Who can ship wine and to whom?
- Overview
- Only properly licensed wholesalers, licensed dealers, licensed distributors, licensed manufacturers, licensed retailers or licensed importers may ship wine via FedEx® services. Consumers may not ship wine or alcohol of any type via FedEx services.
- Licensee-to-licensee in the U.S.1
- Both shipper and recipient must be licensed wholesalers, distributors, dealers, manufacturers, retailers or importers. Shipments can move via FedEx Express®, FedEx Ground® and FedEx Home Delivery® services.
1FedEx Express does not transport wine into, out of or within the state of Massachusetts.
- Licensee-to-consumer in the U.S.1
- The shipper must be a licensed entity and the shipment must originate and terminate in one of the states listed in the Wine Shipping State Pairing Guide as a direct-ship, intrastate, off-site or on-site purchase state.
When shipping via FedEx Express® and FedEx Ground® services, shippers are encouraged to obtain their customers’ business addresses, which typically makes it easier to obtain the required adult signature. For ground service to residential addresses, shippers are encouraged to use FedEx Home Delivery®.
1FedEx Express does not transport wine into, out of or within the state of Massachusetts.
- Licensee-to-licensee internationally1
- Both the importer and exporter must be licensed entities.
- For U.S. import shipments, the shipper must hold a license from the country of origin issued in accordance with that country's law and regulations.
- The recipient, located in the U.S., is required to hold:
- A basic permit for importer and/or wholesaler issued from the U.S. Department of Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). To access the TTB application packets, click here.
- If applicable, a wholesaler, dealer, distributor or manufacturer license issued from the state in which the recipient is located. For a list of state alcohol beverage control boards, click here.
- For U.S. export shipments, it is the shipper’s responsibility to know and comply with all applicable international laws and regulations. The shipper is required to hold:
- A basic permit for importer and/or wholesaler issued from the TTB. To access the TTB application packets, click here.
- If applicable, a wholesaler, dealer, distributor or manufacturer license issued from the state in which the shipper is located. For a list of state alcohol beverage control boards, click here.
1FedEx Express does not transport wine into, out of or within the state of Massachusetts.
- Licensee-to-consumer internationally1
- U.S. export shipments only, only the following countries and only using FedEx Express® services. FedEx International Ground® service to Canada cannot be used for shipping wine.
| Australia |
France |
Luxembourg |
Singapore |
| Austria |
Germany |
Macau |
Slovenia |
| Belgium |
Greece |
Malta |
Slovakia |
| Bulgaria |
Hong Kong |
Monaco |
South Africa |
| Canada2 |
Hungary |
New Zealand |
Switzerland |
| Cyprus |
Ireland, Northern (U.K.) |
Philippines |
The Netherlands |
| Czech Republic |
Italy |
Portugal |
Thailand |
| England (U.K.) |
Japan |
Romania |
Wales (U.K.) |
| Finland |
Liechtenstein |
Scotland (U.K.) |
|
- It is the shipper’s responsibility to know and comply with all applicable international laws and regulations. The shipper is required to hold:
- A wholesaler, dealer, distributor or manufacturer license issued from the state in which the shipper is located. For a list of state alcohol beverage control boards, click here.
Please note: Because holding just a state license is only sufficient for exporting wine directly to consumers, those wine shippers who hold only a state license cannot export to licensed recipients. See requirements for international licensee-to-licensee shipments above for more details.
1FedEx Express does not transport wine into, out of or within the state of Massachusetts.
2Includes the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario only.
