Office of Student Involvement : LIQUOR LAWS AND FACTS

    In order to drink or purchase alcohol (includes paying for, sharing the cost of, and attempt to buy it), you must be at least 21.

    If you're under 18, you're subject to punishment by juvenile court.  If you're 18 or older, you're subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail (1st degree misdemeanor).

    It's against the law to knowingly show or give false information about your name, age, or other identification if you're under the age of 21 and trying to buy alcohol.  It's also against the law to furnish the same type of false information about somebody else who's under 21 so that person can get alcohol either by purchasing it or as a gift.

    If you're under 18 - subject to punishment by juvenile court.  If you're 18 or older, you're subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail (1st degree misdemeanor).  If you uses a fake driver's license to buy alcohol, you may also lose driving privileges for a year.  And if you loan your driver's license to someone else to purchase alcohol, you may not only lose your driving privileges for a year, but you're also subject to a fine of up to $400 and/or up to six months in jail.

    It's illegal for any person other than the state to manufacture, sell, or distribute in any manner, any ID card used for the purpose of establishing the person's age, if that card displays the great seal of Ohio, the words "Ohio," "State," "Official," or anything else that makes it appear to be an official Ohio ID card.

    Subject to a fine of up to $2,500 and/or up to five years in jail (4th degree felony).

Law

• Anyone under age 21 caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration above .02% can be convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle after Under Age Consumption   (OMVUAC).

• Maximum two-year license suspension, may be committed to as many as three days in a certified alcohol and drug addiction program, four points assessed to driving record, and must complete a remedial driving course before driver's license is reissued.

    You can't legally sell, give, or furnish alcohol to someone under 21, or for them to possess it in any public or private place, unless you're a physician and you're prescribing it (go figger!) or there's an established religious purpose, or unless the person under 21 is accompanied by a parent, spouse of legal age, or legal guardian.

    If the person is under 18, they're subject to punishment by juvenile court.  If they're 18 or older, they are subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail (1st degree misdemeanor).

Law

    You can't drink alcohol in a motor vehicle.

Penalty

    Subject to a fine of up to $250 and/or up to 30 days in jail (4th degree misdemeanor).

Law

    You can't even possess an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, parked or moving, on any street, highway, or other public or private property open to the public for travel or parking.

Penalty

    Subject to a fine of up to $100 (minor misdemeanor).