Iowa Alcohol Related Laws and Regulations

Where to Buy Alcohol
The only place to buy hard liquor in Iowa are state-owned package stores, otherwise known as ABC stores. Retail stores sell beer and wine. Both types of stores are able to sell alcohol from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays.

Legal Age for Drinking/Serving Alcohol
To drink alcohol in Iowa, you must be 21 years of age, but you can work as a server in a restaurant, bartender, or in a state-owned package store at age 18. At 16, you can sell alcohol in any other situation.

Open Container Laws
If containers of alcohol have been previously opened, they must be transported in the car’s trunk so the driver and passengers do not have access.

BAC Limits
The maximum blood-alcohol content (BAC) that is allowed for a driver in Iowa is .08 percent. If the driver is over this limit, they are considered ‘per se intoxicated’ and can be charged with a DUI (driving under the influence).

Legally, drivers under the age of 21 may have a .02 percent BAC level. If the level is above this, the underage driver is subject to DUI penalties.

If the BAC level is at .15 percent or more over the legal .08 percent BAC limit, the driver may receive much harsher punishment. Harsher penalties also apply to drivers who refuse to submit to chemical testing to check intoxication levels.

Penalties
Drivers subjected of DUI are required to comply with breath, blood, or urine testing for intoxication through ‘implied consent laws.’ Refusal to this law can lead to a year of mandatory suspension of the driver’s license.

The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) may suspend a driver’s license in the case of a DUI conviction. A first conviction entitles a mandatory suspension is 180 days. The second offense entitles one year, and the third offense entitles two years.

Vehicle confiscation is not a penalty option for the courts in Iowa, but the attachment of an ignition interlock device is possible. The device requires the driver to perform a breath-test before the vehicle will start and would be attached at the driver’s expense.

DUI offenders may be subject to mandatory alcohol education. Instead of serving a sentence of incarceration or paying fines, this step is often suggested.

After the third conviction, a DUI is considered a felony.