The Alaska Alcohol & Marijuana Office (AMCO) has determined that DTC shippers do not need to comply with one of the troublesome requirements for shipping to Alaska customers: Manufacturer Direct Shipper Licensees do not need to consult the “prohibited person” list before fulfilling an order. Direct Shipment Licensees may not ship to areas where a “local option” law restricts sales of alcohol, so wineries and distilleries must make sure to avoid shipments to customers in those areas. AMCO provides a list of zip codes of the communities with local option restrictions on sales of alcohol. That list is publicly available on the AMCO website. More good news: The Alaska Department of Revenue has ruled that holders of a Manufacturer Direct Shipment License are exempt from the $25,000 bond requirement. No bond is needed for a Manufacturer Direct Shipment License. In addition, AMCO is moving forward with rulemaking to adopt simplified requirements for the verificati

Alaska’s new Manufacturer Direct Shipment license goes into effect January 1, 2024. The AMCO plans to start accepting online applications later this month. Even though the new license may be possible to obtain soon, new regulations governing the license impose a number of requirements that make the fulfillment of orders very difficult. The regulations as currently written require direct shipment licensees to do the following: Obtain and retain a copy of ID documents that show the photograph and signature of the purchaser and any other individual authorized to receive the shipment and deliver it to the purchaser; Determine whether the purchaser’s name is on the list of prohibited persons provided by AMCO to all package store and DTC licensees, and if so, reject the order; Ensure that the written or electronic order is signed and dated by the purchaser and refers by number to the purchaser’s ID document; If your company meets the sales threshold for sales tax nexus i

Many alcoholic beverage manufacturers have been looking forward to getting Alaska’s new DTC license, which goes into effect January 1, 2024. Due to both regulatory and technical issues, we are anticipating significant delays in obtaining that license, causing out-of-state producers to lose the ability to ship direct to Alaska consumers for the foreseeable future. Currently, anyone can ship “a reasonable amount” of alcoholic beverages to Alaska residents—no license or reporting required. That privilege ends January 1, when it is replaced by the new AK Manufacturer Direct Shipping License. We have been closely tracking the availability of the AK DTC license. We have learned that the state’s online licensing system does not yet accept applications from out-of-state companies, and it is not clear when the system will take an application for this license. In addition, the state has adopted regulations governing DTC shipping that impose requirements that are