Columbia County, GA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 6-90, Outside consumption prohibited; exception
- General rule
- No open containers outside licensed building; no outdoor drinking/loitering
- Exception zone
- Evans Town Center Blvd / N. Belair Rd / Evans to Locks Rd
- Drink limit in zone
- 16 fl. oz., one drink per transaction, plastic/paper cup only
- License penalty
- Suspension or revocation of all licenses under § 6-11
- General penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine and 60 days jail (§ 1-9)
Summary
Columbia County bars anyone from leaving a building where alcohol is sold with an open container, and bans loitering or drinking outside such buildings anywhere in the county. The single carve-out is a mapped Evans Town Center entertainment district, where a licensee can sell one 16-ounce plastic-cup drink per transaction for outdoor carry. Licensees who let patrons violate the rule risk losing their county alcohol license.
Except for the area and circumstances specified in subsection (c), below, and as specified in section 6-117, no person shall leave the building in which alcoholic beverages are sold with open alcoholic beverage containers unless such person is in a patio/open sales area which is approved in accordance with section 6-89 or on the premises of outdoor commercial recreational establishments with an existing license. It is the licensee's responsibility to ensure that no open alcoholic beverage containers are carried out of the building in violation of this section. People shall not gather outside any building in which alcoholic beverages are sold and consume alcoholic beverages or loiter. It shall be the responsibility of the licensee operating the business in such building to prevent such gatherings. ... Any alcoholic beverage dispensed pursuant to this section shall not exceed 16 fluid ounces in size and no person shall possess an open container containing an alcoholic beverage in excess of 16 fluid ounces on the streets, sidewalks, parks, squares or other public places within the area described in this section. No person shall possess more than one alcoholic beverage at a time.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 54).
Full Breakdown
Columbia County Code of Ordinances § 6-90 makes it unlawful for a person to leave the building where alcoholic beverages are sold while carrying an open container, unless the patron is in a patio or open-sales area approved under § 6-89 or is on the licensed premises of an outdoor commercial recreational establishment. Subsection (b) goes further: no one may gather outside a licensed building to drink or loiter, and it is the licensee's job to stop such gatherings from forming in the first place.
The one exception sits inside a defined downtown Evans entertainment zone bounded by Evans Town Center Boulevard on the west, North Belair Road on the north and east, and Evans to Locks Road on the south. Inside that boundary, a licensee can pour one drink per transaction into a paper or plastic cup, capped at 16 fluid ounces, for a customer to carry outdoors; the beverage can never go into a can, bottle or other glass container, and no patron may hold more than one open drink, or one exceeding 16 ounces, on the streets, sidewalks, parks or squares of the district at a time.
Enforcement runs through the license, not just the patron: § 6-11 makes any violation of chapter 6 grounds for immediate suspension or revocation of every license the operator holds countywide, on top of the general penalty in § 1-9, up to a $1,000 fine and 60 days in jail per offense, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense. A licensee facing suspension can request a hearing before the board of commissioners or its designated committee under § 6-62 by filing a written request within seven days of the notice.
Violations & Fines
Carrying an open container out of a licensed building, or drinking or loitering outside one, is a violation of § 6-90 enforceable against the establishment as well as the individual. Under § 6-11, the county can suspend or revoke every alcohol license the operator holds, plus the § 1-9 general penalty: up to a $1,000 fine and 60 days in jail, with each day of continued violation charged as a separate offense. Sheriff's deputies may also cite patrons directly under § 6-90.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I carry a drink outside a bar in Columbia County?
Where exactly is the open-container exception zone?
What happens to a bar that lets customers drink outside?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Columbia County
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