Off-licence code of practice

Image: cartoon pint of beer and are you 18?

Off-licences in Belfast are being encouraged to sign up to a code of practice in the fight to tackle underage drinking on the city's streets.

Are you under 18?

It is an offence to:

buy alcohol for a person under the age of 18

buy alcohol if you are under 18 years of age

claim to be 18.

And there is a maximum fine of £5000 and or imprisonment for up to six months if you are caught doing either.

Identification

It is legal to sell alcohol to anyone over 18 but staff in off-licences which have signed up to this code will ask for identification from people who are not known to be over 18 or who don`t look over 18.

The following forms of I.D. are acceptable:

a driving licence, with a photo
a passport
an electoral registration card.

More information about the code

Off-licences who sign up to this code may also:

not sell alcohol to a drunk person
refuse to serve anyone buying large quantities of alcohol, or
serve anyone who has bought alcohol on more than one occasion on one day

Information about tobacco product sales to under 18s

Find out about selling tobacco products to under 18s

Information about butane sales to under 18s

Find out about selling products containing butane to under 18s

Contact details

The off-licence code is administered by:

The Belfast Community Safety Team
Belfast City Council
Cecil Ward Building
4-10 Linenhall Street
Belfast
BT2 8BP
Telephone: 028 9032 0202
Email: communitysafety@belfastcity.gov.uk.

For further details, visit Get Home Safe