Age-restricted sales

Businesses who want to sell alcohol in Northern Ireland must have a licence to sell alcohol.

It is against the law to sell or deliver alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.

It is also illegal to sell or deliver alcohol to anyone who will then supply it to a person under the age of 18.

You must not allow young people under the age of 18 to drink alcohol on your licensed premises. This includes in any premises you own or run that adjoin or are near your licensed premises.

Preventing underage alcohol sales

You must be able to show that you “exercised all due diligence” to prevent underage alcohol sales. You must also be able to prove you had no reason to suspect that a person buying alcohol was under 18 years old. Generally, this means that you should request suitable identification documentation (ID) when required.

Setting up an age verification system in your business should provide you with robust proof that you took the necessary steps to avoid committing an offence.

See prevent underage sales for information on acceptable forms of ID and how to set up an age verification system.

Warning notices

Licensed premises must display a notice stating that it is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 18 years of age. The notice must also include accepted forms of ID for proving age.

The notice must be displayed at all times at each place in the premises where alcohol is sold and in a position where it is readily visible to any person seeking to purchase alcohol.

Penalties

Anyone who sells or delivers alcohol to anyone under 18 can be fined up to £5,000 and/or face up to 6 months imprisonment. This also applies to selling alcohol to someone who will supply alcohol to someone who is underage and allowing someone who is underage to drink alcohol on your licensed premises.

Anyone who does not display the required warning notice can be fined up to £1,000.