Open Container
Veh. Code 23223 — driver and passenger, the trunk, and cannabis
In California, neither the driver nor a passenger may have an opened bottle, can or other container of an alcoholic beverage in their possession in a motor vehicle on a highway. A driver may not drink alcohol, or smoke or ingest cannabis, while driving on a highway, and neither may a passenger in a vehicle being driven; that is an infraction.
The trunk is where an open container goes, and the glove box does not count. The registered owner may not keep an opened container of alcohol in the vehicle on a highway unless it is in the trunk. A vehicle with no trunk keeps it somewhere not normally occupied by the driver or passengers, and a utility compartment or glove compartment counts as occupied. The same rule applies to the driver when the owner is not in the vehicle.
A driver with an opened container of cannabis, or loose cannabis flower not in a container, on the driver's person while driving commits an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $100. It does not apply where the container or flower is in the trunk.
The rules on drinking and open containers do not apply to passengers in a licensed bus, taxicab or limousine for hire, the living quarters of a housecar or camper, or a pedicab, with exceptions the code sets for some of them.
Sources for this section (5)
- Veh. Code 23223 — An open container in a motor vehicle
- Veh. Code 23225 — Where an open container may be kept in a vehicle
- Veh. Code 23222 — Having an open container, or open cannabis, while driving
- Veh. Code 23221 — Drinking or smoking cannabis in a motor vehicle
- Veh. Code 23229 — Passengers in vehicles for hire
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.