Bartender & Server & Manager Required RBS Certification
California RBS Training
California Bartending License
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California RBS Certification
As of February 2022, we have been officially approved as a renewed certified training provider by the state for our California Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training Certification. We are known as the most reputable and recommended training provider for California bartending licensing. Since 2012, we had been a state approved Responsible Beverage Service training program provider that is backed by over 35 years of experience with alcohol certifying individuals and businesses since 1985. As of July 2022, the state will require all bartenders, servers, waiters and managers who serve alcoholic beverages to take a newly approved RBS certification course provided for you here. Use any computer, tablet, iPhone, or Android device. We easily guide you on how to get your bartending license in California. It starts with our state approved RBS Training California course. Start now and easily get RBS certified!
What is RBS certification?
RBS stands for Responsible Beverage Service. Many states have adopted their own responsible training certification programs. As of 2022, California ABC requires anyone who serves alcohol to be California ABC RBS certified. Previously, California had not required alcohol certification and to know California liquor laws. That has changed as of July 1st, 2022. After you complete our course today, your California RBS portal account will allow you to take the ABC RBS exam to complete your state certification. By taking our course, you'll be able to easily get all the RBS training program answers correct on the exam and get your CA alcohol certification today.
How do I get RBS training certified? |
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Register in the California ABC | RBS portal as an alcohol server (this includes managers of alcohol servers). |
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Take our California RBS training course online in English or Spanish. |
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Take the final exam in your RBS account after completing the course |
| All can be done within 2 hours or less. We easily guide you on how to become a bartender in California with our self-paced course. Start now and easily get RBS training certified. | |
ABC Certification or RBS Certification?
The two terms are really one in the same. The state of California has a department called the Alcoholic Beverage Control or California ABC. The new program is called Responsible Beverage Service certification or RBS Certification or RBS Training. So, RBS certification is often referred to as ABC certification and vice versa for the state of California bartending license.
California Responsible Beverage Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
| Step 1: |
REGISTER WITH THE CALIFORNIA ABCAll servers and managers must create a personal account in the state of California RBS website. You MUST have a 9-digit RBS server ID. They have a $3 fee to create your account and give you the required server ID. Click here for RBS Portal: https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov/ |
| Step 2: |
COMPLETE APPROVED RBS TRAINING COURSEEnroll Now and begin your RBS training program here with an approved and recommended California RBS certification training provider. |
| Step 3: |
PASS STATE EXAMAfter completing the course, return to the RBS portal to take the exam for your certification. Completion of our course triggers the RBS portal to begin taking your exam. You MUST take the exam within 30 days of completing the course. You have 3 attempts to retake the exam if needed. |
To register as an alcohol server (including managers of alcohol servers), create an account in the RBS Portal (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov). Once an account has been created, you will need to select and complete the Server Registration form. There is a $3.00 fee for registration process. Watch a short video to learn how to become a registered server or manager. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov) You will need your RBS server ID issued by the RBS portal to take an approved course.
Click Sign In at the top of the website to return to your California RBS Training course. Click here:
Click here to return to the state's RBS portal website. The RBS is where you get your server ID and take the final exam to get certified. Click here:
Beginning July 1, 2022, any alcohol server and their manager must have a valid RBS certification from an ABC accredited RBS training provider like Serving Alcohol and pass an online ABC administered RBS exam within 60 calendar days from the first date of employment. It is important to note that all employers will require all servers and bartenders to complete our approved California Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) alcohol training certification per the state of California.
Passage of Assembly Bill 1221 in 2017 created the Responsible Beverage Service Training Act. The new mandate creates a new training requirement for an estimated 1,000,000 on-premises alcohol servers, their managers, and licensees beginning in mid 2021. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov)
Your Server ID is in the “Server Certificate Details” box on your RBS portal dashboard (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov). It is called “ID Number” and is a nine-digit number.
For the RBS portal (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov), password reset is an automated, self-service feature, and our staff cannot view or change your password. Passwords must be a minimum of 15 characters and cannot be similar to a previously used password. For example, if your previous password was RBSCertificationTest123, you cannot use RBSCertificationTest123@! as your new password. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov)
For Serving Alcohol RBS Certification Training, click this link and fill in your registered email address. We will email to you immediately a new login password. If you do not see the response from us in your email inbox, be sure to check your spam or junk filter as the word "alcohol" can trigger some ISPs. Forgot Your Password?
If you do not get your new password or trouble using it, please feel free to send us a quick message through our Contact Us webpage.
Yes. Prior to March 29, 2021, none of the responsible beverage service training providers currently offering services in California were ABC approved for the required statewide mandate. Serving Alcohol Inc. was state approved for RBS certification training as of February 2022. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov)
We are offering our approved RBS certification course for free for those who previously took our California alcohol seller server course after January 1st, 2021. You must use the same email address that you had used for our previous course to get enrolled for free. If you need our help, just use our Contact Us web page and send us a quick message. We strive to reply by email and resolve any issues within 2 hours or less. Often, it's within the hour.
