Sales to Minors, Prohibited Sales, and Hours-of-Sale Rules
This is the citation factory of the exam. Items test the specific statutory prohibitions, the hours framework, and the difference between what is illegal and what is merely house policy.
Prohibited sales and acts
- Selling, giving, serving, or permitting service to a person under 21 (s. 562.11), or to a person you know is habitually addicted to alcohol.
- Possession or consumption by a person under 21 (s. 562.111), subject to limited exceptions.
- Selling product the license does not authorize, or outside the licensed location; permitting removal of alcohol from an on-premises establishment; refilling or adulterating liquor bottles; possessing untaxed liquor.
- Selling while suspended or after revocation, or transferring a license without Division approval.
- Permitting illegal activity on the premises - gambling, drug sales, lewd conduct - can put the license at risk.
Hours
- State default under s. 562.14: no sales between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. Local ordinances may be stricter, and some districts operate under special acts or permits allowing later closing.
- Apply the strictest rule: state law, local ordinance, and license conditions all bind you.
- "Last call" is a house invention and a good one - many operators stop serving 15–20 minutes early so nothing closes after 2 a.m.
- The clock measures the sale, not the sip: a drink poured at 1:58 a.m. may be consumed after 2 a.m., but pouring at 2:01 a.m. is a violation.
Worked example
At 1:57 a.m. a table orders six shots. Two of the six look under 30 and have produced no ID. Reasoning: the hour is legal but tight - the sale must be rung and delivered before 2:00 a.m., and the two guests must show acceptable ID. House policy may simply call last call and refuse the round. Completing the sale after the cutoff, or serving the two without ID, produces two independent violations, one of which also triggers dram shop exposure.
Traps that cost marks
- "They're with their parents" or "the parents ordered it" - not a defense in a licensed establishment.
- Selling a bottle to a 21-year-old who pours for minors at the table.
- Treating 2 a.m. as closing time rather than the moment sales stop.
- Assuming hours are uniform across county and city lines; they are not.