When hosting a party or being in a situation where underage people are involved, it is important to know the laws, legal consequences and long term impact your decisions may have.

Ohio law prohibits:

Persons under 21 years old from consuming, purchasing, or possessing alcoholic beverages, giving or selling alcoholic beverages to persons under 21 years old, and allowing underage persons to consume alcoholic beverages on your property.

A person who furnishes alcohol to an underage person is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor. The maximum penalty for this offense is 6 months imprisonment or $1,000 fine or both.

It is also illegal to possess in public an open container of an alcoholic beverage. A public place includes those areas which anyone can enter freely and includes sidewalks, streets, some outdoor areas of apartment complexes and inside parked or moving cars.


Legal consequences will impact your future as well. If you break the law, you could be denied a professional license to practice your chosen profession; this is especially a concern for students majoring in the health care, criminal justice and education disciplines. With a violation comes a permanent record, and companies are increasingly conducting background checks on potential employees.

Remember...Serve Under 21 and the Party's Over.