Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor in Massachusetts Under G.L. c. 138, § 34

A parent who lets teenagers drink at a party in the family home, a college student who buys beer for underage friends, and a bartender who serves a 20-year-old can each face a charge under G.L. c. 138, § 34. The statute punishes a person who furnishes alcohol to a person under 21, a person who sells or delivers alcohol to a person under 21, and a customer who buys alcohol for a person under 21 in a bar, a restaurant, or a liquor store. The furnishing provision is often called the social host law, because the Legislature added the provision to § 34 through an act known as the Social Host Act. Commonwealth v. Kneram, 63 Mass. App. Ct. 371.

Furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 is a misdemeanor. A judge can sentence a person convicted under § 34 to a fine of up to $2,000, up to one year in jail, or both. The statute protects every person under 21, including adults who are 18, 19, or 20 years old. The person who furnishes the alcohol can be under 21 as well.

The police either arrest the person or apply for a criminal complaint. A person who is not arrested ordinarily receives a clerk-magistrate hearing before any complaint issues. G.L. c. 218, § 35A. A conviction under § 34 appears on the person’s Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI).

This page explains the three ways a person can violate § 34, what the Commonwealth must prove, the exception for a parent’s own children and grandchildren, the rules for house parties and for bartenders and store clerks, the defenses, and the possible outcomes. The page also explains when an injured person can sue a host in a civil case. Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. He represents people accused of furnishing alcohol at clerk-magistrate hearings and in the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court.

Three Ways to Violate G.L. c. 138, § 34

Section 34 punishes three separate ways of providing alcohol to a person under 21. Commonwealth v. Parent, 465 Mass. 395, 407.

• Selling or delivering. A person who sells or delivers alcohol to a person under 21 violates § 34, whether the alcohol is for the person under 21 or for someone else. A store clerk who sells beer to a 20-year-old violates the sale provision. A person who hands a bottle of vodka to a 19-year-old violates the delivery provision.
• Buying for a person under 21 in a licensed business. A customer who buys a drink for a person under 21 in a bar or restaurant violates § 34. A customer who buys alcohol at a liquor store for a person under 21 also violates § 34, unless the person under 21 is the customer’s own child, ward, or spouse.
• Furnishing. A person furnishes alcohol by knowingly or intentionally supplying, giving, or providing alcohol to a person under 21, or by allowing a person under 21 to possess alcohol, on premises or property the person owns or controls. The furnishing definition excludes the person’s own children and grandchildren.

What the Commonwealth Must Prove in a Furnishing Case

The furnishing definition requires the Commonwealth to prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt. The first element is that the defendant knowingly or intentionally supplied, gave, or provided alcohol to a person under 21, or allowed a person under 21 to possess alcohol. The second element is that the furnishing took place on premises or property the defendant owned or controlled. The third element is that the person who received the alcohol was under 21. G.L. c. 138, § 34.

The Appeals Court has held that the premises requirement applies to every form of furnishing, including handing alcohol to a person under 21. Commonwealth v. Militello, 66 Mass. App. Ct. 325. The Commonwealth does not have to prove that the defendant owned the property. In Militello, the defendant was the only adult at a campsite where teenagers drank. He had agreed to supervise the teenagers. The Appeals Court held that the evidence was sufficient to show that he controlled the campsite. The court distinguished the supervising adult from a person who is simply a visitor to the property.

The sale-or-delivery provision of § 34 contains no premises requirement. A person who hands alcohol to a person under 21 at a park, at a beach, or at someone else’s home can face a charge under the sale-or-delivery provision instead.

The Appeals Court has also held that furnishing requires the Commonwealth to prove specific intent. A defendant who was so intoxicated that the defendant could not form that intent is entitled, on request, to a jury instruction on intoxication when the evidence supports the instruction. Commonwealth v. Militello, 66 Mass. App. Ct. 325, 341.

The Exception for a Parent’s Own Children and Grandchildren

The furnishing definition excludes the children and grandchildren of the person charged. G.L. c. 138, § 34. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that a parent does not violate § 34 by giving alcohol to the parent’s own child in the parent’s own home, whether the act is called furnishing or delivering. Commonwealth v. Parent, 465 Mass. 395, 410.

The exception does not protect a parent who gives alcohol to the child’s friends. In Parent, a father gave hard lemonade to his fifteen-year-old daughter and her fourteen-year-old friend at his home. He then bought more at a store with the two girls and gave them a six-pack. The Supreme Judicial Court ordered a judgment of not guilty on the charge based on the alcohol he gave his daughter. The court upheld his conviction for furnishing, procuring, and delivering alcohol to the friend. 465 Mass. at 397, 410.

