Thanks to thirsty customers and generous tips, they were on their way to raising “lots of money” — until a police officer arrived and parked his cruiser in front of the stand. He wasn’t there because he wanted a glass of lemonade. Rather, a neighbor had called the cops on Seinfeld and the boys for slinging the juice without a permit. And, because they didn’t have one, the policeman had them shutdown the stand.
This is a surprisingly common situation. Lemonade stands manned by children and adults alike are frequently nixed by law enforcement who may have noticed them in passing or been tipped off by a neighbor’s complaint.
As it turns out, the seemingly innocent summer pastime is actually illegal in 36 U.S. states. Only children lucky enough to live in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Illinois, New York, Vermont, Rhode Island, or Connecticut can run lemonade stands without permits. The rest are simply breaking the law.
State governments’ main issues with children running the stands usually revolve around health code violations, child labor regulations, or pre-existing laws that require businesses of any nature to obtain permits.
New York only recently legalized lemonade stands in 2019, allowing children ages 16 and under to legally sell the beverage sans a permit, which normally costs $30 a year.
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