Seminole County, FL Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

42 splits the prohibition into three parts: (a) bars any person in a stopped, standing, parked or moving vehicle on a public or semi-public highway from possessing an open container or drinking; (b) bars possession or drinking in a public or semi-public parking lot; and (c) bars possessing any container of alcohol, sealed or not, on a public beach or public park. 41 defines public or semi-public highways broadly to include streets, sidewalks, alleys, rivers, lakes, streams and ponds, plus any parking lot or garage the public is invited to use; it exempts only golf courses and private driveways serving a single dwelling.

Because the definition sweeps in waterways, a boater with an open beer on a public lake in Seminole County is in the same position as a pedestrian on a sidewalk. 43 lists nine exceptions: litter-collection volunteers gathering empty containers, licensed distributors transporting sealed stock for commercial purposes, containers stored in a trunk or truck bed inaccessible to the driver, licensed for-hire vehicles like taxis and charter buses so long as the driver is not drinking, drinking on private residential property by the owner, resident or their guests, living-area consumption inside a camper or motor home, clergy performing religious duties, on-duty law enforcement, and county-permitted block parties. The exceptions apply only to possession and transport, not to actual drinking, except for passengers in for-hire vehicles and RV living quarters.