§ 6308. Purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor or malt or brewed beverages.
(a) Offense defined.--A person commits a summary offense if he, being less than 21 years of age, attempts
to purchase, purchases, consumes, possesses or knowingly and intentionally transports
any liquor or malt or brewed beverages, as defined in section 6310.6 (relating to
definitions). For the purposes of this section, it shall not be a defense that the
liquor or malt or brewed beverage was consumed in a jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction
where the citation for underage drinking was issued.
(b) Penalty.--A person convicted of violating subsection (a) may be sentenced to pay a fine of not
more than $500 for the first violation and not more than $1,000 for the second and
each subsequent violation.
(c) Preadjudication disposition.--
(1) When a person is charged with violating subsection (a), the magisterial district judge
may admit the offender to the adjudication alternative as authorized in 42 Pa.C.S.
§ 1520 (relating to adjudication alternative program) or any other preadjudication
disposition if the offender has not previously received a preadjudication disposition
for violating subsection (a).
(2) The use of a preadjudication disposition shall be considered a first or subsequent
offense, whichever is applicable, for the purpose of further adjudication under this
section or under section 6310.4.
(d) Notification.--The police department making an arrest for a suspected violation of subsection (a)
shall so notify the parents or guardian of the minor charged.
(e) Exception for compliance checks.--(Repealed).
(f) Exception for person seeking medical attention for another.--(Repealed).
(Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53, eff. 60 days; Mar. 25, 1988, P.L.262, No.31, eff.
60 days; Mar. 17, 2000, P.L.11, No.4, eff. 60 days; Dec. 3, 2002, P.L.1144, No.141,
eff. 60 days; Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1618, No.207, eff. 60 days; July 7, 2011, P.L.288,
No.66, eff. 60 days; Oct. 25, 2012, P.L.1663, No.205, eff. 60 days; Dec. 22, 2017,
P.L.1237, No.75, eff. imd.; Oct. 19, 2018, P.L.535, No.80, eff. 30 days; Oct. 24,
2018, P.L.659, No.95, eff. 180 days)
2018 Amendments. Act 80 repealed subsec. (f) and Act 95 amended subsec. (b). Section 8 of Act 80 provided
that Act 80 shall be referred to as the "Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law."
2017 Amendment. Act 75 repealed subsec. (e) and section 2 of Act 141 of 2002.
2012 Amendment. Section 2 of Act 205 provided that the amendment shall apply to offenses committed
on or after the effective date of section 2.
2004 Amendment. Act 207 amended subsec. (c)(1). See section 29 of Act 207 in the appendix to this
title for special provisions relating to construction of law.
2000 Amendment. Act 4 amended subsec. (a).
References in Text. 18 Pa.C.S. § 6310.4, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), was repealed by the act of October
24, 2018 (P.L.659, No.95).
Cross References. Section 6308 is referred to in sections 2810, 6308.1, 6310.5, 6310.6, 6313, 9122,
9123 of this title; sections 1518, 3905 of Title 4 (Amusements); sections 3573, 8902
of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
112
cases (
6 in the last 5 years), 1975–2025 · leading case:
Kapres v. Heller, 612 A.2d 987 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992).
Kapres v. Heller, 612 A.2d 987 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992).
· cites it 14× “76; 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308. What appellant fails to include in his argument, however, is the fact Rule 76 states the definitions listed are applicable unless the context of *377 the law indicates otherwise or the particular word is expressly defined in the specific chapter.”
Commonwealth v. Mistler, 912 A.2d 1265 (Pa. 2006).
· cites it 4× “Certainly, the public has an interest in deterring underage consumption of alcohol.”
Congini by Congini v. PORTERSVILLE ETC., 470 A.2d 515 (Pa. 1983).
· cites it 4× “Under Section 6308 of the Crimes Code [2] 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308, a person "less than 21 years of age" commits a summary offense if he "attempts to purchase, purchases, consumes, possesses or transports any alcohol, liquor or malt or brewed beverages.”
Commonwealth v. Giulian v. Aplt., 141 A.3d 1262 (Pa. 2016).
· cites it 2× “§5503(a)(2), a charge later withdrawn, and the summary offense of underage drinking, 18 Pa.C.S. §6308(a), to which she pleaded guilty.”
Commonwealth v. Bullers, 637 A.2d 1326 (Pa. 1994).
· cites it 10× “Knowing from previous experience with Bullers that he was nineteen years old, the officer arrested him for underage drinking, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308. Incident to the arrest, Sergeant Parana conducted a patdown search and discovered the following items: a pen; a house key; a brown,…”
Commonwealth v. Roland, 637 A.2d 269 (Pa. 1994).
· cites it 4× “Further, if the minors attempted to leave the scene while in possession of the beer or in an intoxicated state, before a warrant was obtained, police could have taken action pursuant to 18 Pa.”
Matthews v. Konieczny, 527 A.2d 508 (Pa. 1987).
· cites it 4× “§ 306, imposing sanctions on accomplices, coupled with 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308 making it a summary offense for a person under 21 years of age to purchase, consume or transport alcohol.”
Commonwealth v. Markun, 185 A.3d 1026 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018).
· cites it 3× “The immunity subsection appears within the body of 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308, which states in pertinent part: § 6308.”
Duffey v. Dept. of Transp., 607 A.2d 815 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1992).
· cites it 6× “" On that form "18 Pa.C.S. § 6308" is checked as the violation committed and "Conviction" is checked as the disposition.”
Langle v. Kurkul, 510 A.2d 1301 (Vt. 1986).
· cites it 2× “2d 515, 517-18 (1983) (citing 18 Pa.Cons.Stat. §§ 6308, 306 (1983)); Koback v.”
Commonwealth v. Eisenberg, M., Aplt, 98 A.3d 1268 (Pa. 2014).
“§ 1518(b)(4) (requiring, for underage drinking offense under subsection (a)(16), restriction of vehicle operating privileges pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 6308 and 6310.4, and fine imposed “shall be not less than $350 nor more than $1,000”).”
C.C.H. v. Philadelphia Phillies, Inc., 940 A.2d 336 (Pa. 2008).
· cites it 2× “Taking guidance from the Restatement, we then looked to Section 6308 of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308, which prohibits persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6308(a) — 32 cases
Commonwealth v. Giulian v. Aplt., 141 A.3d 1262 (Pa. 2016).
“§5503(a)(2), a charge later withdrawn, and the summary offense of underage drinking, 18 Pa.C.S. §6308(a), to which she pleaded guilty.”
Commonwealth v. Mistler, 912 A.2d 1265 (Pa. 2006).
“Certainly, the public has an interest in deterring underage consumption of alcohol.”
Commonwealth v. Roland, 637 A.2d 269 (Pa. 1994).
“Further, if the minors attempted to leave the scene while in possession of the beer or in an intoxicated state, before a warrant was obtained, police could have taken action pursuant to 18 Pa.”
Duffey v. Dept. of Transp., 607 A.2d 815 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1992).
“" On that form "18 Pa.C.S. § 6308" is checked as the violation committed and "Conviction" is checked as the disposition.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6308(b) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6308(c)(1) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6308(d) — 2 cases
Commonwealth v. Bullers, 637 A.2d 1326 (Pa. 1994).
“Knowing from previous experience with Bullers that he was nineteen years old, the officer arrested him for underage drinking, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308. Incident to the arrest, Sergeant Parana conducted a patdown search and discovered the following items: a pen; a house key; a brown,…”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6308(e) — 1 case
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