Olympia, WA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

The City of Olympia, in Thurston County, Washington, regulates drinking in public through Olympia Municipal Code § 9.16.055, Opening or consuming liquor in public place. Subsection A prohibits three acts: opening any container which contains intoxicating liquor, possessing any such container which has been opened, and drinking any intoxicating liquor, in a public conveyance or public place.

The prohibition has three ways around it. The activity can be previously authorized by law, authorized by a permit, or specifically approved in writing pursuant to a previously established policy by the City Manager or the City Manager's designee. A sealed bottle is not an opened container, so carrying one unopened does not trip the first two acts.

Subsection B sets the penalty tier. Notwithstanding chapter 9.64 OMC, which makes Title 9 violations misdemeanors, every person who violates any provision of the section is guilty of a class 3 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW. That keeps an ordinary open-container citation out of criminal court.

Subsection C adds a separate duty. It is unlawful for any person to fail to appear as directed when served with a citation and notice to appear in Municipal Court, and that failure carries the penalty set forth in OMC 9.64.010(A): a misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, up to ninety days in jail, or both. A person who ignores the citation therefore faces a criminal charge the original civil infraction did not carry.

The term public place is defined elsewhere in the same chapter, in the pedestrian interference section, OMC 9.16.180(B)(4), as an area generally visible to public view that includes alleys, bridges, buildings, driveways, parking lots, parks, plazas, sidewalks, and streets open to the general public.