Getting caught with alcohol as a minor in California is a misdemeanor under Business and Professions Code 25662. A first offense carries a $250 fine or 24 to 32 hours of community service, plus a mandatory one-year driver’s license suspension that applies whether or not a car was involved. With California’s penalty assessments stacked on top, that $250 fine typically ends up costing around $1,058. Diversion can often keep the conviction off your record if the judge grants it.
What Counts as Possession
BPC 25662 makes it a misdemeanor for anyone under 21 to possess an alcoholic beverage on a street, highway, or in any public place or place open to the public.1California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 25662 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage by Person Under 21 The statute only reaches public locations. A house party at a private residence is outside its scope, though other laws covering underage consumption or furnishing alcohol to minors can still apply there.
Possession is broader than holding a cup. A bottle in the backpack at your feet counts. So does a cooler in the trunk of a car you brought. Courts look at whether the alcohol was within your control, not whether it was in your hand at the moment of the stop.
First-Offense Penalties
The statute gives the court two options for a first offense: a $250 fine or 24 to 32 hours of community service.1California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 25662 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage by Person Under 21 These are alternatives, not a combined sentence. The Legislature has directed that community service should be performed at an alcohol or drug treatment facility or a county coroner’s office when one is available in the area.
The $250 number understates the real cost. California stacks penalty assessments on every base fine. Under the 2026 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule, a $250 base fine generates roughly $808 in additional surcharges, bringing the total to about $1,058.2Superior Court of California. Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 The total varies slightly by county because one assessment is optional locally, and the court can also impose a separate restitution fine of up to $150 for misdemeanor convictions. Expect the true cost to be four to five times the posted fine.
BPC 25662 itself does not require enrollment in an alcohol education program. A program may be ordered as a condition of probation or as part of a diversion agreement, but it’s not part of the statutory penalty.
The Driver’s License Suspension
This is where the penalty hits hardest. Vehicle Code 13202.5 requires the court to suspend the driving privileges of anyone aged 13 or older convicted of an alcohol-related offense, including underage possession, for one year.3California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 13202.5 – Suspension or Revocation by Court
The suspension applies whether or not a vehicle was involved. Holding a beer at a park still costs you your license for a year.
If the minor doesn’t have a license yet, the court orders the DMV to delay issuing one for a year after the person becomes legally eligible to drive.3California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 13202.5 – Suspension or Revocation by Court For a 15-year-old, that pushes the provisional license from 16 to 17.
A minor who can show a critical need to drive for work, school, or family obligations can petition the court for a restricted license. The court has discretion to grant it.3California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 13202.5 – Suspension or Revocation by Court Judges generally want to see that public transportation and other alternatives genuinely can’t meet the need before granting relief.
Second and Later Offenses
A repeat conviction stays a misdemeanor but raises the ceiling. The court can impose a fine of up to $500, order 36 to 48 hours of community service, or combine both penalties.1California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 25662 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage by Person Under 21 With penalty assessments, a $500 base fine climbs past $2,000. Each new conviction triggers another year of license suspension under Vehicle Code 13202.5.
Exceptions That Might Apply
Delivering Alcohol at a Parent’s Direction
BPC 25662 does not apply when someone under 21 possesses alcohol solely to deliver it at the direction of a parent, legal guardian, responsible adult relative, or an adult designated by the parent or guardian.1California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 25662 – Possession of Alcoholic Beverage by Person Under 21 Delivery as part of employment also qualifies. A teenager carrying a six-pack from the car to the house for a parent is covered. Simply standing next to a parent while holding a drink in public is not listed as an exception.
911 Medical Emergency Immunity
BPC 25667 gives an underage person immunity from prosecution when they call 911 for medical help because of alcohol consumption, their own or someone else’s. The caller must be the first person to report. If the call is for someone else, the caller has to stay on scene until help arrives and cooperate with responders and law enforcement.4California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 25667 The immunity doesn’t cover dangerous conduct like drunk driving.
Culinary and Wine Program Tasting
Students 18 or older enrolled in accredited hotel management, culinary arts, or wine and beer production programs can taste alcohol as part of their coursework. An instructor at least 21 must supervise, and the student may draw the beverage into their mouth but cannot swallow it.5California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 25668
Keeping It Off Your Record
The best outcome, short of the charge being dropped, is misdemeanor diversion under Penal Code 1001.95. A judge can offer diversion at their discretion, even over the prosecutor’s objection. The court continues the case for up to 24 months and orders conditions the judge finds appropriate, which typically include community service and alcohol education.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1001.95 – Misdemeanor Diversion MIP charges aren’t on the excluded list (which covers sex offenses requiring registration, domestic violence, and stalking), so most minors charged under BPC 25662 are eligible.
Complete the conditions inside the diversion period and the judge dismisses the charge. No conviction. No criminal record from the incident. Fail to comply and the court can reinstate the case where it left off.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1001.95 – Misdemeanor Diversion Prosecutors will sometimes also agree to reduce the misdemeanor to an infraction, which carries no jail exposure and no misdemeanor record.
Expungement After a Conviction
If diversion wasn’t offered and the case became a conviction, an adult can petition after completing probation to withdraw the guilty plea, enter a not-guilty plea, and have the case dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4. The court can also grant this relief in the interest of justice before probation formally ends.7California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4 – Dismissal After Probation The relief has limits. You still have to disclose the original conviction when applying for public office or state licensing, and it can still be used as a prior in a later prosecution.
Sealing a Juvenile Record
If the case was handled in juvenile court, the minor can petition to seal the records five years after the juvenile court’s jurisdiction ended, or any time after turning 18. The court must find no felony or misdemeanor of moral turpitude since the case ended and that rehabilitation has been achieved.8California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 781 – Sealing of Records Sealed records are treated as if they never existed for most purposes, including employment background checks.
What a Conviction Can Cost Later
The statutory penalties are only part of the picture. A misdemeanor MIP conviction can surface years later on applications the reader isn’t thinking about now.
- Military enlistment typically requires a conduct waiver for a misdemeanor conviction. Waivers aren’t automatic, and multiple offenses compound the problem.
- Federal student aid is not affected. Federal Student Aid limits eligibility restrictions to incarceration and certain sex offense commitments, not alcohol convictions.9Federal Student Aid. Eligibility for Students With Criminal Convictions
- College applications and private scholarships often ask about criminal history. A conviction doesn’t automatically disqualify anyone, but it invites questions.
- State professional licensing applications require disclosure of the original conviction even after expungement under PC 1203.4.
Avoiding the conviction through diversion is the strongest position. If that’s not available, filing for expungement or record sealing as soon as eligibility opens makes the long-term picture much better.
Federal Property Is Different
National parks, military bases, and other federal lands follow their own rules. Federal regulations separately prohibit alcohol possession by anyone under 21 on National Park Service land.10eCFR. 36 CFR 2.35 – Alcoholic Beverages and Controlled Substances On other federal property without a specific federal regulation, the Assimilative Crimes Act lets federal courts apply California’s MIP law as though the land were state territory.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 13 – Laws of States Adopted for Areas Within Federal Jurisdiction A citation issued by a federal officer goes to federal court, not state court, so California’s PC 1001.95 diversion wouldn’t apply. The procedures and penalties are different, and the case shows up in federal court records rather than state ones.