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Alcohol and Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Alcohol and Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

The legal age in Massachusetts is defined by M.G.L.A.C. 138 §12, which makes it unlawful for licensed vendors to sell to anyone under 21 years of age. Minors are not permitted to purchase or even make arrangements to purchase alcoholic beverages (M.G.L.A.C. 138 §34A). It is also unlawful for minors to transport in any way any alcoholic beverages (M.G.L.A.C. 138 §34B).

Anyone who procures any alcoholic beverages for a minor violates M.G.L.A.C. 138 §34. The sale of alcoholic beverages by a licensed vendor to a minor is illegal under M.G.L.A.C. 138 §34, which also makes it unlawful for a patron to procure such beverages for a minor at any licensed establishment. The penalty for violating this law is a $1,000 fine or six months imprisonment, or both.

In the same section, it is a criminal offense, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine, for any person to furnish any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years, parents or grandparents of the person excepted. For the purposes of this section, the word "furnish" means to knowingly or intentionally supply, give or provide to or allow a person under 21 years of age to possess alcoholic beverages on premises or property owned or controlled by the person charged.

Minors may not misrepresent their age in order to purchase or attempt to purchase any alcoholic beverages (M.G.L.A.C. 148 §34A). The same law makes it illegal to deface, alter or otherwise falsify an identification card to obtain alcoholic beverages. The penalty for violating this statute is a $300 fine. Those of legal age are precluded by the same law from making a false statement about a minor’s age in order to effectuate a sale to a minor or from inducing a minor to make a false statement in order to obtain alcoholic beverages.

Persons under 21 years of age may not transport alcoholic beverages and those who do so while operating an automobile are subject to revocation of their driver’s license for a maximum of three months (M.G.L.A.C. 138 §34C).