California To-Go Cocktails: What AB 2663 Would Change and the Rules Every Order Must Follow

As of the morning of September 25, 2026, California's official bill record listed AB 2663 with Governor Newsom, with no signed or vetoed outcome recorded. Under current law, the privilege that lets eligible California restaurants sell house-sealed cocktails and single-serve wine to go is operative until December 31, 2026, and is repealed as of that date. AB 2663 would move that date to December 31, 2029. As an urgency bill, it would take effect as soon as it becomes law. The proposal leaves the order rules unchanged. Those rules apply while this privilege remains in force; the extension is not yet recorded as law.

Where the bill stands

• The Senate passed it 39–0 on August 24 and the Assembly 78–0 on August 25. It was presented to the governor on August 31.
• The only changes it makes to Business and Professions Code section 23401.5 are the end date (2026 to 2029), one hyphen and the urgency clause.
• The deadline is September 30. Under the California Constitution, a bill passed before September 1 of the session's second year and held by the governor on or after September 1 becomes a statute if it isn't returned by September 30.

Check the official bill status page before you change menus or staff instructions. Use the dated legislative record to check for a new outcome.

What each outcome means

• Signed, or not returned by September 30: the bill becomes law, the section is operative until December 31, 2029, and every order rule below stays the same.
• Vetoed: unless another legal change intervenes, current law stands and the section is repealed as of December 31, 2026. Plan to take house-sealed drinks off menus and order types before that date. Don't assume December 31 itself is a selling day. Ask ABC or your own counsel what your license allows after that date.

Who can use the privilege, and for which drinks

• Eligible: a holder of an on-sale license for a bona fide public eating place that has off-sale privileges, or a licensed beer manufacturer, wine manufacturer or craft distiller that runs a bona fide public eating place at its production premises.
• Only what your license already allows on-sale. ABC puts it this way: "To sell distilled spirits or wine for off-site consumption, the licensee must have on-sale wine or distilled spirits privileges."
• House-sealed drinks (filled by you): any alcoholic beverage except beer, under the conditions in the next section.
• Manufacturer-prepackaged distilled spirits are covered by a separate paragraph. The customer who ordered must still pick them up in person and show ID, and delivery is still prohibited.
• Any operating condition on your license that restricts off-sale still applies. ABC says licensees in that position should ask their local district office about a condition modification. ABC can also impose conditions on a license for good cause.

The rules for every house-sealed drink

• Sealed: a secure lid or cap, sealed so that nobody can drink from it without breaking the seal.
• Wine in single-serve containers only. The statute defines these as containers with a standard of fill between 187 and 355 milliliters that is authorized for wine under 27 CFR 4.72. In that range, the authorized sizes are 187, 200, 250, 300, 330 and 355 mL. ABC's guidance gives the range as 6.3 to 12 ounces. Use one of the listed sizes rather than any cup that happens to fall in the range.
• Cocktails: no more than 4.5 ounces of distilled spirits per drink.
• With a bona fide meal, two drinks per meal at most. The statute says a bona fide meal must conform to ABC's July 5, 2020 guidance, "What is required to be considered a 'meal'?" That guidance looks at the overall food offering and a quantity suitable for a main course. It presumes snacks such as chips and side dishes such as fries do not qualify; substantial sandwiches or salads are assessed in context. ABC marks the advisory as archived, but section 23401.5 expressly refers to that dated guidance. Confirm borderline orders with ABC.
• Labeled: clearly and conspicuously identified as containing alcohol.
• Warning posted: the open-container warning must be displayed prominently on the premises, posted online, or presented however else is needed so the buyer sees it. ABC publishes it as form ABC-389-N. The required text begins: "Alcoholic beverages that are packaged by this establishment are open containers and shall not be transported in a motor vehicle except in the vehicle's trunk…"
• Pickup only: the customer orders online, by phone or in person, then picks up the order in person and shows a bona fide ID confirming their age and that they placed the order. The drink can't be ordered or picked up for delivery. ABC adds that delivery is "expressly prohibited, whether by the licensee or by any third-party delivery service."
• Notice first: before selling house-sealed drinks, tell ABC in writing through the Alcohol To-Go Notification Tool. You don't need to notify ABC if you sell only manufacturer-prepackaged containers.
• At the door: according to ABC, if a customer opens a to-go container before leaving, it can't leave the premises. A partly finished dine-in drink can't be packaged to go.

A worked example (fictional)

A pickup order has three entrées that meet ABC's meal guidance, and the guest asks for eight house margaritas. The limit is 3 meals × 2 = 6 house-sealed drinks, so two of the eight can't go out as house-sealed drinks on that order.

The house margarita uses 2 oz tequila and 0.75 oz spirit-based orange liqueur, for 2.75 oz of spirits, which is under the 4.5 oz limit. The code defines distilled spirits to include "all dilutions and mixtures thereof" (section 23005), so the cautious approach is to count every spirit-based ingredient by the amount poured, liqueurs included. A large-format spec with 4 oz tequila and 1 oz liqueur comes to 5 oz, so it can't be sold to go as written.

A house-filled 250 mL wine cup (about 8.5 oz) is an authorized single-serve size. A 500 mL carafe isn't single-serve.

A checklist for this week

1. Confirm your license type, on-sale privileges and any operating conditions.
2. Find your ABC notification confirmation. If you never filed one, file before selling house-sealed drinks.
3. Remove house-sealed drinks from every delivery marketplace menu and delivery order type. Keep them on pickup only.
4. Enforce two per meal. Use a POS rule if yours supports one; otherwise make it a counter check.
5. Recheck cocktail specs against 4.5 oz of spirits, and wine cup sizes against the authorized list.
6. Check seals, alcohol labels and the warning, both in the store and on the online ordering page.
7. Train the handoff: the ID must match the person who ordered, an opened container stays inside, and dine-in leftovers never go into to-go cups.
8. Put the dates on the calendar: September 30 (the governor's deadline), December 31, 2026 (the current repeal date) and, if the bill becomes law, December 31, 2029.

Limits of this answer

This covers California state law only. It isn't legal advice. Local rules and conditions on your specific license still apply, and a restaurant's license must still meet the state's definition of a bona fide public eating place (section 23038). Your ABC district office or your own counsel can confirm how the rules apply to your license.

Sources

• AB 2663 status and history and enrolled text, California Legislative Information
• California Constitution, article IV, section 10
• ABC: Expanded alcohol to-go requirements and guidelines
• 27 CFR 4.72, metric standards of fill for wine (eCFR)
• Business and Professions Code section 23005 and section 23038