§ 18B-302. Sale to or purchase by underage persons.
§ 18B‑302. Sale to orpurchase by underage persons.
(a) Sale. It shall beunlawful for any person to:
(1) Sell malt beveragesor unfortified wine to anyone less than 21 years old; or
(2) Sell fortified wine,spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages to anyone less than 21 years old.
(a1) Give. It shall beunlawful for any person to:
(1) Give malt beveragesor unfortified wine to anyone less than 21 years old; or
(2) Give fortified wine,spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages to anyone less than 21 years old.
(b) Purchase,Possession, or Consumption. It shall be unlawful for:
(1) A person less than21 years old to purchase, to attempt to purchase, or to possess malt beveragesor unfortified wine; or
(2) A person less than21 years old to purchase, to attempt to purchase, or to possess fortified wine,spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages; or
(3) A person less than21 years old to consume any alcoholic beverage.
(c) Aider and Abettor.
(1) By Underage Person. Any person who is under the lawful age to purchase and who aids or abetsanother in violation of subsection (a), (a1), or (b) of this section shall beguilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
(2) By Person overLawful Age. Any person who is over the lawful age to purchase and who aids orabets another in violation of subsection (a), (a1), or (b) of this sectionshall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
(d) Defense. It shallbe a defense to a violation of subsection (a) of this section if the seller:
(1) Shows that thepurchaser produced a driver's license, a special identification card issuedunder G.S. 20‑37.7, a military identification card, or a passport,showing his age to be at least the required age for purchase and bearing aphysical description of the person named on the card reasonably describing the purchaser;or
(2) Produces evidence ofother facts that reasonably indicated at the time of sale that the purchaserwas at least the required age.
(3) Shows that at thetime of purchase, the purchaser utilized a biometric identification system thatdemonstrated (i) the purchaser's age to be at least the required age for thepurchase and (ii) the purchaser had previously registered with the seller orseller's agent a drivers license, a special identification card issued underG.S. 20‑377.7, a military identification card, or a passport showing thepurchaser's date of birth and bearing a physical description of the personnamed on the document.
(e) Fraudulent Use ofIdentification. It shall be unlawful for any person to enter or attempt toenter a place where alcoholic beverages are sold or consumed, or to obtain orattempt to obtain alcoholic beverages, or to obtain or attempt to obtainpermission to purchase alcoholic beverages, in violation of subsection (b) ofthis section, by using or attempting to use any of the following:
(1) A fraudulent oraltered drivers license.
(2) A fraudulent oraltered identification document other than a drivers license.
(3) A drivers licenseissued to another person.
(4) An identificationdocument other than a drivers license issued to another person.
(5) Any other form ormeans of identification that indicates or symbolizes that the person is notprohibited from purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages under thissection.
(f) Allowing Use ofIdentification. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit the use of theperson's drivers license or any other form of identification of any kind issuedor given to the person by any other person who violates or attempts to violatesubsection (b) of this section.
(g) Conviction ReportSent to Division of Motor Vehicles. The court shall file a conviction reportwith the Division of Motor Vehicles indicating the name of the person convictedand any other information requested by the Division if the person is convictedof any of the following:
(1) A violation ofsubsection (e) or (f) of this section.
(2) A violation ofsubsection (c) of this section.
(3) A violation ofsubsection (b) of this section, if the violation occurred while the person waspurchasing or attempting to purchase an alcoholic beverage.
(4) A violation ofsubsection (a1) of this section.
Upon receipt of a convictionreport, the Division shall revoke the person's license as required by G.S. 20‑17.3.
(h) Handling in Courseof Employment. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit anunderage person from selling, transporting, possessing or dispensing alcoholicbeverages in the course of employment, if the employment of the person for thatpurpose is lawful under applicable youth employment statutes and Commissionrules.
(i) Purchase,Possession, or Consumption by 19 or 20‑Year Old. A violation ofsubdivision (b)(1) or (b)(3) of this section by a person who is 19 or 20 yearsold is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
(j) Notwithstandingany other provisions of law, a law enforcement officer may require any personthe officer has probable cause to believe is under age 21 and has consumedalcohol to submit to an alcohol screening test using a device approved by theDepartment of Health and Human Services. The results of any screening deviceadministered in accordance with the rules of the Department of Health and HumanServices shall be admissible in any court or administrative proceeding. Arefusal to submit to an alcohol screening test shall be admissible in any courtor administrative proceeding.
(k) Notwithstanding theprovisions in this section, it shall not be unlawful for a person less than 21years old to consume unfortified wine or fortified wine during participation inan exempted activity under G.S. 18B‑103(4), (8), or (11). (1933, c. 216, s. 8; 1959, c.745, s. 1; 1967, c. 222, s. 3; 1969, c. 998; 1971, c. 872, s. 1; 1973, c. 27;1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1138, s. 2; 1979, c. 683, s. 2; 1981, c. 412, s. 2; c. 747,ss. 40, 41; 1983, c. 435, ss. 32, 35; c. 740, ss. 1, 2; Ex. Sess., c. 5; 1985,c. 141, ss. 2‑3; 1993, c. 539, s. 311; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c);1999‑406, s. 7; 2001‑461, ss. 2, 3; 2001‑487, s. 42(b); 2005‑350,s. 6(a); 2006‑253, s. 26; 2007‑537, s. 1.)