The drinking age in Wisconsin was 18 from March 22, 1972 through June 30, 1984. For a little over twelve years, anyone 18 or older could legally buy and drink beer, wine, or liquor anywhere in the state. The window closed when Wisconsin raised the age to 19 in 1984, and closed further in 1986 when it moved to 21, where it has stayed since.
How Wisconsin’s Drinking Age Dropped to 18 in 1972
Before 1972, Wisconsin ran a split system left over from the end of Prohibition. Establishments selling liquor and wine could only serve customers 21 and older, while taverns selling only beer could serve anyone 18 or older. Some municipalities raised the beer age to 21 locally.1Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. The Minimum Drinking Age in Wisconsin
That split ended because of a broader change, not a change to the alcohol laws themselves. After the 26th Amendment lowered the national voting age to 18 in 1971, states began revisiting their age-of-majority statutes. Wisconsin’s Chapter 213 of the Laws of 1971 dropped the state’s age of majority from 21 to 18, effective March 22, 1972.2Wisconsin State Legislature. 1971 Wisconsin Act 213
With that single change, an 18-year-old was a legal adult for every purpose the state recognized, including buying hard liquor. The beer-versus-liquor distinction at the tavern door vanished. College freshmen and high school seniors who had turned 18 could walk into any bar in Wisconsin and order whatever they wanted.
The End of 18 and the Climb to 21
The 18-year-old drinking age held through the rest of the 1970s and into the early 1980s. Rising alcohol-related traffic deaths among young drivers then fueled a national push to raise state drinking ages. Wisconsin acted first on its own, passing 1983 Wisconsin Act 74, which raised the drinking age from 18 to 19 effective July 1, 1984.1Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. The Minimum Drinking Age in Wisconsin
That is the date the drinking age of 18 ended in Wisconsin. The bump to 19, though, barely had time to settle in. Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in July 1984, which threatened to withhold a share of federal highway funding from any state that let anyone under 21 buy or publicly possess alcohol. The original penalty was 10 percent of a state’s highway apportionment; since 2012 the withholding rate has been 8 percent.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 23 USC 158 – National Minimum Drinking Age
Facing the loss of millions in road funding, Wisconsin passed 1985 Wisconsin Act 337, raising the drinking age from 19 to 21 effective September 1, 1986.4Wisconsin State Legislature. 1985 Wisconsin Act 337
The federal law included a grandfather provision: a state could still count as compliant if it exempted people who were already of legal drinking age the day before its new law took effect.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 23 USC 158 – National Minimum Drinking Age Because Wisconsin’s drinking age was already 19 when Act 337 took effect, the youngest grandfathered drinkers were those who had turned 19 just before September 1, 1986. The last of them turned 21 by the end of August 1988. From September 1, 1988 forward, a uniform drinking age of 21 applied to everyone in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s Drinking Age Today
The legal drinking age in Wisconsin is 21 and has been since 1986.5State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue. DOR Alcohol Beverage Laws for Retailers – Underage Alcohol Questions If you landed here because you remember or heard that 18-year-olds could drink in Wisconsin, that memory is accurate for 1972 through mid-1984. It is no longer the rule.
One wrinkle is worth knowing, because it is unusual among the states. Wisconsin lets a person under 21 legally possess and consume alcohol on licensed premises when accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who is of legal drinking age.6Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 125.07 A parent can order a beer for their 19-year-old at a Wisconsin tavern and it is legal under state law. The bar or restaurant is free to refuse: the statute removes the criminal prohibition for the underage person, but it does not require any business to serve them.5State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue. DOR Alcohol Beverage Laws for Retailers – Underage Alcohol Questions
People aged 18 to 20 may also possess alcohol as part of their job at certain licensed establishments, breweries, and wholesalers, so long as the possession happens in the course of their work.5State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue. DOR Alcohol Beverage Laws for Retailers – Underage Alcohol Questions Outside those two exceptions, the 21-year-old minimum applies, and it applies the same way to beer, wine, and liquor. The old split that existed before 1972 is gone, and the 18-year-old drinking age that replaced it is gone too.