News Release Contact:Virginia ABC Communications - (804) 213-4413 
Email: [email protected]
Starting Friday, July 1, five laws impacting the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC), its licensees and applicants for ABC licenses will take effect. The Virginia General Assembly passed the following Virginia ABC-related legislative proposals during the 2022 session, and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed them into law.

Third-Party Delivery License/Cocktails To-Go (HB 426 and SB 254) – Both bills create a third-party delivery license which will be necessary to deliver alcoholic beverages purchased by consumers from retail licensees. Created to address safety issues including age verification and food requirements, the new license requires delivery personnel to pass an alcohol delivery safety and responsibility course and certify their compliance with the regulations annually. In addition, the bills extend from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2024, the sunset of prior legislation that allowed certain licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption.

Alcohol Licenses for Casinos (HB 455 and SB 519) – Both bills create a new mixed beverage casino license for the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption in areas designated by ABC during all hours of operation. It also authorizes the licensee to provide gifts of alcoholic beverages to patrons and establish loyalty or reward credit programs under certain conditions.

Funding for Virginia Distilleries to Market their Products (HB 20 and SB 196) – Both bills allocate from the General Fund an amount equal to 20% of the 20% tax levied on the sale of Virginia-distilled spirits to the Virginia Spirits Promotion Fund.

Bringing Alcohol from Out of State (SB 325) – This law increases the amount of alcoholic beverages that a person may transport into the commonwealth from one gallon to three gallons.

Removing Sunset Clause for the Sale of Grain Alcohol (SB 527) – This bill removes the sunset clause from the authorization for the sale of neutral grain spirits or alcohol up to a proof limit of 151 in ABC stores

June 09, 2022 News Release
Contact:Virginia ABC Communications - (804) 213-4413 
Email: [email protected]
New ABC License Effective July 1 Looks to Ensure a Safe Means for Alcoholic Beverage Delivery
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A new license designed to ensure a safe and secure way for licensed businesses to deliver alcoholic beverages will take effect on July 1. The new third-party delivery license, which was part of legislation passed by Virginia’s General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Youngkin earlier this year, requires delivery personnel to pass an alcohol delivery safety and responsibility training course.

Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s (ABC) Education and Prevention team has created the Responsible Alcoholic Delivery Driver (RADD) online public safety course, which is offered at no charge for licensees and businesses seeking a third-party delivery license. The course includes a pretraining survey, four training modules and a success survey. Training topics include alcoholic beverage delivery strategies to prevent underage sales and promote responsible consumption.

The third-party delivery license is the result of a stakeholder study group that met during the summer of 2021 to address safety concerns about the new alcohol delivery service. Representatives from food and beverage delivery businesses; alcoholic beverage manufacturing, retail and wholesale companies; and restaurant and hospitality industries; as well as Virginia ABC leadership contributed to the collaborative effort to create the license designed to protect public safety and health. 

As part of the study, representatives from third-party delivery services participated in a workgroup to create a licensing structure for Virginia. The group brought experiences from other states and industry best practices, which were significant in the creation of the license.

“Virginia ABC was most appreciative of the earnest and candid input from the approximately 40 stakeholders in this group,” said Virginia ABC CEO Travis Hill. “We were pleased that state lawmakers took the two-pronged approach of continuing the cocktail to go privilege while also creating the license for third-party delivery entities to better assure safe and lawful delivery of alcohol. In the ensuing years, ABC will continue to monitor delivery of alcohol to determine if further policy changes are required.”

The new third-party delivery license, which addresses issues including age verification and food requirements, stipulates that licensees annually certify their compliance with the new regulations, including delivery personnel’s completion of the training course. 

Seller Training Approval Program (STAP) for alcohol delivery personnel trainings developed by entities other than Virginia ABC are also accepted for certification. Virginia ABC's certification of delivery driver public safety trainings started June 1 and will continue through July 15, 2022. The application form, training criteria and submittal instructions are available on ABC’s website. For more information about these trainings, contact ABC Education and Prevention at [email protected] or 804-977-7440.

More information about the third-party license requirements is available on Virginia ABC’s website.
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