page_title: List of alcohol laws of the United States
hierarchical_section_title: List of alcohol laws of the United States
caption_attribution_description: English: A display of cases of beer at a Walmart in Kissimmee, Florida
context_page_description: The following table of alcohol laws of the United States provides an overview of alcohol-related laws by first level jurisdictions throughout the US. This list is not intended to provide a breakdown of such laws by local jurisdiction within a state; see that state's alcohol laws page for more detailed information.
  On July 17, 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. The bill would force all states to raise their drinking age from 18, 19, or 20 to 21. States that did not choose to raise their drinking age to 21 would risk losing 10% of federal highway funding as a penalty. As of July 1988, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had a minimum purchase age of 21, with some grandfather clauses, and with the exception of Louisiana's complicated legal situation that was not resolved until July 2, 1996. Prior to 1988, the minimum purchase age varied by jurisdiction. After Congress passed the Act, states not in compliance had a portion of their federal highway budget withheld. South Dakota and Wyoming were the final two states to comply, in mid-1988. However, most states continue to allow those under 21 to drink in certain circumstances.
context_section_description: The following table of alcohol laws of the United States provides an overview of alcohol-related laws by first level jurisdictions throughout the US. This list is not intended to provide a breakdown of such laws by local jurisdiction within a state; see that state's alcohol laws page for more detailed information.
  On July 17, 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. The bill would force all states to raise their drinking age from 18, 19, or 20 to 21. States that did not choose to raise their drinking age to 21 would risk losing 10% (Changed to 8% in 2012) of federal highway funding as a penalty. As of July 1988, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had a minimum purchase age of 21, with some grandfather clauses, and with the exception of Louisiana's complicated legal situation that was not resolved until July 2, 1996. Prior to 1988, the minimum purchase age varied by jurisdiction. After Congress passed the Act, states not in compliance had a portion of their federal highway budget withheld. South Dakota and Wyoming were the final two states to comply, in mid-1988. However, most states continue to allow those under 21 to drink in certain circumstances. Examples are some states like Tennessee and Washington, which allow those under 21 to drink for religious purposes. States including Oregon and New York allow those under 21 to drink on private non-alcohol selling premises.
  Unlike on the mainland, the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a minimum purchase and drinking age of 18. The minimum purchase age is 21 in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and US Minor Outlying Islands.
  U.S. military reservations are exempt under federal law from state, county, and locally enacted alcohol beverage laws. Class Six stores in a base exchange facility, officers' or NCO clubs, as well as other military commissaries which are located on a military reservation, may sell and serve alcohol beverages at any time during their prescribed hours of operation to authorized patrons.  While the installation commander is free to set the drinking age, with some exceptions, most stateside military bases have a drinking age that mirrors the local community.
  Individual states remain free to restrict or prohibit the manufacture of beer, mead, hard cider, wine, and other fermented alcoholic beverages at home.  Homebrewing beer became legal in all 50 states in 2013 as the governor of Mississippi signed a bill legalizing homebrewing on March 19, 2013, and as the governor of Alabama signed a bill legalizing homebrewing of beer and wine, which came into effect on May 9, 2013. The Mississippi bill went into effect July 1, 2013. Most states allow brewing 100 US gallons (380 L) of beer per adult per year and up to a maximum of 200 US gallons (760 L) per household annually when there are two or more adults residing in the household. Because alcohol is taxed by the federal government via excise taxes, homebrewers are prohibited from selling any beer they brew. This similarly applies in most Western countries. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed into law a bill allowing home beers, which was at the time not permitted without paying the excise taxes as a holdover from the prohibition of alcoholic beverages (repealed in 1933). This change also exempted home brewers from posting a "penal bond" (which is currently $1000.00).
  Production of distilled alcohols is regulated at the national level under USC Title 26 subtitle E Ch51. Numerous requirements must be met to do so, and production carries an excise tax. Owning or operating a distillation apparatus without filing the proper paperwork and paying the taxes carries federal criminal penalties.
  In land or property that is being rented or owned by the federal government, state, federal district, and territory alcohol laws do not apply. Instead, only laws made by the federal government apply.
caption: Beer at a Walmart in Kissimmee, Florida. Some states permit alcoholic beverages to be sold at all stores selling groceries while others have more restrictive laws, with laws of many states specifying different restrictions for different categories of alcoholic beverages.
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