Blue laws by state fall into a few recognizable categories, and roughly a third of U.S. states still enforce at least one of them. The most common targets are Sunday alcohol sales, car dealership operations, and hunting. A smaller set of jurisdictions still regulates everyday retail. The rules vary sharply from one state, and sometimes one county, to the next, so a 20-minute drive can change what you’re legally allowed to buy.
Sunday Alcohol Laws by State
Alcohol is the most widespread category of blue law still actively enforced. Some states ban off-premise liquor sales statewide on Sundays. Others leave the question to counties or cities through local-option elections. A few impose no Sunday restrictions at all.
Texas
Texas prohibits Sunday sales of liquor (distilled spirits) under Section 105.01 of its Alcoholic Beverage Code.1State of Texas. Texas Code Alcoholic Beverage Code 105.01 – Hours of Sale: Liquor Package stores stay closed the entire day. Beer and wine are treated differently: grocery and convenience stores can sell them starting at 10:00 a.m., and bars with mixed-beverage permits can serve alcohol beginning at 10:00 a.m., though drinks served before noon must accompany a food order. Texas also uses a local-option election system that lets individual precincts and cities vote wet or dry, with no more than one such election per area per year.
Utah
Utah’s state-run liquor stores are completely closed on Sundays. Wine and full-strength spirits are only available through those government outlets or at licensed restaurants. Grocery and convenience stores can sell beer up to 5% ABV seven days a week. Restaurants holding on-premise liquor licenses may serve alcohol on Sundays, but food must accompany the drink.
Mississippi
Mississippi leaves most Sunday alcohol decisions to local governments. The state sets a baseline for on-premise beer sales (7:00 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week), but cities and counties can restrict or ban Sunday off-premise sales entirely. Some municipalities allow Sunday purchases while neighboring towns do not, so checking the local ordinance is the only reliable approach.
Other States With Sunday Alcohol Restrictions
Oklahoma broadly prohibits Sunday liquor store sales. Indiana lifted its longstanding ban on Sunday carryout sales in 2018 but still restricts morning hours. Ohio requires special permits for Sunday sales and prohibits off-premise purchases before 1:00 p.m. in most areas. North Carolina closes state-run ABC stores on Sundays until either 10:00 a.m. or noon, depending on the jurisdiction. South Carolina keeps its liquor stores closed on Sundays entirely. Arkansas uses a county-by-county local-option system, with most counties still prohibiting Sunday sales.
Sunday Car Dealership Bans
About a dozen states still prohibit or heavily restrict car dealership operations on Sunday. Many dealership owners actually support these laws because they eliminate the cost of staffing a seventh day while preventing any competitor from gaining an edge. The restrictions apply to the business of buying, selling, and trading vehicles, not to private sales between individuals.
New Jersey
New Jersey classifies operating a motor vehicle dealership on Sunday as a disorderly persons offense. A first offense carries a fine of up to $100, imprisonment for up to 10 days, or both. A second offense brings a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. A third or subsequent offense can mean a $750 fine and up to six months of imprisonment.2Justia. New Jersey Code 2C:33-26 – Sale of Motor Vehicles on Sunday; Exemption
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania makes it a summary offense to engage in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, or trading motor vehicles or trailers on Sunday. A second or subsequent offense within one year of the first conviction carries a fine of up to $200.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Pa.C.S.A. 7365 – Trading in Motor Vehicles and Trailers The statute covers both new and used vehicles.
Other States
Maryland takes a hybrid approach: some counties impose absolute Sunday dealership closures, while others allow Sunday sales as long as the dealership closes on a different day of the week. Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Wisconsin also maintain some form of Sunday car sales ban. Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah restrict Sunday dealership hours without imposing total closures.
Sunday Hunting Bans
Sunday hunting restrictions are concentrated in the eastern United States and are among the oldest surviving blue laws. They were originally tied to Sabbath observance and are now defended on the grounds that they give hikers, birdwatchers, and other outdoor users a day of safety in the woods.
