Working closely with policymakers, community leaders, merchants, and other stakeholders, we've helped bring alcohol delivery to more consumers across the country in a safe and responsible way. U.S. consumers across 35 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, can now access a wide selection of alcoholic beverages — whether that’s getting to-go cocktails delivered from a favorite local restaurant or a hometown craft six-pack from a nearby grocery store where allowed.
Responsible alcohol delivery is an opportunity across all sides of the DoorDash platform as one of our fastest-growing categories. It enables merchants to find new consumers and grow their revenue, allows Dashers to increase their earnings, and offers additional options for consumers to experience the best of their communities with expanded selection from trusted local businesses.
With more consumers than ever having access to responsible alcohol delivery, we understand the importance of continuing to incorporate and expand upon our industry-leading standards that help ensure safe and compliant delivery at every step of the process. Here’s how it works:
Rigorous Scanning Protocols
Central to our safety efforts on alcohol delivery is our state-of-the-art ID verification process, which requires that IDs are scanned not only before the first alcohol purchase but also again at the door, on top of a physical ID check at the point of delivery — in many cases going above what is used for a typical in-store transaction. Only after verifying the consumer’s identity and checking for any signs of intoxication may the delivery be completed.
Safety Compliance Modules
We are further rolling out our alcohol safety compliance module for Dashers that provides detailed guidelines on how to safely and responsibly deliver alcohol. This module offers clear tips and best practices for managing alcohol deliveries, such as how to check for a valid ID and the typical signs of a fraudulent ID. Where required, Dashers must show that they understand these guidelines by passing a test at the end of the module before they will be offered opportunities to deliver alcohol.
We want to be as clear as possible when it comes to the importance of making sure any deliveries of alcohol are done safely, so these modules also include information about the legal penalties that Dashers may be subject to for delivering alcohol to underage consumers.
Enhanced Returns Flow
We’ve also implemented an improved returns process as a default that makes it even easier for Dashers to return the alcohol to the store if a delivery cannot be completed for any reason, such as if the consumer is underage or not home. If a delivery cannot be completed, Dashers are provided with step-by-step prompts to return the alcohol to the store. Dashers will be paid for the whole trip, including the original pay plus more for the return. Simply put: Dashers have never and will never have to choose between completing a delivery or complying with the law.
High-Risk Area Bans
We understand that even one delivery of alcohol made to underage consumers is too many. Even before an order can be placed, we proactively block deliveries to certain high-risk areas — often going beyond what is required by state law — such as college campuses where required and other similar locations where unsafe deliveries to underage consumers could be made.
Empowering Consumers With Choice
Importantly, we know that there are still some consumers who don't want alcohol delivered on our platform. That’s why we also have a voluntarily self-exclusion list so consumers can easily stop seeing alcohol via our Marketplace platform.
We know there will always be more work to be done to help make sure that these deliveries are done as safely as possible. We will continue to develop and launch innovative safety features so alcohol deliveries can continue to be responsibly completed through the DoorDash platform.
###
To learn more about how we support the sale and delivery of alcohol responsibly and compliantly, visit our Help Center.
