“Every state has a weird liquor law or two. Utah just happens to have all of them.”
Tanner Lenart, better known as the Utah Liquor Lawyer, has been helping businesses navigate our state’s tedious alcohol regulations for more than 13 years. From handling license transfers to negotiating fines for violations, Tanner’s main goal is simple: keep businesses up and running. Lenart took a shine to the field of beverage law early on in her career. “I remember thinking, ‘gosh, this is so great,'” she says. “So much better than dealing with death, destruction or divorce.”
Her work in the field ranges from assisting expanding franchise hotels with license applications to ensuring manufacturers operate within statutes and negotiating with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) over compliance violations. “I even have clients that plan to launch their business within the next two years and just want to understand the legal landscape,” she says. “Other businesses I work with have been operating for decades with a clean history, but they all of a sudden get a violation and I help negotiate settlements with the Attorney General’s Office.”
The scope of Lenart’s work is no surprise when you consider Utah’s militant liquor regulations–statutes that change frequently and impact each type of license differently. the transfer of licenses, for example, has undergone a pendulum-swing of changes over the years that confuse both resident and transplant business owners.
“For a while, you couldn’t transfer your liquor license, but you could sell it,” Lenart explains.
As of 2022, a new law eliminated the market value of licenses, forcing businesses to apply for new licenses awarded by the DABS commission or undergo a tedious process of restructuring. Another change DABS introduced in recent years allows customers to carry their drinks when moving from a waiting lounge to a tale. Before, 2023, your cocktail required an official babysitter to relocate 15 feet. Every so often, new laws will move toward easing restrictions, but that doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all in the beverage industry. Utah operates under an Express Language Clause, which basically says: unless it is expressly permitted in a DABS statute, go ahead and assume it’s prohibited.
With so many hair-splitting laws, the odds of a bar, restaurant or any beverage-related operation receiving a compliance violation are high. “I can say that my practice in the violation are has grown,” Lenart says.
Whether that increase is due to a crackdown in DABS enforcement or her reputation growing in the community, Lenart can’t say. Though she does acknowledge a change in how DABS is approaching compliance missteps. DABS’ undercover operations used to primarily focus on the CUBS program (Covert Underage Buyers), in which 19-year-olds use their real underage IDs and attempt to purchase alcohol at bars, restaurants, etc.
“They still do that, but I’m seeing a lot more manpower being used on DABS agents going in to look for other violations like having too many drinks in front of customers at a time,” says Lenart. Minor infractions like bartending without a name tag, can result in a written warning.
But even those violations can stack up, and that’s where Lenart can help. “There are statutes and administrative rules with select penalties, but those penalties range,” she explains.
Lenart can facilitate negotiations between businesses and DABS, using factors like violation history and level of cooperation, to her clients’ advantage. Best-case penalties may include warnings and small fines, but extreme cases can be devastating.
“I remember a male revue show coming into town selling alcohol on their premises, while doing full nudity,” Lenart recalls in disbelief. “That resulted in full suspension of there license an a five-figure fine, and that’s just a first offense.”
The fast-paced nature of Utah’s liquor landscape can be an intimidating reality for both new and legacy businesses, but its advocates like Tanner who are guiding Utahns toward continued success.
Want to stay in the loop on all things liquor law? Check out Lenart’s X (formerly Twitter) @UTliquorlawyer, where she breaks down the legal stuff into easy-to-get updates you’ll actually want to read.
Strange Changes to UT Liquor Laws
- Good: Straw Tasting
As of May 2025, Utah bartenders can officially straw taste their cocktails. It’s a standard industry practice akin to a chef tasting a sauce; the technique was previously considered “illegal consumption of liquor on the job.” Now, bartenders can get high on their own supply, a few drops at a time. (They don’t.)
- Tricky: ID Checks for All
A huge change is coming for Utah in 2026. H.B. 437 mandates a 100% ID check for alcohol sales, regardless of age. “I can see someone in their 70s ordering a $500 bottle of wine at a resort pool in Park City getting feisty over this one,” Lenart remarks.
- Umm: Interdicted Person Identifier
Starting in January 2026, Individuals with extreme DUIs, or otherwise restricted from purchasing alcohol for a set period, will surrender their license to the DMV in exchange for a replacement ID displaying a big red stripe and the words “NO ALCOHOL SALE.” It’s unclear how DABS will provide training on how to verify the interdicted status, if ID scanners will be used to identify out-of-state restrictions, and how to address interdicted individuals who are using a passport.
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