How old do you have to be to bartend?

One of the most frequently asked questions aspiring bartenders have is: “how old do I have to be to become a bartender?”

In other words, new bartenders often want to know at what age they can start preparing and serving drinks. 

This is clearly important to know because along with (potentially) having to get your liquor-serving/bartending license, meeting the minimum age is the only other requirement to be a bartender.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer to “how old do you have to be to bartend” because age requirements vary from country to country, state to state, and province to province.

So to answer the majority of people’s questions, I’ve put together a few simple tables so you can quickly look up what the minimum age is to be a bartender in your geographical area.

Table of Contents

1. 1. United States Bartending Age Requirements
      • On-Premise Bartender
      • On-Premise Server
      • Off-Premise Seller
   2. International Bartending Age Requirements

In the tables below, you’ll be able to find the minimum age requirements for the following countries, states, and provinces: Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States.

If you work as a bartender in other parts of the world and you know what the minimum age requirement is, please reach out so I can also add that country to the list :-).

Please get in touch here.

Finally, before we get to the list, I’d like to point out that in the United States, despite some state’s lower legal minimum age requirements, some bars will still require you to be of legal drinking age (i.e. 21) to hire you as a bartender.

Because bartenders are constantly surrounded by alcohol, it’s common for them to drink (illegally) on the job. If you get caught drinking illegally AND you’re underage, the venue will face the consequences. So it’s more risky hiring bartenders who are underage and some venues aren’t willing to take that risk.

United States Bartending Age Requirements

In the United States, age-requirements for serving alcohol can be confusing. The requirements are primarily broken down between two categories: On-premise and Off-premise. Furthermore, the serving of alcohol On-premise can be broken down one step further. Let’s take a look.

How Old to Bartend On-Premise

On-premise refers to an establishment that sells alcohol to be consumed in where it is purchased, hence on the premise. This includes restaurants, bars, casinos, hotels, and more. On-premise can be further broken down between servers and bartenders, with each having their own age requirements (which we will get into below). The difference between a server and a bartender is that a bartender may pour and mix drinks, whereas a server may only serve the completed drink to the patron.

How Old to Bartend Off-Premise

Off-premise refers to an establishment that sells alcohol that is to be consumed off the premises. The most common off-premise establishment is the liquor store, but it can also include such things as grocery or convenience stores.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way let’s take a look at the age requirements for each category.

On-Premise Bartending Age Requirements

Updated April, 2022

State or Province	Beer	Wine	Spirits	Supervisor?*
Alabama	21	21	21	Yes
Alaska	21	21	21
Arizona	18	18	18
Arkansas	21	21	21
California	21	21	21
Colorado	18	18	18	Yes
Connecticut	18	18	18
Delaware	21	21	21
District of Columbia (DC)	21	21	21
Florida	18	18	18
Georgia	18	18	18
Hawaii	18	18	18	Yes
Idaho	19	19	19
Illinois	18	18	18
Indiana	21	21	21	Yes
Iowa	18	18	18
Kansas	21	21	21	Yes
Kentucky	20	20	20
Louisiana	18	18	18
Maine	17	17	17	Yes
Maryland	18	18	21
Massachusetts	18	18	18
Michigan	18	18	18
Minnesota	18	18	18
Mississippi	21	21	21
Missouri	21	21	21
Montana	18	18	18
Nebraska	19	19	19
Nevada	21	21	21
New Hampshire	18	18	18
New Jersey	18	18	18
New Mexico	21	21	21
New York	18	18	18
North Carolina	18	18	21
North Dakota	21	21	21	Yes
Ohio	19	21	21
Oklahoma	21	21	21
Oregon	18	18	18
Pennsylvania	18	18	18
Rhode Island	18	18	18
South Carolina	21	21	21
South Dakota	21	21	21
Tennessee	18	18	18
Texas	18	18	18
Utah	21	21	21
Vermont	18	18	18
Virginia	21	21	21
Washington	21	21	21	Yes
West Virginia	18	18	18	Yes
Wisconsin	18	18	18
Wyoming	21	21	21

*In some states it is required that a manager or supervisor be present in the establishment while an underage person is serving alcohol. 

