The legal drinking age in Malta
Seventeen. From seventeen you can legally buy and be served alcohol in a bar, a restaurant, a shop or a club in Malta. Below seventeen, selling alcohol is an offence for the seller, and staff who serve a minor risk a fine and their licence. The rule is the same across the whole country, Gozo and Comino included. It is worth knowing that this is lower than the eighteen most European visitors are used to, which is why the island has a reputation among younger travellers.
Club entry: 18 in practice
The legal drinking age and the club door are two different things. Most Paceville venues set their own minimum at eighteen, and some of the bigger clubs go to twenty-one on particular nights or for specific events. A ticket bought online does not override the door policy: if the venue says eighteen and you are seventeen, you will not get in, and the ticket is lost. Check the age on the event page before you buy, not on the pavement outside.
Which ID is accepted
A national identity card or a passport. A driving licence is often refused because it is easy to forge and door staff are cautious. A photo of your ID on your phone is not accepted anywhere that matters. Bring the physical document, and keep it somewhere it will survive the night. If you look young you will be asked, and door staff in Paceville ask a lot: the venues are inspected and the fines are real.
What happens if you are underage
You are turned away, and that is the end of it. There is no negotiation at the door and no refund on the ticket. Trying it with a borrowed or altered document is a bad idea: it is an offence, the document is confiscated, and the police station is a two-minute walk from the Paceville strip. The honest answer, if you are sixteen or seventeen and travelling with an older group, is that the beach clubs and daytime pool parties are far more accessible than the night venues.