• Learn New York's underage drinking laws.Alcohol decanters image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com
  
  The legal drinking age is defined as the youngest age at which an individual is allowed to legally purchase alcoholic beverages. In all states in the United States, the legal drinking age is 21 years old. Each state, including New York, legislates its own laws and consequences for underage drinking.
  
  

Selling to Minors

• According to New York's Alcohol Beverage Control Law, you cannot sell alcohol to people under the age of 21 years. Furthermore, under Penal Law § 260.20(2), if you do sell alcohol to an underage person, you cannot claim that the underage person acted as the agent of someone who was of legal drinking age.
  
  

Exceptions

• There are certain exceptions to the prohibition against allowing underage people to drink alcohol. For example, New York Penal Code Penal Law § 260.20(2) states that minors can be given alcohol in the situation where the tasting or swallowing of liquor is required in courses that are part of the curriculum. Furthermore, if a parent or guardian chooses to give his child liquor, this is not illegal. As long as the parent purchases the liquor, he or she can give the child alcohol moderately under ABC Law § 65(5).
  
  

Locations Serving Alcohol

• In New York under ABC Law § 100(2-b)(a), individuals under the age of sixteen should not be present in an establishment in which liquor is provided, such as a bar. The exception to this rule, found in Penal Law § 260.21(1)(a), occurs when the child is in the presence of a parent, guardian, or authorized adult. Although parents and legal guardians are allowed to let children drink as they see fit, and may allow them to be in establishments that serve liquor, there may be consequences for these actions as well, such as potential fines or jail time if the courts determine that child endangerment laws have been violated.
  
  

Fake ID

• According to ABC Law § 65-b(5), if an underage person uses a fake form of identification to purchase the liquor and he is caught, New York will suspend his driver's license.
  
  

Zero Tolerance Driving Laws

• If minors are caught driving after consuming alcohol, New York has a zero-tolerance policy. Any minor (defined as an individual under the age of 21 years) who is caught with even a .02 percent blood alcohol content will face sanctions. The minor's license will be suspended if she is charged with DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired) or DWI (Driving While Intoxicated). Other potential penalties include a fine of up to $125, with an additional $100 fee upon return of the license.