition in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 18B-102(a) and this subdivision shall not apply on property owned by a local board of education which was leased for 99 years or more to a nonprofit auditorium authority created prior to 1991 whose governing board is appointed by a city board of aldermen, a county board of commissioners, or a local school board. (1905, c. 498, ss. 6-8; Rev., ss. 3526, 3534; C.S., s. 3371; 1937, c. 49, ss. 12, 16, 22; c. 411; 1955, c. 999; 1967, c. 222, ss. 1, 8; c. 1256, s. 3; 1969, c. 1018; 1971, c. 872, s. 1; 1973, c. 1226; 1977, c. 176, s. 1; 1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1138, ss. 8-12, 18; 1979, c. 384, s. 3; c. 609, s. 2; c. 718; c. 893, s. 10; 1981, c. 412, s. 2; c. 747, s. 39; 1983, c. 917, s. 1; 1985, c. 566, s. 1; 1991, c. 459, s. 1; 1993, c. 508, s. 1; 1995, c. 372, s. 1; 2017-87, s. 2(a); 2019-182, s. 6(b); 2022-49, s. 1.)

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