Table 1.
Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 (MLDA-21) law components and descriptions
| MLDA-21 law components | Description |
| Core laws that apply to youth | |
| 1. Possession | Illegal for youth under age 21 to possess alcohol (50 states + DC) |
| 2. Purchase | Illegal for youth under age 21 to purchase or attempt to purchase alcohol (47 states + DC) |
| Expanded laws that apply to youth | |
| 3. Consumption | Illegal for youth under age 21 to consume alcohol (34 states + DC) |
| 4. Internal possession | Evidence of possession and consumption via a blood alcohol concentration test (9 states) |
| 5. Use and lose | Alcohol citation for youth under age 21 results in driver’s license suspension (39 states + DC) |
| 6. Use of fake ID | Fake ID minor—illegal for youth under age 21 to use a fake ID to purchase alcohol (50 states + DC) |
| Apply to youth driving | |
| 7. Zero tolerance | Illegal for a driver under age 21 to have any alcohol in their system when driving (50 states + DC) |
| 8. GDL with night restrictions | Youth with intermediate or provisional license prohibited from driving without an adult in the vehicle past a certain hour at night (50 states + DC) |
| Apply to providers | |
| 9. Furnishing or selling | Illegal to furnish or sell alcohol to a youth under age 21 (50 states + DC) |
| 10. Age of on-premise servers | Minimum age 21 set for selling/serving alcohol (13 states) |
| 11. Age of on-premise bartenders | Minimum age 21 for bartenders (23 states + DC) |
| 12. Age of off-premise sellers | Minimum age 21 set for selling/serving alcohol (23 states) |
| 13. Keg registration | Identification number for beer keg and purchaser required (30 states + DC) |
| 14. RBS training | RBS training mandatory or voluntary (37 states + DC) |
| 15. Retailer support provisions for fake ID | Provisions to assist retailers in avoiding sales to youth under age 21 (45 states) |
| 16. Social host prohibition | Prohibits social hosting of underage drinking parties (28 states) |
| 17. Dram shop liability | Action against commercial provider of alcohol (44 states + DC) |
| 18. Social host civil liability | Action against noncommercial (private) provider of alcohol (33 states) |
| Apply to manufacturers or suppliers of fake ID | |
| 19. Transfer/production of fake ID | Fake ID supplier—prohibits manufacturing and/or supplying fake ID to youth for the purposes of buying alcohol (24 states) |
| Apply to states concerning control of alcohol distribution | |
| 20. State control of alcohol sales | A state-run retail distribution system of alcoholic beverages (i.e., beer, wine, distilled spirits) (11 states) |
Notes: DC = District of Columbia; ID = identification; GDL = graduated driver licensing; RBS = responsible beverage service.