MAY 1, 2026
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The Utah State Legislature updated several of Utah’s alcohol laws during their annual legislative session earlier this year. The DABS announced a portion of those changes, specifically related to ID requirements, last month. (See the post about ID requirements here.)
This latest update shares the additional law changes that are effective starting on May 6, 2026.
- Changes to Proximity Requirements
License Types Impacted: Hotel and all Restaurant
Allows commission to grant a proximity variance for restaurant and hotel applicants if (1) the nearby community location is a park, playground, or library; and (2) the applicant obtains local consent.
- Liquor storage
License Types Impacted: On-Premise
Alcohol is no longer required to be locked when the establishment is closed.
- Food to Alcohol Sales Quota Requirements
License Types Impacted: On-Premise (except for bars, taverns, beer-recreational)
Licensees currently operating with the 70/30 (70% food sales to 30% alcohol sales) requirement must continue following this quota expectation. However, the law no longer prohibits mixers from being added to the food costs calculation. (Mixers might include things like orange juice, limes, etc. used in prepared alcoholic beverages.)
–The new requirement states that the percentage calculated using the following formula may not be more than 30%:
(Annual alcohol cost) ÷ (Annual gross revenues from food + Annual cost to purchase alcohol) = Annual food sales to reported to DABS
- Canned Cocktails
License Types Impacted: Full-Service Restaurant, Bar, and all types licensed to sell liquor
Removes the requirement that canned cocktails must be sealed when sold to a customer at an on-premise establishment.
- Foreign Driver Licenses Acceptable Forms of ID
License Types Impacted: All
Foreign driver licenses that include a photo and date of birth will now be accepted as identification for alcohol purchases. Passports and other previously accepted forms of ID also remain an acceptable form of identification. Foreign identification cards that are not driver licenses may not be accepted.
- Mobile IDs
License Types Impacted: All Off-Premise and On-Premise
Licensees and permittees that choose to accept mobile IDs and use the necessary software to accept mobile IDs must also post signage. The “conspicuous notice” must consist of: (1) what “identity attributes” are collected; (2) how the “identity attributes” are used; (3) the purpose for which the “identity attributes” are processed; and (4) how long “identity attributes” are retained.
- ID Confiscation (retroactive effective date to Jan. 1, 2026)
License Types Impacted: Off-Premise, Restaurant, Bar, Tavern
Allows, but does not require, an off-premise retailer providing alcohol curbside, bar, tavern, or restaurant to confiscate a physical ID (not a mobile ID) if it’s determined by law enforcement to be fake. To confiscate an ID, licensees must contact the police and wait no longer than 30 minutes for law enforcement to arrive and determine the validity of the ID. If law enforcement is not available within 30 minutes, the presumed-to-be fake ID must be returned to the individual.
- Hotel Portability
License Types Impacted: Hotel
Hotels may allow guests to carry an alcoholic beverage within the hotel, if there is a “designated conveyance area” established as an approved route. The “designated conveyance area” must be the most direct route possible when connecting to the hotel guest’s room from and between any of the following sublicensed areas within the hotel: bar, hospitality amenity, or banquet.
- On-Premise Portability
License Types Impacted: All Restaurant, Bar
Allows a patron to transport alcohol from a bar to an adjacent restaurant owned by the same person if: (1) the distance between the bar and restaurant is less than 35 feet; (2) a bar employee escorts the patron to the restaurant; and (3) the patron does not use or cross a public walkway.
- Alcoholic Beverage Services Commission Discretion
License Types Impacted: Applicants, not necessarily existing licensees
The Alcoholic Beverage Services Commission may use discretion when considering retail license applications: (1) the locality, including physical characteristics and operational factors; (2) management capabilities; (3) the nature and type of retail license operation, including menu items, hours, and seating; and (4) any other factor the commission considers necessary.
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