Utah’s new law calling for 100 percent IDs checked on alcohol sales goes into effect January 1, 2026

On January 1, 2026, a new anti-drinking-and-driving law will begin requiring alcohol sellers to check every single ID before sale, regardless of age ap­pearance, checking for a new red banner that forbids sales to repeat or serious DUI offenders.

HB437, passed in the 2025 legislative ses­sion, enacts an array of legal measures de­signed to restrict alco­hol sales to any person labeled “interdicted,” a status assigned to individuals convicted of an extreme DUI. Utah law labels a DUI extreme when the offender has a blood al­cohol content of .16 or higher, or has a blood alcohol content of .05 mixed with another controlled substance, and repeat extreme DUI offenses carry increasingly severe penalties. Under the newly enacted law, an individual labeled interdicted will be required to turn their driver’s license or state ID into the state, and have a new one issued with a red stripe read­ing “no alcohol sale” in clear view on the card. The law requires any alcohol distributor to visually confirm the absence of this mark before sale, and the 2026 legislative ses­sion is preparing to amend the law to allow updates to electronic ID checkers capable of checking an ID’s interdicted status.

While IDs are still checked in the stan­dard fashion - both visual and electronic - upon entry to estab­lishments licensed as bars or taverns, in­terdicted individuals are allowed to enter those locations within the terms of their probation and can still purchase anything non-alcoholic off the menu. Similarly, es­tablishments licensed as full-service, limited-service or beer-only restaurants are required to check all IDs of any customer pur­chasing alcohol, with electronic ID checking specific to alcohol dis­pensing areas.

An individual’s in­terdicted status is mandated by law to correspond with the duration of probation­ary measures, and the red-marked ID card is required only for that duration; with a successful completion of probation, the offender can reobtain a standard ID.

This law is on the docket for amendments in the 2026 ses­sion, so changes may be enacted in the coming year. Further infor­mation is available on the HB437 page on the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services page at abs.utah.gov.