Alcohol laws of Maryland vary considerably by county, due to the wide latitude of home rule granted to Maryland counties.
It is illegal under state law for a person under the age of 21 to possess or consume an alcoholic beverage.
It is illegal to purchase alcohol for someone under age 21 so that the underage person may drink it.
It is illegal for an adult to knowingly and willfully allow an individual under age 21 to possess or drink an alcoholic beverage at a home where the adult lives, rents, or owns. There are a few exceptions:
It is a separate offense for an underage person to misrepresent age for the purpose of obtaining alcohol. It is also a separate offence for an underage person to possess any sort of card or document that falsely identifies the underage person's age. An underage person who illegally possesses alcohol or false identification is subject to a citation rather than arrest, and the event is considered a civil offense, meaning that it does not count as a criminal conviction and cannot result in imprisonment in and of itself.
A person must be at least 21 years old to be employed to serve alcoholic beverages or sell alcoholic beverages, although some counties have different laws.
A person must be at least 18 years old to work in another capacity at an establishment that serves alcohol. If the business serves alcohol and food service is not the primary focus of the business, then the minimum age to work there is 21.
State law prohibits open containers with any amount of alcohol within the passenger area of a motor vehicle. Passengers of a vehicle are similarly prohibited from consuming alcohol in the passenger area, but the law provides exceptions for non-drivers in the back of hired vehicles such as taxis, limousines, and buses, as well as in the living areas of motor homes. The driver is also shielded from prosecution if it is based solely on another occupant of the vehicle having an open container.
The law defines an open container to be a container that is open, or whose seal is broken, or that has had some of its contents removed.
The law defines the passenger area as an area that "is designed to seat the driver and any passenger of a motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is in operation; or is readily accessible to the driver or a passenger of a motor vehicle while in their seating positions." The law states that certain areas are not part of the passenger area, such as "a locked glove compartment; the trunk of a motor vehicle; or if a motor vehicle is not equipped with a trunk, the area behind the rearmost upright seat or an area that is not normally occupied by the driver or a passenger of the motor vehicle."
Like underage possession above, violation of the open container law is a civil offense.
In July 2011, Maryland's taxation of alcohol was increased for the first time since the 1970s, from 6percent to 9percent. The tax is applied at the consumer level, appearing as a line-item on the customer's receipt.
Prior to 1973, the minimum age to buy or possess alcoholic beverages was 21 years old. In 1973, the minimum age was decreased to 18 years old in Montgomery County and Prince George's County. On July 1, 1974, the minimum age was decreased to 18 years old for the entire state. In 1982, the minimum age was increased to 21 years old but with a grandfather clause which allowed those who had already turned 18 (born June 30, 1964 or earlier) to consume beer and wine.