On-Premise Server Age Requirements

Updated April, 2022

State or Province	Beer	Wine	Spirits
Alabama	19	19	19
Alaska	21	21	21
Arizona	18	18	18
Arkansas	19	19	19
California	18	18	18
Colorado	18	18	18
Connecticut	18	18	18
Delaware	18	18	18
District of Columbia (DC)	18	18	18
Florida	18	18	18
Georgia	18	18	18
Hawaii	18	18	18
Idaho	19	19	19
Illinois	18	18	18
Indiana	19	19	19
Iowa	18	18	18
Kansas	18	18	18
Kentucky	20	20	20
Louisiana	18	18	18
Maine	17	17	17
Maryland	18	18	18
Massachusetts	18	18	18
Michigan	18	18	18
Minnesota	18	18	18
Mississippi	18	18	18
Missouri	18	18	18
Montana	18	18	18
Nebraska	19	19	19
Nevada	21	21	21
New Hampshire	18	18	18
New Jersey	18	18	18
New Mexico	19	19	19
New York	18	18	18
North Carolina	18	18	18
North Dakota	18	18	18
Ohio	19	19	19
Oklahoma	18	18	18
Oregon	18	18	18
Pennsylvania	18	18	18
Rhode Island	18	18	18
South Carolina	18	18	18
South Dakota	18	18	18
Tennessee	18	18	18
Texas	18	18	18
Utah	21	21	21
Vermont	18	18	18
Virginia	18	18	18
Washington	18	18	18
West Virginia	18	18	18
Wisconsin	18	18	18
Wyoming	18	18	18

Off-Premise Seller Age Requirements

Updated April, 2022

State or Province	Beer	Wine	Spirits
Alabama	None	None	21
Alaska	21	21	21
Arizona	16	16	16
Arkansas	18	18	21
California	None	None	None
Colorado	18	18	18
Connecticut	15	18	18
Delaware	21	21	21
District of Columbia (DC)	18	18	18
Florida	None	None	18
Georgia	None	None	None
Hawaii	18	18	18
Idaho	19	19	19
Illinois	18	18	18
Indiana	19	19	19
Iowa	16	16	18
Kansas	18	18	21
Kentucky	18	20	20
Louisiana	None	None	None
Maine	17	17	17
Maryland	18	18	21
Massachusetts	18	18	18
Michigan	18	18	18
Minnesota	18	18	18
Mississippi	0	21	21
Missouri	18	18	18
Montana	18	18	18
Nebraska	16	16	16
Nevada	16	16	16
New Hampshire	16	16	16
New Jersey	18	18	18
New Mexico	21	21	21
New York	None	None	18
North Carolina	None	None	18
North Dakota	21	21	21
Ohio	18	18	18
Oklahoma	18	18	21
Oregon	18	18	18
Pennsylvania	18	18	18
Rhode Island	18	18	18
South Carolina	None	None	21
South Dakota	18	18	18
Tennessee	18	18	18
Texas	16	16	21
Utah	21	21	21
Vermont	16	16	None
Virginia	None	None	None
Washington	18	18	18
West Virginia	18	18	18
Wisconsin	18	18	18
Wyoming	21	21	21

International Bartending Age Requirements

Country	State or Province	Legal Minimum Age
Australia	Entire Country	18
Canada	Alberta	18
Canada	British Columbia	19
Canada	Manitoba	18
Canada	New Brunswick	19
Canada	Newfoundland & Labrador	19
Canada	Northwest Territories	19
Canada	Nova Scotia	19
Canada	Nunavut	19
Canada	Ontario	19
Canada	Prince Edward Island	19
Canada	Quebec	18
Canada	Saskatchewan	19
Canada	Yukon	19
England	Entire Country	18
France	Entire Country	18
Germany	Entire Country	18
Ireland	Entire Country	18
Italy	Entire Country	18
Netherlands	Entire Country	18
New Zealand	Entire Country	18
Scotland	Entire Country	18
Spain	Entire Country	18
Switzerland	Entire Country	18
United Kingdom	Entire Country	18
Wales	Entire Country	18

Note: Be aware that minimum age 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.

Can You Bartend Under 21?

Yes, there are currently 31 states where individuals can bartend under the age of 21. As you can see from the tables above, there are specific state rules that are more prohibitive even if you can bartend under 21 though. Some states have different rules based on the alcohol, some require a manager on staff, and of course there are also other requirements for servers vs. bartender. It is also worth noting that some states have local allowances that differ from state rules, so be sure to check your county’s regulations.

Do you have to be 21 to be a bartender?

No, as we stated already you do not have to be 21 to be a bartender. Be sure to check your states requirements to be a bartender.

Can you be a bartender at 18?

Yes, in many states you can bartend at 18 years old. States like Arizona, Colorado, and Florida all allow you to bartend at age 18.

How old do you have to be to go to bartending school?

There is no set age to go to bartender school but typically students will start school when they can legally bartend in their state. Double check with your bartender school as you may be able to get started early.

What Licenses Are Required to Become a Bartender?

Regardless if you make the age requirements to bartend, in some states and counties, there are requirements that you have be licensed in order to serve, sell, or make alcoholic beverages. You can see state and county licensing requirements here.