Is Alcohol legal in Tuvalu?

Also known as: booze

Legal status

Lawful and regulated in Tuvalu, with sale restricted to licence holders, and not a dangerous drug under the Dangerous Drugs Act. Section 2 of the Alcoholic Drink Act (Cap. 28.04, 2022 Revised Edition) defines “alcoholic drink” as “spirits, wine, beer or sour toddy”, or “any other liquid containing alcohol that is used, intended for use or fit for use as a drink”, in each case “of a strength exceeding 2° proof” (pages 9 to 11). The strength is stated in degrees of proof as printed and is not converted. The state under that Act is named, because alcoholic drink is regulated by name. Under the Dangerous Drugs Act (Cap. 10.10, 2022 Revised Edition) the state is not reached: a search of the text of that Act and of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2025 for alcohol, ethanol, liquor and spirit returned nothing, Part I of Schedule 2 to the Act does not list it, and Part II of the Act applies only to raw opium, coca leaf and Indian hemp. That absence is stated as at the 2022 Revised Edition as amended by the 2025 Act. Selling or exposing for sale without the appropriate licence is an offence under section 92(1) of the Alcoholic Drink Act (page 44). Absolute alcohol and ethyl alcohol as defined in the British Pharmacopoeia are restricted imports under item 1, and brandy, whisky and rum under item 3, of the restricted list in Schedule 2 to the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Act 2014 (page 146).

Consequences if caught

Sale and supply. Section 92(1) says a person who “sells or exposes for sale any alcoholic drink without holding the appropriate licence is guilty of an offence”, liable for a first offence to “a fine of $500” and for a second or subsequent offence to “a fine of $1,000 and to imprisonment for twelve months”. Under section 92(2) the court “shall disqualify him from holding a licence, and from managing any licensed premises, for a period not exceeding two years” on each conviction after the first. Section 29(1) says a publican’s licence authorizes sale and supply “to any person of or over the age of 18 years”, and section 20 limits an off-licence to unopened containers between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any day other than a Sunday or a public holiday (pages 18 and 21 to 22). Sale or supply outside the authorised hours carries a fine of $200 and imprisonment for six months (section 93(1), page 44). Under 18. Section 99 (pages 46 to 47) makes it an offence for a licence holder knowingly to sell or supply, or to permit the sale or supply of, alcoholic drink to a person under the age of 18 years (fine of $200), for an agent or servant to do so (fine of $200), and for any other person knowingly to do so (fine of $100). A person under 18 who obtains or attempts to obtain drink on or from licensed premises, who “has in his possession, or drinks, any alcoholic drink”, or who is drunk, is liable to a fine of $100, and a licence holder who employs a person under 18 to sell or serve drink is liable to a fine of $100. Section 30 (printed pages 21 to 22) makes it an offence, with a fine of $200 and imprisonment for six months, for the holder of a publican’s licence to allow a person under 18 to be in, or within the curtilage of, the licensed premises during the hours referred to in section 29(a), and for any person to cause or procure, or attempt to cause or procure, that, subject to the exceptions and the due diligence defence the section prints. Possession and drinking by an adult. The sections read make possession or drinking an offence in named places and for named classes of person, and section 107 (printed page 49) makes it an offence for any person to drink or have in possession a mixture of sour toddy and a substance other than water, with a fine of $200. No other general offence of possession or drinking by an adult appears in the sections read. A person who drinks on or in the vicinity of the premises of an off-licence, other than in a private dwelling-house, is liable to a fine of $200 (section 22, page 19). Drinking on licensed premises outside the permitted hours carries a fine of $200 and imprisonment for six months (section 93(3)), and drinking within the curtilage of licensed premises after a request to leave carries a fine of $200 (section 101(2)). Drinking in a public place in an area the Minister has declared a prohibited area carries a fine of $200 (section 118(2), page 53), the endnotes at page 57 list declared areas on Funafuti, Nui and Vaitupu and the islets Papaelise and Funafala by an order commencing on publication on 17 September 2021, and section 119 extends local bye-laws to drinking in public places. A person under a prohibition order, made for “confirmed intemperate habits” or after repeated drunkenness convictions, who drinks or has drink in possession is liable to a fine of $200 and imprisonment for 12 months (sections 82 and 84, pages 40 to 41). Manufacture. Section 106(1) says a person who “makes, or assists or is concerned in the making of, any alcoholic drink other than sour toddy” is liable to “a fine of $500 and to imprisonment for nine months”, and section 90 prohibits importing or setting up a still, possessing one, and making spirits, with the same fine and term (pages 43 and 49). Section 106(2) excepts the mixing of sour toddy with water and the mixing of one alcoholic drink with another or with another drink liquid, and sour toddy is sold under a producer’s licence (Part V, sections 76 to 81). Import and export. The Alcoholic Drink Act has no provision on importing drink other than stills in section 90, and no export provision was found. Item 1 of the restricted imports names only absolute alcohol and ethyl alcohol as defined in the British Pharmacopoeia, other than quantities the Customs Officer is satisfied are for purposes approved by the Minister, and does not name drink generally. Item 3 lists “Brandy and whisky unless certified to the satisfaction of the Customs Officer that it has been matured by storage in wood for not less than 3 years” and rum matured for not less than 2 years (page 146). Duty and personal import allowances were not read. Limitation. Section 111 (printed page 50) provides that a prosecution for an offence against the Act shall not be instituted more than six months after the date of the offence. Cultivation, and the maximum. The text has no cultivation offence. The highest imprisonment term printed anywhere in the Act is twelve months, at sections 84 and 92(1)(b), and a search of the text for death and life returned only the end of a committee member’s tenure at section 5. Tuvalu’s general law on capital punishment was not checked.

