Alcohol — Dominican Republic
What travelers need to know about alcohol in Dominican Republic. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Alcohol in Dominican Republic: restricted — there are real limits travelers must follow.
Shops and liquor stores in the Dominican Republic must stop selling alcohol at midnight; bars, restaurants and casinos at 2am Sunday-Thursday and 3am Friday-Saturday. All-inclusive resorts serving their own guests are exempt.
Penalties fall on the business, not the customer: violating the schedule can lead to temporary or permanent closure of the establishment and cancellation of its licences or permits (ESP/001-2022 art. 2). Enforcement is by the Comision Nacional de Espectaculos Publicos y Radiofonia (COBA) together with the National Police.
§ Ministerio de Interior y Policia (mip.gob.do), Resolucion ESP/001-2022 of 11 April 2022 (joint MIP / Ministerio de Turismo), arts. 1 and 2. Currency confirmed from Resolucion MIP-RR-0001-2026 of 24 March 2026, https://mip.gob.do/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Resolucion_num._MIP-RR-0001-2026-1.pdf. Minimum age from Ley 136-03, Codigo para el Sistema de Proteccion de los Derechos Fundamentales de Ninos, Ninas y Adolescentes, art. 22.Verified Sep 8, 2026