SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOLTexas Alcoholic Beverage Code (ABC) § 106.03
Sale to Minors - Alcohol is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code (ABC) § 106.03. It is punishable by up to 1 year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000.
Below: how these cases end in Texas courts, how long they take, and the punishment.
What does “SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL” mean?
Sale to Minors - Alcohol is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas ABC § 106.03.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code § 106.03 makes it an offense to sell an alcoholic beverage to a minor with criminal negligence. A minor for alcohol purposes is a person younger than 21 years of age. Criminal negligence, the required mental state, means the seller ought to have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the buyer was a minor — a gross deviation from the care an ordinary seller would exercise — so the State need not prove the seller actually knew the buyer's age. The statute provides a defense when the minor falsely represented being 21 or older by presenting an apparently valid proof of identification with a physical description and photograph consistent with the minor's appearance. This provision governs sales, typically by clerks, bartenders, and wait staff; giving or otherwise furnishing alcohol to a minor without a sale is addressed by the separate offense in § 106.06.
What usually happens to a SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL charge?
73% ended without a conviction, 15% in deferred adjudication and 10% in a conviction.
How 143 resolved SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL charges filed 2019–2023 ended, across 13 counties (Bastrop, Bell, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, FortBend, Galveston, Hays, Rockwall, Travis, Williamson):
Outcome is the final disposition recorded on the charge. “Other” (4) covers waived counts, bond forfeitures, transfers and unrecorded outcomes. Bexar County records disposition dates but not outcomes, so it counts toward time-to-disposition only. Tarrant County criminal records are not in this dataset.
How long does a SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL case take to resolve?
Typically about 13 months: half of resolved cases closed within 402 days of filing.
Across 143 resolved SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL charges filed 2019–2023, the median time from filing to disposition was 402 days. The middle half took between 175 and 655 days.
Time depends on the county's docket, whether the case is set for trial, and plea negotiations.
How did real SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL cases end?
Individual cases from the public court record, with the disposition and sentence text exactly as the clerk entered it. Every case is decided on its own facts.
Ended without a conviction
Deferred adjudication
Ended in a conviction
What is the punishment for Sale to Minors - Alcohol in Texas?
Up to 1 year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000.
| Charged as | Possible confinement | Fine | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A misdemeanor | Up to 1 year in county jail | Fine up to $4,000 | Penal Code § 12.21 |
Ranges are the statutory maximums for the level; enhancements, prior convictions and plea agreements change what is actually imposed.
How much is bail for SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL in Texas?
The median bail is $1,500, and 37% of defendants were released on a personal bond.
Across 642 Texas bail settings for this charge (5 counties, Apr 2022 – Jun 2025), the median cash or surety bond was $1,500 (middle half: $1,000 – $2,500). 37% of defendants were released on a personal bond, and bail was denied in 7 cases. When this was the only charge at booking (554 records), the median was $1,500 and 41% got a personal bond.
| County | Records | Median cash bail | Middle half | Personal bond | Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bexar | 61 | $1,000 | $1,000 – $2,000 | 10% | 3% |
| Dallas | 58 | $500 | $500 – $1,000 | 62% | 0% |
| Tarrant | 58 | $750 | $750 – $1,500 | 41% | 0% |
| Travis | 41 | $6,750 | $3,250 – $8,000 | 85% | 0% |
| Nueces | 39 | $1,000 | $275 – $2,000 | 51% | 0% |
Showing the 5 counties with the most records; use the selector for any county with at least 30. Per-charge bond settings on original magistrations, from Texas OCA bail reporting under SB 6. Bail is set case by case — these are statistics, not a prediction.
Charged with SALE TO MINORS - ALCOHOL?
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Find a Defense AttorneyBail data: Texas Office of Court Administration magistration reports (SB 6), Apr 2022 – Jun 2025. Court outcomes: county district and county clerk records. Statistics describe past cases and are not legal advice; every case is decided on its own facts.