Alcohol — Uruguay
What travelers need to know about alcohol in Uruguay. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Alcohol in Uruguay: restricted — there are real limits travelers must follow.
Alcohol cannot be sold to under-18s in Uruguay - every licensed seller must display the notice "sale to under-18s prohibited" - and any sale, offer or supply of alcohol is banned outright inside educational centres. Shops covered by the national late-night limit may not sell alcohol between midnight and 6 a.m. and must post a sign saying so, so expect to be refused at the till in those hours.
Penalties fall on the seller, not the buyer: the Ministry of Public Health can impose an observation, a warning, a fine of 1,000 to 100,000 Indexed Units (UI), suspension or cancellation of permits, or temporary or permanent closure of the premises (Ley 19.855 art. 34).
§ IMPO (Dirección Nacional de Impresiones y Publicaciones Oficiales) - Ley Nº 19.855 de 23/12/2019 sobre consumo problemático de bebidas alcohólicas (text with Ley 19.866 amendment): arts. 10, 11, 14, 34Verified Sep 20, 2026