From 15 September 2026, every webshop in Croatia that sells alcoholic drinks, drinks containing alcohol or energy drinks has to verify that the buyer is an adult through the state’s e-Građani system. The “I am over 18” checkbox no longer counts.
The obligation comes from the amendments to the Trade Act published in Narodne novine 59/2026. They entered into force on 17 June and gave traders 90 days to adapt. Those 90 days ended on 15 September.
What the Law Requires
- Shops and online platforms that sell these drinks over the internet must build a reliable age check into their own system. The check runs through e-Građani.
- The buyer has to prove they are an adult through that system. If they refuse, the shop has to refuse the sale.
- Sellers registered for online retail that sell these products must register with the Ministry of Economy. The ministry sends the data needed for the integration within five working days of a complete request.
- The data from a check may be used only for that immediate verification.
- Fines for a company range from 5,000 to 39,810 euros, plus 2,000 to 6,630 euros for the responsible person. For a sole trader they range from 5,000 to 13,270 euros.
The same amendments ban the retail sale of energy drinks to anyone under 18, and apply the age rules to self-service tills as well.
How the Check Works at Checkout
In the flow as it runs today, the shop shows a QR code at checkout. The buyer scans it with the m-Građani app, signs in with one of the official credentials and confirms. The system checks the state registers and sends the shop one answer: adult or not. The shop learns nothing else about the buyer.
That is a sound design. The shop gets exactly what it needs and nothing more, which is better for privacy than scanning identity documents.
What the Integration Involves
We have built this integration as a WooCommerce plugin, so the list below comes from doing the work, not from reading about it. The steps are the same on any platform.
- Register first. The registration with the Ministry of Economy comes before any code, and the integration data can take up to five working days to arrive.
- Flag the products. Alcoholic drinks, drinks containing alcohol and energy drinks. A cart with one such product triggers the check.
- Put the check before payment. Nobody should pay for an order that cannot be delivered.
- Keep only what you need. Store on the order that a check passed and when, and nothing about the person. Ask your data protection adviser to confirm the setup.
- Test on a phone as well as a desktop. Many buyers check out on the same phone that holds m-Građani, and that path needs as much attention as the QR code on a laptop.
- Explain the step. A buyer without m-Građani cannot finish the order. Say so clearly, before they reach the payment page.
What Is Still Unclear
Buyers abroad. A customer in Munich usually has no e-Građani account; foreign nationals need a Croatian OIB to get one. Read literally, the law gives that customer no way to buy. The common practice is to run the check when the delivery address is in Croatia and keep the previous flow for deliveries abroad. That reading fits the purpose of the law, but it is not written in it. With fines of up to 39,810 euros, we would put the question to the Ministry of Economy in writing and keep the answer on file.
Foreign shops. Croatian trade law binds traders established in Croatia. Under the EU e-Commerce Directive, an online shop is supervised by the country where it is established, so a shop in another member state selling to Croatian customers does not run this check today. That puts the extra step, and its cost, on Croatian shops only. Croatia could extend the check to such a shop only case by case, to protect minors and after notifying the European Commission. An age check that also accepted other EU countries’ electronic identities under the eIDAS Regulation would protect minors just as well and remove most of that imbalance. HGK and HUP are the right channels to raise it.
What It Means for You
If you sell alcohol or energy drinks online from Croatia, the deadline was 15 September. Register with the ministry, integrate the check and get written confirmation on how to handle deliveries abroad. If you want us to look at your checkout or do the integration, book a 20-minute call. If your shop already handles it well, we will tell you that too.