Sale of alcohol - retailer guidance

The law

If you sell alcohol you should be aware of your obligations, under the Licensing Act 2003, relating to the prevention of sales of alcohol to under 18s. 

It is the responsibility of the licence holder and designated supervisor of your premises to ensure that the sale of alcohol is properly managed and that there are systems in place to prevent underage sales of alcohol. You also must not allow anyone under the age of 18 to sell or supply alcohol unless the sale has been specifically approved and the person is supervised.

Prosecution

If found guilty of selling alcohol to anyone underage, you could face a fine or have your licence restricted or even revoked. This could be:

• A fine of up to £5,000 if you sell alcohol to an individual under the age of 18.
• A fine of up to £5,000 if you authorise someone to prevent the sale of alcohol to an individual aged under 18, but knowingly allow the sale of alcohol to take place.
• A suspended or revoked licence if you, as the licence holder, or someone who works at premises, sells alcohol to an individual under the age of 18.
• A fine of up to £20,000, suspension of the sale of alcohol for three years, or an issue of a premises closure notice if you, as the licence holder, unlawfully sell alcohol to an individual aged under 18 at the same premises on two or more different occasions within a period of three consecutive months.
• A fine of up to £500 if you sell liqueur confectionery to an individual aged under 16.

In addition, if representations are made that your licensing conditions are not being met, we can review your licence and have the power to suspend or revoke this or add further conditions to it.

As an alternative to prosecution, Fixed Penalty Notices (£90 fines) can also be issued to the seller by the police.

Defences

If you have been charged for the underage sale of alcohol, you can give the following defences:

• The seller believed the individual was 18 or over, and had either taken all reasonable steps to find out the individual's age, or that no one reasonably suspected from their appearance that the individual was under 18. 'Reasonable steps' means asking the individual for evidence of their age, and that the evidence would convince a reasonable person
• A person is charged with an offence due to the conduct of someone else - a member of staff for instance - they have the defence that they exercised all due diligence to avoid committing it.