The sale of alcohol or nicotine products to an underage person is the most common violation. When selling alcohol or nicotine products, it should be staff’s top priority to focus on the customer and make sure he or she is not underage.
Virginia law states a customer must be at least 21 years of age to purchase alcohol and nicotine (effective July 1, 2019) products. There is no legal requirement to check ID, but the best way to verify a customer’s age is to request proper ID and examine it carefully.
Virginia ABC checks compliance through its underage buyer program.
The ID must contain the individual’s photograph, signature, height and date of birth. Any one of the following constitutes a proper form of ID:
Make sure the ID hasn’t expired and hasn’t been tampered with or altered. Also, the photograph and physical description on the ID should be consistent with the appearance of the person.
Are you required to have an ID to purchase alcoholic beverages?
No; however, alcoholic beverages may not be sold to persons under 21. Identification may be required.
When does a person reach their 21st birthday?
The attorney general's office has opined that a person attains his/her next year of age on the day prior to his/her birthday. (1963 Va. AG LEXIS 215; 1962-1963 Op. Atty Gen. Va. 87)
Can you sell a beer to a person under 21 years of age if that person is accompanied by a parent or guardian?
No. It is never lawful for a licensee to sell or serve alcohol to an underage person. (COV 4.1-304 and 4.1-306)
Are people under 21 years of age allowed to sit at the bar?
There is no Virginia ABC law prohibiting a person less than 21 years of age from sitting at a counter/bar in an ABC-licensed restaurant. However, a licensee may establish its own in-house policy prohibiting it.
Can a licensee sell nonalcoholic beer or nonalcoholic wine to a person less than 21 years of age?
Yes, nonalcoholic beer and nonalcoholic wine contains less than one-half of 1 percent of alcohol and, therefore, is not an alcoholic beverage.
Can the licensee keep a falsified ID? What should the licensee do with the ID?
Virginia law does not allow anyone other than sworn police to seize falsified IDs. Licensees retaining such IDs should turn them over to the local police or to their local Virginia ABC agent.
Revised June 20, 2019
When checking identification for an individual wearing a face mask, please follow these steps:
The Drivers License Guide Co. publishes an annual edition of the ID Checking Guide that helps retailers and law enforcement agencies identify fake IDs. Every valid driver's license format is shown in actual size and full color for all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. You can order the guide from www.idcheckingguide.com or by calling (800) 227-8827.
Virginia ABC offers free online training to help managers, sellers and servers to become more responsible and better understand ABC laws, rules and regulations. For more information, contact Community Health & Prevention, (804) 977-7440 or [email protected].
Preventing Underage Sales