2007 Minnesota Statutes

340A.503 PERSONS UNDER 21; ILLEGAL ACTS.
    Subdivision 1. Consumption. (a) It is unlawful for any:
(1) retail intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent malt liquor licensee, municipal liquor store, or
bottle club permit holder under section 340A.414, to permit any person under the age of 21 years
to drink alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises or within the municipal liquor store; or
(2) person under the age of 21 years to consume any alcoholic beverages. If proven by a
preponderance of the evidence, it is an affirmative defense to a violation of this clause that the
defendant consumed the alcoholic beverage in the household of the defendant's parent or guardian
and with the consent of the parent or guardian.
(b) An offense under paragraph (a), clause (2), may be prosecuted either in the jurisdiction
where consumption occurs or the jurisdiction where evidence of consumption is observed.
(c) As used in this subdivision, "consume" includes the ingestion of an alcoholic beverage
and the physical condition of having ingested an alcoholic beverage.
    Subd. 2. Purchasing. It is unlawful for any person:
(1) to sell, barter, furnish, or give alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age;
(2) under the age of 21 years to purchase or attempt to purchase any alcoholic beverage
unless under the supervision of a responsible person over the age of 21 for training, education, or
research purposes. Prior notification of the licensing authority is required unless the supervised
alcohol purchase attempt is for professional research conducted by postsecondary educational
institutions or state, county, or local health departments; or
(3) to induce a person under the age of 21 years to purchase or procure any alcoholic
beverage, or to lend or knowingly permit the use of the person's driver's license, permit, Minnesota
identification card, or other form of identification by a person under the age of 21 years for the
purpose of purchasing or attempting to purchase an alcoholic beverage.
If proven by a preponderance of the evidence, it shall be an affirmative defense to a violation
of clause (1) that the defendant is the parent or guardian of the person under 21 years of age and
that the defendant gave or furnished the alcoholic beverage to that person solely for consumption
in the defendant's household.
    Subd. 3. Possession. It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to possess any
alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the person's
parent or guardian. Possession at a place other than the household of the parent or guardian creates
a rebuttable presumption of intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the parent
or guardian. This presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.
    Subd. 4. Entering licensed premises. (a) It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21
years to enter an establishment licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages or any municipal
liquor store for the purpose of purchasing or having served or delivered any alcoholic beverage.
(b) Notwithstanding section 340A.509, no ordinance enacted by a statutory or home rule
charter city may prohibit a person 18, 19, or 20 years old from entering an establishment licensed
under this chapter to:
(1) perform work for the establishment, including the serving of alcoholic beverages, unless
otherwise prohibited by section 340A.412, subdivision 10;
(2) consume meals; and
(3) attend social functions that are held in a portion of the establishment where liquor is not
sold.
    Subd. 5. Misrepresentation of age. It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to
claim to be 21 years old or older for the purpose of purchasing alcoholic beverages.
    Subd. 5a. Attainment of age. With respect to purchasing, possessing, consuming, selling,
furnishing, and serving alcoholic beverages, a person is not 21 years of age until 8:00 a.m. on the
day of that person's 21st birthday.
    Subd. 6. Proof of age; defense; seizure of false identification. (a) Proof of age for
purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages may be established only by one of the following:
(1) a valid driver's license or identification card issued by Minnesota, another state, or a
province of Canada, and including the photograph and date of birth of the licensed person;
(2) a valid military identification card issued by the United States Department of Defense;
(3) a valid passport issued by the United States; or
(4) in the case of a foreign national, by a valid passport.
(b) In a prosecution under subdivision 2, clause (1), it is a defense for the defendant to prove
by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant reasonably and in good faith relied upon
representations of proof of age authorized in paragraph (a) in selling, bartering, furnishing, or
giving the alcoholic beverage.
(c) A licensed retailer or municipal liquor store may seize a form of identification listed
under paragraph (a) if the retailer or municipal liquor store has reasonable grounds to believe
that the form of identification has been altered or falsified or is being used to violate any law.
A retailer or municipal liquor store that seizes a form of identification as authorized under this
paragraph must deliver it to a law enforcement agency, within 24 hours of seizing it.
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1989 c 351 s 19]
History: 1985 c 305 art 7 s 3; 1986 c 330 s 6; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1989 c
301 s 13,14; 1990 c 602 art 5 s 2-4; 1991 c 68 s 1; 1991 c 249 s 20; 1993 c 347 s 21; 1993 c
350 s 13; 1994 c 615 s 21; 1995 c 185 s 7; 1995 c 186 s 67; 1996 c 323 s 4; 1996 c 442 s 24;
1Sp1997 c 2 s 57; 1999 c 202 s 7; 2000 c 472 s 3; 2005 c 131 s 7