The age rule and what counts as ID

By the end of this lesson you can state the age rule, name the ID you can accept, and say when the law makes you check.

The line is 19

The legal drinking age in an Ontario liquor sales licensed establishment is 19 (AGCO, Legal drinking age and photo identification). Section 33 of the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (the Act) makes that age two separate offences for the person selling:

• Knowingly selling or supplying liquor to a person under 19.
• Selling or supplying liquor to a person who appears to be under 19.

The second offence turns on how old the guest appears, not on the guest's real age.

Section 33 of the Act also covers your floor. A licensee, or an employee or agent, must not knowingly permit a person under 19 to have or consume liquor on the licensed premises. Permitting a person who appears under 19 to do so breaks the same section.

Section 33 does not reach a parent, or a person with lawful custody, who supplies liquor to a person under 19 in a residence or a prescribed private place. Subsection 33 (5) also gives the seller a defence: relying on documentation of a prescribed type, with no reason to doubt it or the person holding it, clears the appears-under-19 branch. No source file says which documents count as a prescribed type, so this lesson cannot list them. Module 2 covers what these offences cost.

What the law asks of the guest

Section 34 of the Act puts duties on the young person. No person under 19 shall have, consume, attempt to purchase, purchase or otherwise obtain liquor. The offence is complete when the minor tries, whether or not you serve them. The same section keeps under-19s off premises whose licence bars their entry, when they know about that condition.

Section 35 of the Act deals with the card they hand you. When trying to buy liquor, no person shall present as evidence of age any documentation other than documentation lawfully issued to them. The forged card breaks that rule. So does a genuine licence borrowed from an older sister.

When you must inspect ID

Section 9 of O. Reg. 746/21 (the licensing regulation) makes the ID check a condition of every licence. The licensee must ensure that an item of identification of a person who appears to be under 19 years of age is inspected before:

• liquor is sold or served to the person
• liquor is delivered to the person
• the person is admitted to premises whose licence bars entry by under-19s
• the person picks up liquor ordered online from a grocery store, convenience store or wine boutique
• the licensee permits the person to make beer or wine at a ferment on premises facility

The trigger age is 19, the same number as the drinking age. The inspection comes before the sale, service or delivery, never after. AGCO says the same: ask every time, regardless of familiarity.

What counts as ID

Section 9 of the licensing regulation defines an item of identification. The document must:

• include a photograph of the person
• state the person's date of birth
• reasonably appear to have been issued by a government or the LCBO

A photo, a date of birth, and a government or LCBO issuer make an item of identification. No photo, no item of identification.

AGCO lists these common forms of identification accepted in Ontario:

• Ontario driver's licence with a photograph
• Photo card issued under the Photo Card Act
• Canadian Permanent Resident Card
• Canadian Secure Indian Status Card
• Canadian passport
• LCBO BYID photo card
• Canadian Armed Forces Identification Card
• Canadian Citizenship Card with a photograph, valid only if issued before February 1, 2012

AGCO adds two habits: examine the ID by hand, and check that it has not expired. Lesson 3-2 covers fakes and refusals.

Apparent age in court

Section 76 of the Act decides who judges "appears to be under 19". In a prosecution under the appearance clauses of section 33, a court may decide whether the person appeared under 19, from their appearance and from other relevant circumstances.

So a court can reach its own view of the guest you served, whatever you honestly believed. When you catch yourself guessing, ask for the ID.

The 18-year-old on your shift

The licensing regulation sets a different age for staff. Under section 11, any person who sells, offers for sale, serves, delivers or handles liquor on the licensee's behalf, or who provides samples, must be at least 18 years of age. AGCO sets the same working age of 18 for employees who handle alcohol.

Section 11 also exempts an 18-year-old from the possession offence in section 34 of the Act, while working for a licensee. The Act carries matching exceptions for 18-year-old employees.

Every one of those exceptions is about possession at work. Your 18-year-old server can carry the tray and pour the pint, but cannot drink it.

The trap to expect on the test

The test likes to swap 18 and 19. Nineteen is the drinking age. Eighteen is the minimum age to handle liquor at work.

Expect a guest who turns out to be 21 but looks 17, with nobody checking. That sale still breaks section 33 of the Act, because the clause asks how the person appears. Watch for a document with no photograph among the answer options. Section 9 of the licensing regulation requires one.

Recap

• The drinking age is 19. Selling or supplying liquor to a person under 19, or to one who appears under 19, is an offence under section 33 of the Act.
• A person under 19 must not have, consume, attempt to purchase, purchase or obtain liquor (section 34 of the Act). Presenting ID not lawfully issued to them is a separate offence (section 35).
• Section 9 of the licensing regulation requires an ID inspection before you serve, sell or deliver to anyone who appears under 19.
• An item of identification carries a photograph, a date of birth, and a government or LCBO issuer.
• Section 76 of the Act lets a court judge apparent age from the person's appearance and other circumstances.
• Staff who handle liquor must be at least 18 (section 11 of the licensing regulation). An 18-year-old may serve and possess liquor at work, and may not drink it.