Am I allowed to take alcoholic beverages from the US in my luggage, if I'm under 21?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 18 Jul, 2023
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I know you already accepted an answer but the easiest option would be to have your family mail the alcohol to yourself in the Netherlands. This way here you are never in possession of the alcohol while in the States and can claim the package when you are legal to posses the alcohol.
Alcohol is not a federal issue, it’s a state issue. So, the TSA is legally completely unconcerned with the presence of a bottle of booze in your luggage. When the TSA searches your luggage, they are concerned with security, not state alcohol regulations. They will not know how old you are. Yea, that’s in your traveller data, but they are not going to look at that data unless they find something disturbing, and a bottle of booze is not disturbing.
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In general, it is illegal for an individual under 21 years of age to possess alcohol, whether open or sealed, in a public place in the United States. You would have to consult the laws of the state you are in, as well as any states you transit through, to see if this is the case for you specifically.
A related matter is whether or not it is legal for an individual under 21 years of age to export alcohol for personal use. Although CBP state that it is illegal for individuals under 21 to import alcohol, it makes no comment on the export of alcohol. One might therefore infer that there is no federal issue with exporting.
There is no problem with putting alcohol in checked luggage.
As a practical matter, if the alcohol is contained in your luggage the whole time, it is extremely unlikely that you will face any trouble, especially if you are accompanied by an adult when travelling to the airport through check-in; it is not, for example, the case that your luggage would be tagged with your age, and as the vast majority of travellers are over 21 years old, TSA (who are not law enforcement anyway) are not on the lookout for alcohol in luggage.
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