Montgomery, AL Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

City Code Sec. 3-10 makes it unlawful to consume, sell, serve, dispense or give away any alcoholic beverage, or attempt to do so, while on any street, in any public building, on public property, or in any other public place within Montgomery, Alabama. The section extends the ban to "any motor vehicle while on the public streets," closing the loophole of drinking inside a parked or moving car. Three carve-outs exist: a municipal facility or location when the city itself authorizes or permits alcohol, a designated entertainment district, and any area covered by a city permit plus all applicable state and local licenses that specifically allow sale, service or consumption.

The ordinance imports the state definition of "public place" from Code of Ala. 1975, § 13A-11-1(2) as an alternative, broadening enforcement beyond the local list of locations. Sec. 3-10 was retitled from "Drinking, selling, serving or giving away in public places" to its current wording by Ord. No. 71-2012 (Nov. 6, 2012), which also folded in the entertainment-district exception. The rule sits in Chapter 3, Alcoholic Beverages, alongside Sec. m. Sunday), so a person can be lawfully served inside a licensed bar at an hour when carrying that same drink out the door onto the sidewalk becomes a separate violation.