Starting in January, companies that deliver alcoholic beverages in Oregon will be required to have a permit and drivers will need to undergo training.
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission changed its rules in 2021, allowing the delivery of alcohol to support the hospitality industry during pandemic closures.
However, delivery companies have not been held to the same safety standards as bars and restaurants.
Specifically, according to the OLCC’s Mark Pettinger, drivers in a hurry sometimes leave alcoholic beverages on a doorstep without confirming the order was received by a legal adult, or that the recipient wasn’t visibly intoxicated.
"Those requirements don’t apply, or haven’t applied, to these food delivery companies," he said. "And so, essentially there were no guardrails and there were no penalties for those folks, and so we wanted to make sure that there was some oversight.”
Pettinger said Oregon lawmakers approved the new permit system in the 2023 session.
He said if a delivery company has a permit and a training plan in progress in January, they may continue to operate, and will have until March to be fully compliant.