If prescribed or medical

The only prescription provision in the Alcoholic Drink Act is section 3(1)(f) and (g) (page 11). Section 3(1)(f) says “subject to any other law, alcoholic drink, or a medicine containing alcohol, may be sold or supplied to any person (including a prohibited person) in accordance with a written prescription by a medical practitioner or medical officer”, and section 3(1)(g) lets that person drink it “in accordance with the prescription”. The entry covers licensing and sale only, as a scope boundary. Whether a particular medicine containing alcohol is a prescription medicine is a question for the Tuvalu Medicines Schedule, which section 9 of the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Products Act requires. That Schedule was searched for on three routes and not found, so no classification of alcohol under it is established.

Documentation

Read in full: the Alcoholic Drink Act, Cap. 28.04, 2022 Revised Edition (57 pages, printed commencement 1 January 1985). The printed pages of the Alcoholic Drink Act carry only the words “2022 Revised Edition” and no consolidation date. The legislation site’s home page, https://www.tuvalu-legislation.tv/cms/, read on 7 October 2026, states that the Laws of Tuvalu are in force as at 31st December 2022. Endnote 1 on page 57 records amendment by GS 1/2005, by Act 9 of 2017 (commencement 24 November 2017) and by Act 9 of 2021 (commencement 3 June 2022 by LN 26/2022). Also read: items 1 and 3 of the restricted imports in Schedule 2 of the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Act 2014, Cap. 26.04, 2022 Revised Edition (the PDF prints “Customers”), at page 146. The Dangerous Drugs Act, Cap. 10.10, 2022 Revised Edition, and the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2025, Act 9 of 2025, were searched for alcohol, ethanol, liquor and spirit and returned nothing. The 2025 Act says in section 1(2) “This Act shall come into force on the date of publication”, so it commenced on the date of its publication; the text gives no date and none is stated. The tuvalu-legislation.tv all-legislation index page, read on 7 October 2026 (sha256 f1a30168fc3e2cb5944e6849a1de4afc5ceffddaa6b71bed2cf522c86d0c3070), lists no amending Act and no regulations beneath the Alcoholic Drink Act, so whether regulations under section 127 exist, or any amendment after the 2022 Revised Edition, is not established. The Tuvalu Medicines Schedule was searched for on 7 October 2026 on three routes: the tuvalu-legislation.tv legislation, subsidiary legislation, notices and gazette pages; the government and Ministry of Health websites, where the hostnames tried returned no connection; and WHO and Pacific health sources. It was not found. Amounts are printed with a dollar sign and no currency name. No Tuvalu court decision or licensing decision was read.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Tuvalu’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.