The exception covers only the charged person’s own children and grandchildren. An aunt, an uncle, an older brother or sister, or a family friend who gives alcohol to a person under 21 has no exception under the furnishing definition. The minor in possession statute contains a separate exception for a person under 21 who is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

House Parties, College Students, and Underage Hosts

The furnishing statute applies to a defendant who is also under 21. Commonwealth v. Kneram, 63 Mass. App. Ct. 371. In Kneram, a nineteen-year-old college freshman home on winter break collected money from three nineteen-year-old friends and bought a case of beer. The four friends drank the beer at his parents’ home while his parents were away. One friend drank eight to ten beers, refused the defendant’s offer of a ride, drove away alone, and struck two pedestrians, killing a sixteen-year-old. The defendant pleaded guilty to furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 and received a one-year sentence with six months to serve. 63 Mass. App. Ct. at 371 to 372.

The Appeals Court held that the word “whoever” in § 34 includes a person under 21. The court reasoned that any other reading would allow a 20-year-old college student to host a party in a dorm room or an apartment and furnish alcohol to guests under 21.

The furnishing definition also covers a host who knowingly allows a guest under 21 to possess alcohol on property the host owns or controls. G.L. c. 138, § 34. A host who knowingly allows underage guests to drink alcohol the guests brought themselves can therefore face a furnishing charge. The college can discipline a student host under the college’s alcohol and guest policies. The firm’s page on college and university student criminal defense explains how a student can coordinate the court case with the school proceeding.

A person under 21 who calls for help in good faith for a guest who needs medical care after drinking too much alcohol cannot be charged or prosecuted under § 34 when the police learned about the alcohol because of the call. G.L. c. 138, § 34E. The guest who needed the care has the same protection from a minor in possession charge.

Bartenders, Servers, and Store Clerks

A bartender, server, or store clerk who sells or delivers alcohol to a person under 21 can face a charge under § 34. A licensee, or an agent or employee of a licensee, who reasonably relies on one of the forms of identification listed in G.L. c. 138, § 34B to establish a person’s identity and age has no criminal liability for selling or delivering alcohol to a person under 21.

The listed forms of identification are a Massachusetts liquor purchase identification card, a Massachusetts driver’s license, a Massachusetts identification card, a valid United States passport, a valid passport issued by a foreign government that the United States recognizes, a valid driver’s license from another state, a Global Entry card, and a valid United States military identification card. G.L. c. 138, § 34B.

The § 34B defense depends on whether the reliance was reasonable. Counsel examines the identification the server checked, any video from the business, and the age and appearance of the person who bought the alcohol. A person under 21 who used a false identification card to buy the alcohol can face separate fake ID charges. The business can face a separate proceeding before the local licensing authority or the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

How a Furnishing Case Begins

The police can begin a furnishing investigation after a car crash, an emergency room visit, or a complaint about a party. Detectives may ask the homeowner, the parents, or the party host for an interview. A person who receives that request should speak with a lawyer before answering any question. The firm’s page on what to do when under criminal investigation explains the first steps.

A person who is not under arrest for a misdemeanor such as furnishing ordinarily receives notice and a clerk-magistrate hearing before the court issues any complaint. G.L. c. 218, § 35A. At the hearing, counsel can answer the police report with documents and an explanation. The clerk-magistrate then decides whether the application shows probable cause and whether to issue a complaint. A clerk-magistrate may decline to issue a complaint even when the application shows probable cause, as long as the district attorney’s office has not told the clerk-magistrate that it intends to prosecute. Victory Distributors, Inc. v. Ayer Div. of the Dist. Court Dep’t, 435 Mass. 136, 142 to 143.

Related Charges in Furnishing Cases

The police can also apply for any of the following charges when the charge arises from the same incident.

• Contributing to the delinquency of a child under G.L. c. 119, § 63, when the person who received the alcohol was under 18. A judge can sentence a person convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a child to a fine of up to $500, up to one year in jail, or both. The Commonwealth brought a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a child in Commonwealth v. Parent, 465 Mass. 395.
• Furnishing marijuana to a person under 21 under G.L. c. 94G, § 13(i). A judge can sentence a person convicted of furnishing marijuana to a person under 21 to a fine of up to $2,000, up to one year in jail, or both. The firm’s post on Massachusetts marijuana possession and transfer limits explains the marijuana rules for people under 21.
• Hazing under G.L. c. 269, § 17, when members of a student organization force new members to drink.

