Campbell County, KY Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Closing hours
- 2:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Open container effect
- Prima facie evidence of illegal sale/consumption
- Exception
- Bar stock kept behind the bar
- Sale/dispensing cutoff
- 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. barred
- Penalty
- Class B misdemeanor, fine up to $250
- Jail exposure
- Up to 90 days
- Applies in
- Unincorporated Campbell County only
Summary
In unincorporated Campbell County, licensed alcohol-selling premises must close between 2:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Any open container of beer, malt beverage, spirits, or wine found on the premises during those hours counts as prima facie evidence of illegal sale, dispensing, or consumption, unless it is bar stock kept behind the bar.
The presence of any open container of beer, malt beverage, distilled spirits, or wine, between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. shall be prima facia evidence of sale, dispensing, giving away or consumption of said beverage. This section shall not apply to open containers of bar stock of distilled spirits or wine found behind the bar.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-50: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. O-09-2026, passed 8-5-26; and Res. R-42-26, passed 7-15-26; and State legislation current through KRS Pamphlet 2025).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 111 of the Campbell County Code regulates alcohol sales and consumption hours in the unincorporated county. by separate ordinance. m. 04 backs those closing-hour rules with an evidentiary shortcut: police do not have to catch an actual sale or pour. , that presence alone is prima facie evidence that an illegal sale, dispensing, giving away, or consumption occurred. The one carve-out is bar stock: open containers of distilled spirits or wine kept behind the bar as inventory do not trigger the presumption. This is a licensed-premises rule, not a general ban on carrying alcohol on county streets or sidewalks, and it applies only in the unincorporated area; incorporated cities in Campbell County, including Newport and Alexandria, enforce their own separate alcohol codes.
Violations & Fines
Under § 111.99(A), any licensee, employee, agent, or other person who violates Chapter 111, including the § 111.04 open-container presumption, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor as defined by the Kentucky Revised Statutes. Punishment is a fine of not more than $250, incarceration in the county jail for not more than 90 days, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having an open drink at a bar after 2:30 a.m. break the law in unincorporated Campbell County?
Is bar stock behind the bar covered by the open-container rule?
What penalty applies for violating Campbell County's closing-hours alcohol rules?
Does this open-container ordinance apply inside Newport or Alexandria?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Campbell County
Compare Campbell County to another location·View the Kentucky public conduct overview
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