Maine
Maine prohibits hunting wild animals or birds on Sunday entirely, regardless of the season or weapon.4Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 Section 11205 – Hunting on Sunday Simply possessing hunting equipment in the fields or forests on a Sunday counts as prima facie evidence of a violation. The offense is a Class E crime, carrying a maximum fine of $1,000.5Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 17-A Section 1704 – Maximum Fine Amounts Authorized for Convicted Individuals Game wardens patrol both public and private land.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts maintains one of the country’s last outright Sunday hunting bans. As of early 2026, it is one of only two states with a blanket prohibition still in effect. The governor has backed repeal efforts, including proposed language in a supplemental budget that would lift the ban, legalize crossbow use, and reduce archery setback distances. Whether the legislature acts on that proposal is still open.
Virginia
Virginia now allows Sunday hunting on private land with the landowner’s written permission, and since July 2022, public land management agencies can authorize Sunday hunting on properties they manage. Hunters must stay at least 200 yards from any house of worship, and hunting deer or bear with dogs on Sunday remains prohibited.6Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Sunday Hunting in Virginia: Frequently Asked Questions The staged pattern is typical of how states loosen hunting blue laws.
Broader Retail Restrictions
A small number of jurisdictions still prohibit the Sunday sale of ordinary consumer products beyond alcohol. The most prominent example is Bergen County, New Jersey, where voters retained the Sunday closing law by referendum under N.J.S.A. 2A:171-1.1 et seq. The ordinance prohibits the Sunday sale of clothing, building and lumber supplies, furniture, home and office furnishings, and household appliances.7Borough of Bergenfield, New Jersey. The Sunday Closing Law Major malls in the county go dark on Sundays while grocery stores and pharmacies nearby operate normally.
The law applies to brick-and-mortar retail within Bergen County. Online retailers shipping from out-of-state warehouses fall outside the reach of county-level Sunday sales restrictions. Enforcement is handled by local police, and after four convictions, the premises where the violations occurred can be declared a nuisance under New Jersey law, opening the door to additional penalties and potential closure orders.
Sunday Off for Religious Reasons: Your Rights at Work
Blue laws protect Sunday rest through commerce restrictions. Federal employment law provides a separate protection for individual workers. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work schedule, including beliefs that require Sabbath observance on Sundays.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 2000e You don’t need to use specific legal language or submit a written request. Letting your employer know about the religious conflict is enough to trigger the accommodation process.9U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fact Sheet: Religious Accommodations in the Workplace
For decades, employers could deny a Sunday accommodation by showing it imposed anything more than a trivial cost. The Supreme Court raised that bar in Groff v. DeJoy (2023), holding that an employer must now show the accommodation would impose “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.” The case involved a postal worker who refused Sunday shifts for religious reasons. Coworker annoyance or general resentment about covering Sunday shifts does not count as undue hardship.10Justia. Groff v. DeJoy In states without blue laws, Groff may be the most important protection available for securing Sunday off.
Where These Laws Are Headed
The direction of reform in the United States is toward loosening or eliminating Sunday restrictions. At least 17 states have repealed some form of Sunday sales ban since 1995, and the pace has accelerated. Indiana ended its ban on Sunday carryout alcohol sales in 2018. North Dakota repealed its general blue laws in 2019, eliminating restrictions that had kept certain businesses closed until noon on Sundays. Colorado lifted its Sunday liquor sales ban in 2008. Pennsylvania gradually expanded Sunday liquor store operations beginning in 2003.
Repeal efforts tend to succeed when the economic argument outweighs the cultural one. Lost tax revenue, consumer demand for convenience, and the competitive disadvantage faced by retailers near state borders all push legislatures toward relaxation. States bordering jurisdictions with fewer restrictions feel it most, because shoppers simply drive across the line. The trend is not universal. Some communities vote to keep their Sunday restrictions through local-option elections, and attempts to repeal car dealership closures often fail because the industry itself lobbies to keep the mandatory day off. Before you plan a Sunday purchase, check the specific rules in your county or city.