The alcohol laws of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

are some of the most complex in the United States of America, and contain many peculiarities not found in other states. New Jersey law gives municipalities

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 substantial discretion in creating alcohol laws, such that there are towns in New Jersey which are dry

Dry county

A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...

 and towns where alcohol may be sold 24 hours per day. Likewise, there is great deal of variance between municipalities regarding the number of liquor licenses available and whether juveniles may consume alcohol while on private property.

Liquor Licenses

On-premises consumption licenses are allocated to towns based on population with one consumption license per 3,000 people, and one package goods license per 7,500 residents. However, the actual number of licenses in a municipality may be more or less depending on whether the municipality's existing licenses were grandfathered in

Grandfather clause

Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...

, or if the town decides to allocate fewer licenses. Because of the flexibility of the law, there are a handful of towns in New Jersey that completely prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverage, and other municipalities have a substantially higher ratio of licenses. In addition to the on-premise consumption license and package goods license, there are an unlimited number of liquor licenses for golf courses, private clubs with at least 60 members, hotels with at least one-hundred rooms, and theatres with at least 1000 seats.

Because of the limited number of licenses per town, liquor licenses usually have to be purchased from other license holders, and liquor licenses may be quite expensive to obtain in certain municipalities. Additionally, any person or corporation can hold only two package goods licenses, and thus, supermarkets, convenience stores, and gas stations in New Jersey rarely sell alcoholic beverages. The other effect of New Jersey's licensing system is a prevalence of BYOB

BYOB

BYOB is an acronym most commonly meant to stand for "bring your own bottle", "bring your own booze" "bring your own bucket" or "bring your own beer"....

 restaurants, wherein diners can bring their own beer or wine to a restaurant without a liquor license, insofar as there is no municipal prohibition against it. A restaurant in New Jersey without a liquor license can sell wine from a New Jersey winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 with the permission of the winery and municipality.

Hours of Operation & Other Licensing Regulations

The hours of sale for on-premises consumption are regulated by local ordinance, and closing times

Last call (bar term)

In a bar, a last call is an announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to make this signal, like ringing a bell, flashing the lights, or announcing orally.Last call times are often...

 vary by town. Atlantic City

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

 does not have closing hours, and alcohol can be purchased at its casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

s and local bars 24 hours per day. However, state law provides that except in Newark

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 and Jersey City

Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

, no hard liquor package goods may be sold before 9 am and after 10 pm any day of the week, and this can be restricted further through local ordinance. However, liquor stores are specifically given the right to sell package beer and wine at any time on-premises sales are allowed.

New Jersey regulations for liquor stores and bars are fairly strict. Besides prohibiting nudity and gambling in an establishment with liquor license, it is illegal to give away free drinks, sell liquor below cost, sell liquor at a drive-through window, or have a 'ladies' night' or any pricing which is discriminatory. Bars and restaurants are considered strictly liable for their patrons behavior, and liquor licenses can be suspended or revoked if a customer engages in illegal activity (e.g., fighting, public urination) after drinking. New Jersey law recognizes both dramshop liability and social host liability

Social host liability

Social host liability is created by a statute or case law that imposes liability on social hosts as a result of their serving alcohol to adults or minors...

, wherein the server of alcohol is responsible for injuries resulting from subsequent drunk driving or alcohol-related injuries. Although most alcohol-related lawsuits involve parties injured by drunk drivers, there have been cases in New Jersey where drunk drivers were able to successfully sue the established that served them.

Alcohol Production & Distribution

New Jersey currently has 37 wineries, 23 breweries and brewpubs, and 1 distillery. Historically, New Jersey law restricted the number of wineries to one per million people in the state. In 1981, the New Jersey Farm Winery Act exempted low-volume family-owned wineries from the population restrictions, and allowed wineries to create outlet stores. Likewise, New Jersey has a limited brewery license for microbreweries

Microbrewery

A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....

 and a restricted brewery license for brewpubs. Legislation has been proposed to allow for craft distilleries to be established in New Jersey.

New Jersey prohibits the shipment of alcoholic beverages from wineries, breweries, or distilleries directly to customers. Until 2004, New Jersey permitted in-state liquor shipments, but this was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court because it violated the interstate commerce clause. In 2011, the state stopped issuing licenses to new wineries because of similar litigation stating that it unconstitutional for the state to allow outlet stores for New Jersey wineries, but prohibit them for out-of-state wineries.

Drinking Age and Public Consumption Laws

A person must be 21 years of age in New Jersey to purchase alcoholic beverages, or consume alcoholic beverages in an establishment with a liquor license, or in an area of public accommodation (e.g., restaurant, campground). A person can sell alcoholic beverages at age 18 if they work in a restaurant, bar, or liquor store. There is no state law prohibiting consumption of alcohol by minors while on private property, but many municipalities prohibit underage consumption unless parents or adult relatives are present.

Violation of the state underage drinking statute is a disorderly persons offense (misdemeanor), which can be punished by up to 6 months in jail (never actually imposed), up to a $1000 fine, and suspension of a driver's license. Violation of a municipal underage drinking statutes is a non-criminal offense, which can be punished by fines up to $2000 and suspension of a driver's license, but usually results in just a fine without a court appearance being required. There is a good samaritan defense to an underage drinking charge where if an underage drinker calls for medical help for another underage drinker who is ill, neither may be prosecuted. It is common for a state underage drinking charge to be downgraded to a municipal charge in order for the defendant to avoid a criminal record and a suspended license.

It is illegal in New Jersey to have an open container of alcohol in the passenger portion of an automobile, but open bottles of alcohol may be transported in the trunk of a car, and consumption of alcohol on a bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

, limousine

Limousine

A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....

, or boat

Boat

A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

 is permitted. There is no state law against public consumption of alcohol, but most municipalities have open container laws prohibiting or restricting public consumption. Public intoxication

Public intoxication

Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly", is a summary offense in many countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness...

 without accompanying disorderly behavior

Disorderly conduct

Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...

is not a crime, and New Jersey law prohibits municipalities from making ordinances against public intoxication.