Open Container
Utah Code 41-6a-526 — no opened container in the passenger compartment, a class C misdemeanor
No one may drink an alcoholic beverage while driving a motor vehicle, golf cart, motor assisted scooter or electric assisted bicycle, or while riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle, whether it is moving, stopped or parked, on any highway or the waters of the state.
Who handles this in Utah: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Utah directory.
No one may keep, carry, possess or transport in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle on a highway any container of an alcoholic beverage that has been opened, had its seal broken, or been partly consumed.
- The passenger compartment includes areas the driver and passengers can reach while traveling, such as a glove compartment, and not a separate trunk.
- The rules do not apply to a passenger in the living quarters of a motor home or camper, in a compliant limousine or chartered bus, or in a motorboat.
- The container rule does not apply to passengers in a licensed taxicab or bus.
A violation of either rule is a class C misdemeanor.
Sources for this section (1)
- Utah Code 41-6a-526 — Drinking alcoholic beverage and open containers in motor vehicle prohibited -- Definitions -- Exceptions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Utah attorney.