Were grocery and convenience stores in Oklahoma prohibited from selling beverages above 3.2 percent alcohol content before 2016?

State Question 792, passed in 2016 and effective since 2018, altered many of Oklahoma’s alcohol laws by allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell high-point beer and wine with alcohol beverage volumes up to 8.99% and 15%, respectively, among other adjustments. 

Prior to SQ 792 and its companion, Senate Bill 383, grocery and convenience stores were only allowed to sell low-point beer with a maximum alcohol content of 3.2%. Liquor stores, which can now sell cold regular beer, wine, and spirits from 8 a.m. to midnight, were restricted to selling room temperature alcohol from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 

SQ 792 amended Oklahoma’s constitution, which included many of Oklahoma’s alcohol restrictions, by deferring most alcohol regulatory details to the Legislature, allowing for such regulations to be done by ordinary statute, including SB 383.

As of November 2025, employees 18 or older can serve alcohol under certain conditions under SB 809.