Do You Need a Bartending License to Be a Bartender?

There’s a lot of confusion on the internet around the topic of bartending licenses. Some people say that you need one in to be a professional bartender, whereas other’s claim that they’re a waste of time. Or worse, a complete scam.

Part of what makes it confusing is that bartending licenses often comes under the guise of different names. Alcohol awareness programs, responsible service of alcohol programs, liquor service licenses, alcohol service licenses, RSA, and TIPS, are all different labels for what is most often called a bartending license.

But the main reason why there’s so much confusion is because they’re often mistaken for a bartending certificate that bartending schools award their students upon graduation. And to make matters worse, some of these bartending schools require their students to get their bartending license as a part their program so they can graduate in the first place!

So yes, the whole subject has become incredibly confusing. Hopefully, this article will help shed some light.

What is a Bartending License?

A bartending license is a license that indicates that you’ve passed a responsible service of liquor-serving program certified by the state’s government. You don’t receive any bartending training per se throughout these programs. Instead, you learn about the dangers of alcohol, the liquor laws in your country, state and city, and how to serve alcohol more responsibly.

These programs should also teach you how to identify fake IDs, how to tell if someone is intoxicated, and how to cut someone off.

At the end of it, you’ll be given a certificate/license that allows you to legally tend the bar in your state & country. They’re easy to pass, they’re inexpensive to get, and they take less than a day to complete (usually around 4 hours).

What about Bartending a Certificate?

On the other hand, a bartending certificate is a certifcate that bartending schools award their students upon completion of their programs. It’s nothing more than a piece of paper and it’s more like a participation award than anything – i.e. they mean nothing to industry professionals.

One of the main reasons why bartending schools award these certificates is because it’s a selling point. It helps them bring more students through their front door because they make it seem like you need one to get a bartending job. And to make this selling point seem more legit, some of these schools actually provide government certified liquor serving training so that you also receive a bartending license along with your certification.

However, the cost of bartending school is far more expensive than the cost of getting your bartending license alone. So if you just want the license without the other training, bartending school isn’t worth it.

To clarify, you DON’T need a bartending certificate to become a bartender. However, you may need a bartending license depending on what country and state you’re working in which we’ll take a look at below.

Note: Whenever you’re looking for a liquor serving license program anywhere in the world, you must make sure that it’s certified by the government BEFORE you pay for anything. Some courses aren’t certified and they ARE a scam. So please do your research before you pull out your credit card.

Do you Need a Bartending License to Be a Bartender?

Whether or not you need a bartending license depends on where you’re from as license requirements vary from country to country, state to state, and even city to city. But in the majority of cases, you will need one.

Regardless, I recommend getting one anyway because what these programs teach you is useful. Especially, if you’re new to the bar. And because they’re inexpensive, they’re worth it. It also looks good on your bartender resume.

In the chart below, we’ve provided a country-to-country and state-to-state breakdown of bartending license requirements around the world. This is helpful because it means you can quickly look up what the legal requirements are for your geographical area.

It’s important to remember that some bars will require you to complete your liquor serving license training regardless of state or city laws. If that’s the case, you’ll be notified when you get the job.

Finally, if you work as a bartender in other parts of the world that I haven’t listed below, and you know what the licensing requirements are, please leave the details in the comments section below and I’ll add them to the table :-).

Country	State or Province	License Required?
Australia	Entire Country	Yes
Canada	Alberta	Yes
Canada	British Columbia	Yes
Canada	Manitoba	Yes
Canada	New Brunswick	Yes
Canada	Newfoundland & Labrador	No (but recommended)
Canada	Northwest Territories	No
Canada	Nova Scotia	No (but recommended)
Canada	Nunavut	No
Canada	Ontario	Yes
Canada	Prince Edward Island	Yes
Canada	Quebec	No
Canada	Saskatchewan	No (but recommended)
Canada	Yukon	No
England	Entire Country	No
France	Entire Country	No
Germany	Entire Country	No
Ireland	Entire Country	No
Italy	Entire Country	No
Netherlands	Entire Country	No
New Zealand	Entire Country	Supervisors Only
Scotland	Entire Country	No
Spain	Entire Country	No
Switzerland	Entire Country	No
United Kingdom	Entire Country	No
United States	Alabama	Yes
United States	Alaska	No
United States	Arizona	No
United States	Arkansas	No
United States	California	No
United States	Colorado	No
United States	Connecticut	No
United States	Delaware	Yes
United States	Florida	Varies by local government
United States	Georgia	No
United States	Hawaii	Varies by local government
United States	Idaho	Varies by local government
United States	Illinois	Varies by local government
United States	Indiana	Yes
United States	Iowa	No
United States	Kansas	No
United States	Kentucky	Varies by local government
United States	Louisiana	Yes
United States	Maine	No
United States	Maryland	Yes
United States	Massachusetts	No
United States	Michigan	Supervisors Only
United States	Minnesota	No
United States	Mississippi	No
United States	Missouri	No
United States	Montana	Yes
United States	Nebraska	Varies by local government
United States	Nevada	Yes
United States	New Hampshire	No
United States	New Jersey	No
United States	New Mexico	Yes
United States	New York	No
United States	North Carolina	No
United States	North Dakota	No
United States	Ohio	No
United States	Oklahoma	No
United States	Oregon	Yes
United States	Pennsylvania	No
United States	Rhode Island	Yes
United States	South Carolina	No
United States	South Dakota	No
United States	Tennessee	Yes
United States	Texas	No
United States	Utah	Yes
United States	Vermont	Yes
United States	Virginia	No
United States	Washington	Yes
United States	West Virginia	No
United States	Wisconsin	Yes
United States	Wyoming	Varies by local government
Wales	Entire Country	No

Note: Be aware that bartending license requirements do sometimes change. These cases are rare but they exist. To be sure, contact your local municipality for the most up to date legal information.

For information on minimum age requirements to be a bartender, check out this post here.