New Zealand's alcohol laws require that the minimum age to purchase alcohol is 18 years. This is called the Minimum Legal Purchase Age for Alcohol.
New Zealand does not have a legal age for drinking alcohol, unlike the United States.
If a young person under the age of 18 was to buy alcohol in New Zealand, they could face a fine of up to $2000. Click here to read the law.
It is illegal for a licensed premises to sell alcohol to a person under 18 years. They may face a fine of not more than $10,000 and/or the suspension of the licensee’s licence for a period of not more than 7 days. Click here to read the law.
To ensure that a person wishing to purchase alcohol is 18 years or over, a staff member will ask for evidence of age (or ID).
Our regulationsstate that there are only three forms of evidence that are permitted - any of these below can be used as evidence of age:
current passport
current New Zealand drivers licence
Hospitality New Zealand Card (Kiwi Access Card)
These documents must be genuine and not falsified in any way. There are a range of offences relating to evidence of age documents - read here for more.
Police test the compliance of licensed premises with underage alcohol sales.
Police in your district may carry out a Controlled Purchase Operation. This is where they ask volunteers under the age of 18 to enter a licensed premises and attempt to purchase alcohol.
There are penalties if the premises sells to a minor. The licensee may be liable to either or both of the following:
a fine of not more than $10,000:
the suspension of the licensee’s licence for a period of not more than 7 days:
The manager may also be liable to a fine of not more than $10,000. For more information, click here.