Alcohol — Chile

Drinking in the street is an offence in Chile, not merely frowned upon: article 25 of Law 19.925 prohibits the consumption of alcoholic drinks in streets, roads, squares, promenades and all other places of public use, and the Carabineros enforce it on the spot. Being found in a public place, or anywhere with free public access, in a manifest state of drunkenness is a separate offence under article 26, and someone caught that way more than three times in one year is reported to the local police court, which can order a treatment or re-education programme. The same Law also inserted article 115 A into the traffic law, which forbids the driver and every passenger from drinking alcohol inside a motor vehicle. Under article 29 no one under 18 may enter a cabaret, cantina, bar or tavern, nor a nightclub where alcohol is sold, and the owner and staff are required to demand an identity document. Licensed premises are supervised by the Carabineros and by municipal and government inspectors, and may only sell alcohol under a municipal patent.

Drinking in a place of public use is punished under article 25 with either a fine of up to one monthly tax unit (UTM) or a warning where the offender has favourable antecedents; the offender may admit the infringement and pay 25 per cent of the maximum fine immediately to the duty officer at the police station. Being drunk in public falls under the same scale through article 26, with repeat behaviour more than three times in a year referred to the local police court for a treatment or re-education measure. A person under 18 found doing either is taken by the Carabineros to the police station or home and handed back to a parent or guardian as a protective measure under article 28.

Verified Oct 12, 2026