Minors

B & P Code 25658. Sales To Minors

• Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of 21 years is guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Except as provided in Section 25667, any person under the age of 21 years who purchases any alcoholic beverage, or any person under the age of 21 years who consumes any alcoholic beverage in any on-sale premises, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Any person who violates subdivision (a) by purchasing any alcoholic beverage for, or furnishing, giving, or giving away any alcoholic beverage to, a person under the age of 21 years, and the person under the age of 21 years thereafter consumes the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great bodily injury or death to himself, herself, or any other person, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Any on-sale licensee who knowingly permits a person under the age of 21 years to consume any alcoholic beverage in the on-sale premises, whether or not the licensee has knowledge that the person is under the age of 21 years, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

B & P Code 25658.5.
Attempt To Purchase By Minor

• Any person under the age of 21 years who attempts to purchase any alcoholic beverage from a licensee, or the licensee’s agent or employee, is guilty of an infraction and shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250), or the person shall be required to perform not less than 24 hours or more than 32 hours of community service during hours when the person is not employed or is not attending school, or a combination of fine and community service as determined by the court. A second or subsequent violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or the person shall be required to perform not less than 36 hours or more than 48 hours of community service during hours when the person is not employed or is not attending school, or a combination of fine and community service, as the court deems just. It is the intent of the Legislature that the community service requirements prescribed in this section require service at an alcohol or drug treatment program or facility or at a county coroner’s office, if available, in the area where the violation occurred or where the person resides.
• The penalties imposed by this section do not preclude prosecution or the imposition of penalties under any other provision of law, including, but not limited to, Section 13202.5 of the Vehicle Code.

B & P Code 25660.
Documentary Evidence of Age

• Bona fide evidence of majority and identity of the person is any of the following: (1) A document issued by a federal, state, county, or municipal government, or subdivision or agency thereof, including, but not limited to, a valid motor vehicle operator’s license, that contains the name, date of birth, description, and picture of the person. (2) A valid passport issued by the United States or by a foreign government. (3) A valid identification card issued to a member of the Armed Forces that includes a date of birth and a picture of the person.
• Proof that the defendant-licensee, or his or her employee or agent, demanded, was shown, and acted in reliance upon bona fide evidence in any transaction, employment, use, or permission forbidden by Section 25658, 25663,or 25665 shall be a defense to any criminal prosecution therefor or to any proceedings for the suspension or revocation of any license based thereon.

B & P Code 25659.
Right to Refuse Service to Minors

For the purpose of preventing the violation of Section 25658, any licensee, or his or her agent or employee, may refuse to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to any person who is unable to produce adequate written evidence that he or she is over the age of 21 years. A licensee, or his or her agent or employee, may seize any identification presented by a person that shows the person to be under the age of 21 years or that is false, so long as a receipt is given to the person from whom the identification is seized and the seized identification is given within 24 hours of seizure to the local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the licensed premises. A licensee, his or her agent or employees, decision to not seize a license shall not create any civil or criminal liability.

B & P Code 25663. Employment of Minors

• Except as provided in subdivision (c), no licensee that sells or serves alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises shall employ any person under 21 years of age for the purpose of preparing or serving alcoholic beverages. Every person who employs or uses the services of any person under the age of 21 years in or on that portion of any premises, during business hours, which are primarily designed and used for the sale and service of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
• Any off-sale licensee who employs or uses the services of any person under the age of 18 years for the sale of alcoholic beverages shall be subject to suspension or revocation of his or her license, except that a person under the age of 18 years may be employed or used for those purposes if that person is under the continuous supervision of a person 21 years of age or older.
• Any person between 18 and 21 years of age employed in any bona fide public eating place, as defined in Sections 23038 and 23038.1, which is licensed for the on-sale of alcoholic beverages, may serve alcoholic beverages to consumers only under the following circumstances: such service occurs in an area primarily designed and used for the sale and service of food for consumption on the premises; and the primary duties of the employee shall be the service of meals to guests, with the service of alcoholic beverages being incidental to such duties. For purposes of this subdivision, “serve” or “service” includes the delivery, presentation, opening, or pouring of an alcoholic beverage.

B & P Code 25663.5.
Minor Musicians (On-Sale Only)

Notwithstanding Section 25663 or any other provision of law, persons 18 to 21 years of age may be employed as musicians, for entertainment purposes only, during business hours on premises which are primarily designed and used for the sale and service of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, if live acts, demonstrations, or exhibitions which involve the exposure of the private parts or buttocks of any participant or the breasts of any female participant are not allowed on such premises. However, the area of such employment shall be limited to a portion of the premises that is restricted to the use exclusively of musicians or entertainers in the performance of their functions, and no alcoholic beverages shall be sold, served, consumed, or taken into that area.

B & P Code 25665.
Minors in Public Premises
(On-Sale Only)

Any licensee under an on-sale license issued for public premises, as defined in Section 23039, who permits a person under the age of 21 years to enter and remain in the licensed premises without lawful business therein is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person under the age of 21 years who enters and remains in the licensed public premises without lawful business therein is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars ($200), no part of which shall be suspended.

CCR Rule 107. Retailers Required To Post Warning Notice

The licensee of each premises licensed with an on-sale license for public premises shall maintain a clearly legible permanent sign, not less than 7" x 11" in size reading, “No Person Under 21 Allowed” at or near each public entrance thereto in such a manner that such sign shall be visible from the exterior of each public entrance.

The lettering of such sign shall be no less than one inch in height. A sign of like size and content shall be maintained at a prominent place in the interior of the premises.