page_title: Alcohol laws in Germany
section_title: Drinking age
hierarchical_section_title: Alcohol laws in Germany / Drinking age
caption_attribution_description: English: Protection of Young Persons Act - Regulations to prevent children and adolescents in public of threats or harms. Deutsch: Jugendschutzgsetz - Regulierungen zum Schutz Kinder und Jugendlicher in der Öffentlichkeit.
context_page_description: The German laws regulating alcohol use and sale are mostly focused on youth protection. In contrast to many other countries, the legislation is not designed to keep young people away from alcohol completely, but rather to teach them an appropriate approach to alcohol consumption.
context_section_description: Underage drinking in private is not regulated by a specific legal restriction. However, protection from physical and mental harm is part of parents' general obligation to care for a child. Regarding alcohol purchase and alcohol consumption in public places (such as pubs and restaurants), Germany has three drinking ages regulated by § 9 Jugendschutzgesetz (Protection of Young Persons Act):
  § 9 Alcoholic drinks
  (1) In licensed premises, at points of sale or elsewhere in public places 
  Beer, wine, wine-like beverages or sparkling wine or mixtures of beer, wine, wine-like beverages or sparkling wine and soft drinks, must not be sold to Children and Adolescents below the age of 16 years,
  other alcoholic drinks or food items that contain other alcoholic drinks in more than insignificant quantities must not be sold to Children and Adolescents,
  nor must their consumption by said persons be tolerated.
  
  (2) Sub-Clause 1, No. 1 shall not apply to Adolescents accompanied by a Custodial Person.
  — Protection of Young Persons Act, § 9 Alcoholic drinks 
  This results in three different drinking ages depending on the type of alcoholic beverage and circumstances:
  At 14 - minors are allowed to consume and possess undistilled (fermented) alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine in public places, bars or restaurants, as long as they are in the company and have the permission of a Custodial Person. (§ 9 JuSchG (2) and § 1 JuSchG (1) 2)
  At 16 -  minors are allowed to consume and possess undistilled (fermented) alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine in public places, bars or restaurants without their parents or a Custodian. (§ 9 JuSchG (1) 2.)
  At 18 -  having become adults, people are allowed access to distilled spirits, beverages containing distilled spirits, and food products containing non-negligible amounts of distilled spirits. (§ 9 JuSchG (1) 1.)
  
  Those limits do not apply to married adolescents. (§ 1 JuSchG (5))
  Because of moral panic involving alcohol abuse among minors (a 16-year-old boy died after having consumed 45 shots of tequila in a bar in early 2007), some people demanded that the drinking age be raised. Most politicians, however, spoke against that notion, pointing out instead that such abuse was already forbidden according to current laws, which simply needed to be enforced. In Germany and the rest of Europe, alcohol consumption by adolescents is traditional and generally accepted.
caption: German Jugendschutzgesetz:
   The law  has to be placed at every public event and establishments selling or serving alcoholic beverages.
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