What Is the Drinking Age in Belize? The Liquor Law's Under-18 Rule
Verified on 14 November 2026 on the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act (Chapter 150) and the Gaming Control Act (Chapter 152), both as printed in the Revised Edition 2020 of the Laws of Belize published by the Attorney General’s Ministry, and on the Belize Customs and Excise Department’s passenger exemptions.
The age in Belize’s liquor law is eighteen, and the Act frames it as a rule on sellers: section 44(1) of the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act says “No licence holder shall sell or deliver or allow any person to sell or deliver” liquor to any person under eighteen years. Under section 44(3A), a licence holder or employee must, before selling liquor to anyone, ascertain and be satisfied that the person is over the age of eighteen years, and section 44(5) makes the offence one of strict liability. That is the law as printed in the Revised Edition 2020, which shows the substantive laws as at 31 December 2020, read on 14 November 2026.
| Rule (Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act, s.44) | As the Act prints it, in summary |
|---|---|
| Sale or delivery, s.44(1) | No licence holder may sell or deliver liquor, or allow anyone to do so, to any person under eighteen years |
| Sending a minor, s.44(2) | No person may send anyone under the age of eighteen years to licensed premises or a place where liquor is sold to purchase, obtain or take delivery of liquor |
| Messengers, s.44(3) | No licence holder may employ a family member, servant or apprentice below the age of eighteen years as a messenger to sell or deliver liquor |
| Age check before a sale, s.44(3A) | Every licence holder or employee must be satisfied the person is over the age of eighteen years |
| Age check at the door, s.44(3B) | Holders of a nightclub license, malt liquor license or publican’s special licence must be satisfied a person is over eighteen before admitting them |
| Identity card, s.44(3C) | The licence holder or employee may lawfully demand an identity card before selling liquor or admitting the person |
| Knowledge of age, s.44(5) | The prosecution need not prove the accused knew the person was under the age of 18 years, and lack of knowledge is no defence |
Every duty in section 44 falls on the person who sells, delivers, sends or admits; the sections we read set no separate offence for a person under eighteen who drinks, and we infer nothing either way.
The penalty the Act prints
Section 65A, headed General penalty, lists section 44 among the offences it covers. On summary conviction:
| Offence | Fine, as printed | For a licence holder |
|---|---|---|
| First | five hundred dollars | suspension of the licence for three months |
| Subsequent | one thousand dollars | forfeiture of the licence |
Drinking in public, s.44A
Section 44A(1) says no person shall drink any liquor on any public road, or in any drain, culvert, street, sidewalk or other public place, other than a public place specified in section 65 of the Act. Section 44A(2) makes it lawful on the occasion of any public dance, ball, celebration or entertainment if the liquor is not in a bottle, glass or metal receptacle but in a plastic, paper or styrofoam receptacle; section 44A(3) says that exception does not apply to the driver of a motor vehicle (our driving in Belize page covers the driving licence rules). The fines in section 44A(4) are twenty-five dollars for a first offence, fifty dollars for a second, and for a third or later offence one hundred dollars and fifty hours of community service work. Section 44A(5) adds that subsections (1) and (2) “shall not apply to such public places as the Minister may designate by Order published in the Gazette”; the Act as we read it does not list any such places.
Other under-18 rules in the texts we read
| Where | Rule as printed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed gaming premises | No licensee shall permit or suffer any person under the age of eighteen years to enter or remain on the premises; fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both | Gaming Control Act, Chapter 152, s.22, Revised Edition 2020 |
| Duty-free alcohol and tobacco on arrival | The wines-or-spirits and tobacco allowance applies to a passenger eighteen years old and over | Customs and Excise Department, Conditional Exemptions from Duties and Taxes |
| Arrivals duty-free shop | No liquor, tobacco, cigars and cigarettes may be sold to a person under the age of eighteen years | Customs and Excise Duties (Inwards Duty-Free Shops) Regulations, regulation 7(2), Revised Edition 2020 |
The two customs rules, and the litre and tobacco limits they belong to, are on our duty-free allowance page. Apart from that duty-free shop rule, none of the texts we read sets a minimum age for buying tobacco in a shop.
Who licenses the sellers
Section 12 of the Act establishes a Licensing Board in each judicial district, consisting of six members appointed annually by the Minister, and the Act’s arrangement of sections lists separate Boards for Belmopan (section 13), for San Pedro and Benque Viejo del Carmen (section 14) and for the Village of Caye Caulker (section 15). The Board hears applications for certificates authorising the issue, renewal or transfer of licences and may cancel or suspend a licence on an infringement of the Act being shown.
The Licensing Boards authorise the issue of liquor licences by certificate and can cancel or suspend them under this Act, and the Attorney General’s Ministry publishes its text; this page only reports what that text says.
What the law texts we read don’t say
The Revised Edition 2020 shows the law as at 31 December 2020. The National Assembly’s website, which publishes the Acts and statutory instruments made since, could not be read on 14 November 2026, so we could not check whether any later instrument changes the sections quoted here.
How we researched this
On 14 November 2026 we downloaded the Revised Edition 2020 texts of the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act and the Gaming Control Act from the Attorney General’s Ministry and extracted sections 12 to 15, 44, 44A, 65A and 22, and read the Customs and Excise Department’s passenger exemptions and the duty-free shop regulations the same day. Nothing on this page is calculated.
Sources
- Attorney General’s Ministry — Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act, Chapter 150, Revised Edition 2020 (PDF) — section 44 and its subsections, strict liability, section 44A and its fines, the section 65A general penalty, the Licensing Boards (sections 12 to 15), the as-at date
- Attorney General’s Ministry — Gaming Control Act, Chapter 152, Revised Edition 2020 (PDF) — section 22, under-18s on licensed gaming premises and its penalty
- Belize Customs and Excise Department — Conditional Exemptions from Duties and Taxes (PDF) — the eighteen-and-over alcohol and tobacco allowance
- Attorney General’s Ministry — Customs and Excise Duties Act, Chapter 48, Subsidiary Laws Revised Edition 2020 (PDF) — regulation 7(2) of the Inwards Duty-Free Shops Regulations, no liquor or tobacco sales to under-18s
Last verified: 2026-11-14
Researched and written by Estuardo Enriquez for belizetravelblog.com, an independent site with no connection to any airport, airline, tour operator or government body.