This is a supplement to the training materials presented in the Affordable Alcohol Training Responsible Beverage Service Education Program and must be reviewed.

Arkansas’s Governing Liquor Authority

Arkansas’s Governing Liquor Authority:

• The State of Arkansas’s governing liquor authority is the Department of Finance & Administration, Alcoholic Beverage Control referred to as the ABC.
• The phone number for the ABC is: 501-682-1105.
• The website for the ABC is: http://www.state.ar.us/dfa/abc_administration/abcadm_index.html.

• Arkansas’s Legislature is the body responsible for enacting the state’s alcohol laws.

• Responsible alcohol service training is voluntary.
• Posting of alcohol warning signs is not a state requirement. Local ordinances should be consulted.

Liquor License and Alcohol Beverage Laws for the State of Arkansas

Arkansas’s ABC Division requires:

• Licensees to uphold all the liquor laws for the state of Arkansas.

• Licensees to also be knowledgeable of and abide by any local ordinances as well.

Under Arkansas’s Alcohol Laws:

• Licensees are prohibited from giving customers free drinks.

The following are the general service hours for alcoholic beverages in the state of Arkansas (local ordinances should always be consulted):

• On-Premise establishments, Off-Premise establishments and retail stores may sell and service alcohol Monday – Friday from 7am to 1am and Saturday from 7am to midnight. Must be closed on Sunday.
• Exceptions to the standard service hours are made for licensees who hold a mixed drink permit. Saturday hours are extended from 7am to 2am and Sunday sales are allowed from noon to 10pm.
• Private clubs are also granted an exception and may be open seven days a week from 7am to 2am.
• Grandfathered private clubs are given a further exception and may remain open from 10am to 5am, seven days a week.

Arkansas’s Responsible Permittee Program

To qualify as a Responsible Permittee in the state of Arkansas, licensees must meet the following conditions:

• Attend an ABC approved responsible alcohol service training course.
• Have all employees who sell or serve alcohol attend the approved training course.
• Have all new hires complete the required training course within 30 days from their date of hire.
• Maintain records of all trainings.

Under the Responsible Permittee Program:

• Certification may be voluntarily renewed through the ABC every year.
• The ABC has the authority to suspend or revoke a licensee’s Responsible Permittee status at any time for non-compliance with the program’s requirements.
• Those licensees who participate voluntarily in the Responsible Permittee Program may receive mitigating benefits. Fines or penalties imposed because of a licensee’s or employee’s violation of the state’s alcohol laws or regulations pertaining to the sale or service of alcohol may be reduced.

Identification

Under Arkansas’s laws:

·         Acceptable forms of identification are not regulated by the state. It is left to the licensee to request identification and to determine which forms of identification they will accept.

·         Licensees are not allowed to confiscate a person’s ID even if they believe it to be false. Licensees are encouraged to contact local law enforcement to deal with the situation.

Arkansas’s Laws Regarding Age

Under Arkansas law:

• A person must be at least 21 years old to purchase and consume alcohol.
• It is illegal to sell or serve alcohol to a minor.
• Minors are allowed on the premises of any licensed establishment. However minors may only enter those private clubs that also serve food
• The legal age for working in a licensed establishment is 21 years of age. Exceptions are allowed with the written consent of a parent or legal guardian:

o        Minors aged 18 and older are permitted to sell and handle beer and cooking wines at retail grocery stores.

o        Minors aged 19 and older are permitted to sell and handle alcohol in a public hotel mixed drink establishment, a public restaurant mixed drink establishment, a restaurant wine establishment and at those establishments that have a beer & wine permit for Sunday sales.

• Under no circumstances are minors ever permitted to bartend or mix distilled spirits beverages.

Dram Shop Laws for the State of Arkansas

Dram Shop Liability:

• Licensees and their employees are only held civilly liable if they knowingly served a minor or intoxicated guest who then caused injury or damage to themselves or others.
• The licensee and/or the employee may have an affirmative defense if they can provide evidence that they believed in good faith:

o        That the person was of legal drinking age.

o        That the person was not visibly intoxicated.

o        That the person was not going to be driving.

ADDENDUM: ARKANSAS’S DRAM SHOP LAW

16-126-103. Civil liability for sale of alcohol to a minor.

In cases where it has been proven that an alcoholic beverage retailer knowingly sold alcoholic beverages to a minor or sold under circumstances where such retailer reasonably should have known such purchaser was a minor, a civil jury may determine whether or not such knowing sale constituted the proximate cause of any injury to such minor, or to a third person, caused by such minor.

History. Acts 1999, No. 1596, § 3.

16-126-104. Civil liability for sale of alcohol to clearly intoxicated person.

In cases where it has been proven that an alcoholic beverage retailer knowingly sold alcoholic beverages to a person who was clearly intoxicated at the time of such sale or sold under circumstances where the retailer reasonably should have known the person was clearly intoxicated at the time of the sale, a civil jury may determine whether or not the sale constitutes a proximate cause of any subsequent injury to other persons. For purposes of this section, a person is considered clearly intoxicated when the person is so obviously intoxicated to the extent that, at the time of such sale, he presents a clear danger to others. It shall be an affirmative defense to civil liability under this section that an alcoholic beverage retailer had a reasonable belief that the person was not clearly intoxicated at the time of such sale or that the person would not be operating a motor vehicle while in the impaired state.

History. Acts 1999, No. 1596, § 4.

16-126-105. Consumption instead of sale as proximate cause of injury generally.

Except in the knowing sale of alcohol to a minor or to a clearly intoxicated person, the General Assembly hereby finds and declares that the consumption of any alcoholic beverage, rather than the furnishing of any alcoholic beverage, is the proximate cause of injuries or property damage inflicted upon persons or property by a legally intoxicated person.

History. Acts 1999, No. 1596, § 5.

16-126-106. Immunity from civil liability.

In no event will the act of providing alcoholic beverages to a person who can lawfully possess them by a social host, or other person who does not hold an alcoholic beverage vendor’s permit, constitute a proximate cause of any personal injuries or property damages which may be subsequently caused by an individual consuming any alcoholic beverages so provided.

History. Acts 1999, No. 1596. § 6.