Alcohol laws of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

are unique in that they vary considerably by county, due to the wide latitude of home rule

Home rule

Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....

 granted to Maryland counties.

Underage possession and consumption

It is illegal under state law for a person under the age of 21 to possess or consume an alcoholic beverage, but the law contains several exceptions:

• Underage individuals who are employees of businesses that hold a valid state-issued liquor license may possess (but not consume) alcohol in the course of their job during regular business hours. Common examples are serving alcoholic drinks to customers of a restaurant, making deliveries for a catering company, and stocking shelves at a store that sells alcohol.
• Alcohol may be possessed or consumed by an underaged person in a private residence so long as it is furnished or allowed by a member of that person's immediate family (typically a parent).
• Alcohol can be consumed as part of a religious ceremony, such as the Catholic Communion rite.

It is also a separate offense for an underage person to misrepresent their age for purposes of obtaining alcohol, and to merely possess any sort of card or document that falsely identifies the 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 civil offense, meaning that is does not count as a criminal conviction and cannot result in imprisonment in and of itself. This is because the reason for the drinking age in the first place is that the law does not consider individuals under 21 to be responsible enough to consume alcohol unsupervised, and therefore holding them fully criminally responsible would be paradoxical.

Furnishing alcohol to underage persons

Except for the exceptions provided in the previous section, Maryland's law also makes it illegal for anyone to purchase alcohol for someone under 21, or to give it to them. Both these laws require that the defendant knew the person was under 21, and that they purchased or furnished it for the purpose of that underage person consuming it. In addition, it is also illegal for an adult who owns or leases property, and lives at that property, to knowingly and willfully allow anyone under 21 to consume alcohol there, unless they are members of the same immediate family. This law does not necessarily make homeowners criminally responsible for any illegal drinking at their residence, unless they were both aware of it and intentionally allowed it to happen.

Taxation

In July 2011, Maryland's taxation of alcohol was increased for the first time since the 1970s, from 6 percent to 9 percent. This taxation is applied at the consumer level, appearing as a line-item on the customer's receipt.

County laws

County	Alcoholic beverage control county			Alcohol sale hours		Grocery Store Sales			Notes
	Beer	Wine	Spirits	On-premises	Off-premises	Beer	Wine	Spirits
Allegany County Allegany County, Maryland Allegany County is a county located in the northwestern part of the US state of Maryland. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 75,087. Its county seat is Cumberland...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...	No			Unknown		No
Baltimore City Baltimore Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...	No			6am-2am. 6am-1am for taverns	6am-12am (Mon-Sat)	No			No Sunday sales, except for those Sundays between Thanksgiving and New Years upon issuance of special license.
Baltimore County Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...	No			Unknown		No
Calvert County Calvert County, Maryland Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Caroline County Caroline County, Maryland Caroline County is a wholly rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Talbot County to the west, Dorchester County to the south, Kent County, Delaware, to the east, and Sussex County, Delaware, to the southeast. As...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Carroll County Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 167,134. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton , signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Its county seat is Westminster....	No			Unknown		Unknown
Cecil County Cecil County, Maryland Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper...	No			6am-2am Mon-Sat, 10am-11pm Sun	6am-2am Mon-Sat, 8am-11pm Sun	Rarely			Only one liquor license per store/corporation
Charles County Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat is La Plata. This county was named for Charles Calvert , third Baron Baltimore....	No			Unknown		Unknown
Dorchester County Dorchester County, Maryland Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Frederick County Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....	No			Unknown		No
Garrett County Garrett County, Maryland Garrett County is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. Created from Allegany County, Maryland in 1872 it was the last Maryland county to be formed. It was named for John Work Garrett , railroad executive, industrialist, and financier. Garrett served as president of the Baltimore...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Harford County Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 244,826. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.-History:...	No			8 a.m.- 2 a.m.		No
Howard County Howard County, Maryland -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*62.2% White*17.5% Black*0.3% Native American*14.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.6% Two or more races*2.0% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Kent County Kent County, Maryland Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, on its Eastern Shore. It was named for the county of Kent in England. Its county seat is Chestertown. In 2010, the county population was 20,197...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Montgomery County Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...	Yes			Unknown	Spirits stores: Monday to Thursdays 10:00am to 9:00pm Friday & Saturday 10:00am to 10:00pm Sundays (See Notes). Beer and wine stores: 10:00am to 1:00 am	No (four grocery stores grandfathered)			Beginning on November 21, 2010 for a six month period the Department of Liquor Control will operate its liquor dispensaries on Sundays from Noon (12:00pm) to 6:00pm.
Prince George's County Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....	No			Unknown		Yes
Queen Anne's County Queen Anne's County, Maryland Queen Anne's County is a county located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 47,798. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville is the county's most populous place...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Saint Mary's County	No			Unknown		Unknown
Somerset County Somerset County, Maryland -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*53.5% White*42.3% Black*0.3% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.5% Other races*3.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Yes			Unknown		Unknown
Talbot County Talbot County, Maryland -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*81.4% White*12.8% Black*0.2% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.6% Two or more races*2.7% Other races*5.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	No			Unknown		Unknown
Washington County Washington County, Maryland Washington County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering southern Pennsylvania to the north, northern Virginia to the south, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to the south and west. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 147,430...	No			Unknown		No
Wicomico County Wicomico County, Maryland As of the census of 2010, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.7 people per square mile . There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 109.2 per square mile...	Yes			Unknown		Unknown
Worcester County Worcester County, Maryland -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*82.0% White*13.6% Black*0.3% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*3.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Yes			Unknown		Unknown