Oregon Open Container Law (2026): Statute and Penalty

Oregon bans both drinking alcohol and possessing an open container on one's person in a vehicle on a public highway, and the ban covers the driver and every passenger, under ORS 811.170. As of September 2026, that rule was confirmed against the state's own official code site.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses Oregon's state open container law, covering drinking and possession by the driver and passengers, under ORS 811.170. It does not address DUI charges or rules for boats. For the full state-by-state comparison, see our open container laws guide. For Oregon's separate DUI penalties, see Oregon DUI laws, and for window tint rules, see Oregon window tint laws.

What Oregon's Open Container Law Prohibits

ORS 811.170 bans two things in a single section. Subsection (1)(a) prohibits a person from drinking an alcoholic beverage while in a vehicle on a highway. Subsection (1)(b) separately prohibits possessing an open alcoholic beverage container on one's person while in a vehicle on a highway. Both prohibitions apply broadly to "a person," covering the driver and every passenger, and the statute draws no distinction between a moving and a stationary vehicle.

Oregon adds a third layer in subsection (1)(c): the vehicle's registered owner, or the driver if the owner is not in the vehicle, may not keep an open container anywhere in the vehicle while it is on a highway. That reaches beyond the driver's or a passenger's own conduct to the responsibility of whoever owns or is driving the vehicle.

The Glove Compartment Is Not a Safe Harbor

For purposes of the (1)(c) "keeping" offense, Oregon's statute treats the glove compartment as within the vehicle's occupied area rather than as an exempt storage space. That means moving an open container into the glove compartment does not take it out of the areas that owner/driver "keeping" offense reaches, a stricter reading than in states that treat any enclosed compartment as exempt. This rule is scoped to (1)(c); it does not independently excuse drinking under (1)(a) or on-person possession under (1)(b).

Exemptions

ORS 811.170(1)(c), the offense that bars a vehicle's registered owner, or its driver if the owner is not present, from keeping an open container anywhere in the vehicle, does not reach two situations:

• A container stored in the trunk, or, in a vehicle with no trunk, in an area not normally occupied by the driver or passengers.
• The living quarters of a camper or motor home.

Those two exceptions apply only to the (1)(c) keeping offense. They do not excuse drinking under (1)(a) or possessing an open container on one's person under (1)(b): a person drinking in the living quarters of a motor home on an Oregon highway is still violating (1)(a).

Separately, ORS 811.170(2) exempts the section as a whole for a passenger, but not the driver, riding in a vehicle that is both operated by a common carrier and used primarily to carry passengers for hire. Both conditions are required; "common carrier" is not merely an example.

Penalty

A violation of ORS 811.170 is a Class B traffic violation. The fine amount is set under Oregon's general schedule for Class B violations, ORS 153.018; the specific dollar figure is not stated within Section 811.170 itself and was not independently verified.

Federal Compliance

Federal law, 23 U.S.C. Section 154, conditions a share of a state's highway funding on having an open container law that bans both possession and consumption, covers the whole passenger area, reaches every occupant, and is primarily enforced. States that fall short have 2.5 percent of certain federal highway apportionments reserved and redirected to highway safety programs, under FHWA's annual apportionment notice. Oregon's statute meets those elements, so Oregon is not on FHWA's list of non-conforming states for fiscal year 2026 (FHWA Notice N4510.905, dated October 1, 2025).

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about open container laws in the United States as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. Open container statutes, exemptions, and penalties change; verify the current text of your state's law before relying on it, and consult a lawyer licensed in your state for advice about a specific situation.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-09-16. Last updated: 2026-09-16.