The guests under 21 can face separate charges of possessing alcohol under G.L. c. 138, § 34C.

Penalties and Case Outcomes

A judge can sentence a person convicted under § 34 to a fine of up to $2,000, up to one year in jail, or both. The statute sets no minimum sentence. G.L. c. 138, § 34.

A furnishing case can end without a conviction. The clerk-magistrate can deny the complaint application. After arraignment, the district attorney’s office can enter a nolle prosequi, which ends the prosecution of the charge. A judge can dismiss the case, continue the case without a finding under G.L. c. 278, § 18, or place the defendant on pretrial probation. A judge or jury can find the defendant not guilty.

A judge can also treat a § 34 charge as a civil infraction under G.L. c. 277, § 70C, because § 70C does not exclude § 34. The defendant or the Commonwealth can make the request at arraignment or at the pretrial conference. The judge can act on the judge’s own motion at any time. The judge cannot treat the charge as a civil infraction if the Commonwealth objects in writing and states its reasons. The firm’s page on how to keep a criminal charge off your record explains the civil infraction motion. A judge cannot treat a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a child as a civil infraction, because § 70C excludes G.L. c. 119, § 63.

An employer or landlord with standard access to CORI sees a misdemeanor conviction for five years after the case ends and after any time in custody. A person convicted under § 34 can ask the Commissioner of Probation to seal the record once three years have passed since the case ended. The person must have no new conviction during those three years. G.L. c. 276, § 100A. A person whose case was dismissed can ask a judge to seal the record. G.L. c. 276, § 100C.

Civil Lawsuits Against Social Hosts

A violation of § 34 does not by itself make a host liable in a civil lawsuit. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that § 34 creates no private right to sue, and that a violation of the statute does not establish negligence by itself. Juliano v. Simpson, 461 Mass. 527, 531 to 532.

The Supreme Judicial Court recognizes the liability of a social host to a person injured by a drunk guest’s negligent driving. The host can be liable when the host knew or should have known that the guest was drunk and still gave the guest a drink or let the guest take one. McGuiggan v. New England Tel. & Tel. Co., 398 Mass. 152, 162. The Supreme Judicial Court has declined to impose that duty on a host who only provides a place for underage drinking, without serving the alcohol or controlling the supply. Juliano v. Simpson, 461 Mass. 527, 536 to 537.

A host who faces both a criminal charge and a civil lawsuit should get advice before testifying or answering questions in either case. The Commonwealth can use a statement the host makes in the civil case as evidence in the criminal case. The firm’s page on the Fifth Amendment in civil cases explains the privilege.

Defending a Furnishing Charge

Counsel first examines the evidence on each element. The questions include whether the defendant controlled the property, whether the defendant knew that guests under 21 had alcohol, whether the defendant supplied the alcohol or allowed the guests to possess it, and whether each person who received the alcohol was in fact under 21.

Counsel next examines how the police obtained the evidence, including statements from guests, photos and videos from phones, and any entry into the home. The Commonwealth must justify a police entry into a home without a warrant under the Fourth Amendment and Article 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. A judge can suppress evidence the police obtained through an unlawful entry or search. The firm’s page on illegal searches and motions to suppress explains those rules.

Speaking With Attorney Serpa

A person who receives a notice of a clerk-magistrate hearing for furnishing alcohol, or a call from a detective after a party, should speak with a lawyer before answering any question. Counsel can address the criminal charge, the possible civil claim, and any school, licensing, or immigration question before the person makes a statement. For a free and confidential consultation, call 617.936.0201. The Boston office is at 20 Park Plaza, Suite 400A. The Quincy office is at 500 Victory Road, Suite 400A.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Minor in Possession of Alcohol in Massachusetts Under G.L. c. 138, § 34C
• Hazing Charges in Massachusetts Under G.L. c. 269, § 17
• College and University Student Criminal Defense Lawyer: Boston and Cambridge
• Massachusetts Fake ID Lawyer for Boston and Cambridge
• Massachusetts Clerk-Magistrate Hearing Lawyer
• What to Do When Under Criminal Investigation in Massachusetts Before Charges Are Filed
• Who Sees a Massachusetts Criminal Record
• How to Keep a Criminal Charge Off Your Record in Massachusetts
• CWOF, Pretrial Probation, and Diversion in Massachusetts Criminal Law
• Massachusetts Marijuana Possession and Transfer Limits Changed in 2026
• Massachusetts Criminal Charges Defense