UNDERAGE DRINKING

 
 

What are the laws and penalties regarding underage drinking in South Dakota?

In South Dakota, a person must be at least 21 years of age to buy, consume, or possess any form of an alcoholic beverage. If you are over 18, but less than 21, and you purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages (except when consumed in a religious ceremony), it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Each state has its own laws regarding the legal drinking age, but most states set that age at 21. There are, however, still some differences among the states.

Is there a penalty for people who buy alcohol for minors?

Any person 21 years of age or older purchasing or otherwise acquiring alcoholic beverages from a retail establishment and giving or reselling the alcoholic beverages to any person under the age of 21 is subject to a Class 1 misdemeanor. This offense is punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

What are the penalties for underage drinking?

In South Dakota for the first offense, the penalty for underage drinking is a 90-day diversion and probation through Court Services.

Is it illegal for an underage person to be on the premises of a place where alcohol is sold?

It is not illegal for an underage person to be on the premises of a place where alcohol is sold if he/she is with his/her parents. An underage person can be in a place where alcohol is sold without parents unless they are determined by the establishment to be “loitering.”

What are the penalties and fines for selling or serving underage people?
                                                                                                                Licensee

  • A licensee who sells or serves alcohol to an underage person faces Class 1 misdemeanor if the customer is under the age of 18. This violation is subject to a maximum penalty of one year in jail and/or a fine of $1,000.

  • For selling or serving alcohol to an individual between 18-21 years of age, the licensee faces a Class 2 misdemeanor and is subject to a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and/or fine of $200.

  • South Dakota Revenue impose civil penalties on a business who has a clerk who sells alcohol to a minor. 

  1. $500.00 fine to the business for the first violation, if the clerk has participated in a training program that is approved by the department. If the clerk has not gone through training, the fine is $1,000.00. 

  2. $1,000.00 fine to the business for the second violation in a 24 month period of time if the clerk has participated in a training program that is approved by the department. If the clerk has not gone through training, the fine is $2,000.00.

  3. For a third violation to the business in 24 months, the business will have their alcohol license suspended. 

  • If the licensee sells or serves alcohol to a minor, the alcohol license will be revoked. 

Clerk

  • A clerk who sells or serves alcohol to an underage person faces a Class 1 misdemeanor if the customer is under the age 18. The clerk will have their drivers license revoked for a minimum of 30 days or up to a maximum of one year.                                                                           
  • A clerk who sells or serves alcohol to an individual between 18-21 years of age, the clerk faces a Class 2 misdemeanor. The clerk will have their drivers license revoked for a minimum of 60 days or up to a maximum of one year. 

Social Host Law

In July 2015, the South Dakota Legislature passed a Social Host Law. This law establishes penalties for adults for allowing youth under 21 to drink alcohol at their premises.  

  • An Act to prohibit a social host from permitting the underage consumption of alcoholic beverages on the social host's premises and to provide penalties therefore.
  • No person, acting as a social host, may, knowingly, permit any person under the age of eighteen to illegally consume any alcoholic beverage, regardless of the source of the alcoholic beverage, on or at the premises of the person acting as social host. Any violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
  • No person, acting as a social host, may, knowingly, permit any person aged eighteen, nineteen, or twenty to illegally consume any alcoholic beverage, regardless of the source of the alcoholic beverage, on or at the premises of the person acting as social host. Any violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
  • It is a defense against a conviction for a violation of sections 1 and 2 of this Act that, immediately upon learning of the illegal consumption, the social host or an agent of the social host took effective and appropriate action to stop the illegal consumption and to secure or to attempt to secure the contraband alcoholic beverages.
  • It is not a defense of a violation of sections 1 and 2 of this Act that the social host was not physically present on or at the premises if the social host knew that illegal consumption of alcoholic beverages would occur in his or her absence.
  • For purposes of this Act, the term, social host, means anyone who hosts a social gathering and knowingly condones the illegal consumption of alcohol by underage persons on property that the host controls.