Salem, OR Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- SRC Sec. 90.020
- Public drinking
- Unlawful on streets, alleys, public ways
- Permit exception
- Licensed premises with City permit
- Loitering-while-drinking ban
- Stairways, aisles, hallways
- "Public way" includes
- Landscape strips and medians
- Default penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $500 / 6 months
Summary
Salem makes it unlawful to drink alcoholic liquor on any public street, alley, or public way unless the premises hold a City-issued permit for it. A related rule bars standing or loitering while drinking, or serving someone who is loitering, in any hallway, stairway or public place of business.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drink alcoholic liquor upon any public street, alley or public way, save and except those licensed premises who have obtained the appropriate permit from the City. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or serve alcoholic liquor to any person who is standing or loitering in, on, around or about any stairway, aisle, hallway or public place of business in the City, and it shall be unlawful for any person, while drinking alcoholic liquor, to stand or loiter in, on, around or about any stairway, aisle, hallway or any public place of business in the City, except as permitted by ORS 471.402.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Salem Revised Code Sec. 020(a) makes it unlawful to drink alcoholic liquor on any public street, alley or public way, except on licensed premises that have obtained the appropriate City permit. 402, Oregon's licensed-premises exception. Subsection (c) defines "public place of business" as any place open to the public or to which the public is invited, carving out premises licensed by the Liquor Control Commission to serve alcohol. Subsection (d) defines "public way" broadly to include any area used for vehicular or pedestrian travel, expressly including landscaping strips or medians separating a sidewalk from a travel lane.
The section dates to the Prior Code, amended by Ordinance Nos. 4364, 5557 and 76-76, and sits in Chapter 90 alongside the City's liquor license application rules (Sec. 015) and its ban on displaying empty alcohol containers outside licensed premises (Sec. 210). 164, as the legal basis for local alcohol rules layered on top of state licensing.
Violations & Fines
Drinking on a public street or way without a City permit, or the loitering/serving violations in Sec. 90.020(b), are unlawful offenses. Chapter 90 does not state its own penalty for Sec. 90.020, so the citywide general penalty at Sec. 1.070 applies: a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $500.00 fine, enforced by Salem Police through Municipal Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drink alcohol on a Salem sidewalk?
Is it illegal to stand around drinking inside a business?
What counts as a 'public place of business' under this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
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