The cost of the exam is $3.00; it is included as part of the alcohol server’s registration into the RBS portal (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov). Once training has been confirmed by completing our RBS training course, our system triggers the RBS portal to offer exam access, and the alcohol server will have three attempts to pass the exam with a 70% or better before having to retake the training and paying $3.00 for the exam. You MUST take the exam within 30 days of completing our course. The exam is currently offered in English and will soon be offered in Spanish from Serving Alcohol Inc.
The state will not be issuing physical or downloadable RBS certificate. Upon completion of training and the RBS certification exam, the alcohol server will be issued a certification number from the RBS portal which is valid for three years. The alcohol server certification number is recorded on the Alcohol Server’s Dashboard in the training history at the bottom of the page of the RBS Portal. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov)
Licensees and managers will be able to verify that their servers are RBS certified using the (certification number and the server’s name) as we get closer to the legal requirement for the mandatory statewide training.
Your training certificate is recorded in your RBS portal Server Dashboard in the training history at the bottom of the page. They are using digital certificates, which will be housed in the RBS Portal. You have been issued a certification number, and that will serve as your training certificate and is valid for three years. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov)
Your employer will be able to check and confirm your certification via the Licensee Login on the RBS Portal, which will be available later this year as it gets closer to the legal requirement for the mandatory statewide training. In the interim, if you want, you may take a screenshot of your ABC Server Dashboard and provide that to your employer.
The California Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training certification is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance.
The state RBS portal use digital certificates (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov). Your servers can provide you with a screenshot of their server dashboard. We are adding the ability to allow you to confirm your staff’s status through the portal, but that feature is not yet available. We expect it to be available in late spring.
- After the purchase of the course, we provide a downloadable PDF of our RBS training that details our California ABC approved RBS training course. You can use this downloadable course material to assist you while taking your RBS exam. It's also a great source to keep and reference anytime of our RBS training course knowledge of our approved RBS training course.
- It's available from our instructions page before beginning the course or from a button in the menu of the course.
- Your are authorized to use our downloadable PDF to help assist you during the exam as it is an open-book test.
Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training educates people seeking employment or those who are currently employed as servers of alcoholic beverages at on-premises licensed locations. It provides servers with the necessary knowledge and skills to responsibly serve alcoholic beverages to avoid causing alcohol related harm to their communities.
Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) is ABC’s free voluntary prevention and education program for off-sale licensees and their employees. LEAD provides practical information on selling alcoholic beverages safely, responsibly and legally, and preventing illicit drug activity on or around their licensed establishment.
Although some local governments currently require servers working in their jurisdictions to attend a LEAD course, the ABC LEAD program will not fulfill the requirements mandated by AB-1221 and will not qualify as an ABC approved RBS Training when the new training mandate goes into effect in 2022.
- You must be 21 years old to serve alcohol.
- An person must be at least 18 years of age to sell alcohol off-sale. An off-sale licensee may employ a person under the age of 18 if that person is under the continuous supervision of a person 21 years of age or older.
- A person between 18 and 21 years of age employed in any bona fide public eating place, which is licensed for the on-sale of alcoholic beverages, may serve alcoholic beverages to consumers only if such service occurs in an area primarily designed and used for the sale and service of food for consumption on the premises, and the primary duties of the employee shall be the service of meals to guests, with the service of alcoholic beverages being incidental to such duties.
- Local ordinances also regulate server age.
Beginning in July 2022, any ABC licensee who has an “ABC On-Premises License” will need to have their staff (alcohol servers and managers of alcohol servers) trained and certified in RBS within sixty (60) days of the date of initial employment. This includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, fast casual dining, tasting rooms (including off-sale locations), hotels, and stadiums.
RBS certification means that the alcohol server has successfully completed training by an ABC approved training provider (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov) and passed the RBS portal alcohol server certification exam (hosted by ABC). Once the server has successfully completed the training and exam, their certification is valid for 3 years. The alcohol server certification must be renewed prior to its expiration to remain valid.
“ABC On-Premises License” means an ABC license that grants the privilege to serve alcoholic beverages to customers who then consume them on the licensed premises.
An alcohol server, as defined under AB-1221 includes anyone who does any of the following:
- Checks customer identification for purposes of alcoholic beverage service or entry to an ABC on-premises licensed establishment;
- Takes customer alcoholic beverage orders;
- Pours alcoholic beverages for customers; or
- Delivers alcoholic beverages to customers.
A manager means any person who trains, directly hires, or oversees alcohol servers at an ABC licensed premises, or any person who trains alcohol servers how to perform the service of alcohol for consumption for an ABC on-premises licensee, including but not limited to, when to check identification or when to refuse service to a patron.
Unless the manager is approved and authorized by the state of California to be an official RBS certification training provider, the manager cannot substitute their training for an approved course. (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov)
This definition specifically excludes an employee or contractor of another separate ABC licensee who is training alcohol servers for marketing or distribution purposes.
Yes, because the server is serving an alcoholic beverage to the general public for consumption on the premises, they MUST be RBS certified. It is incumbent on both the off-sale licensee and distributor to insure their employee or agent meet this requirement because the server at these tastings is acting as an agent of both for these types of events. This remains true if either licensee hires a third-party to serve at these events as they remain an agent of the licensees.
Yes, a felony conviction only prevents a person from obtaining a liquor license in the state of California. A liquor license is the authorization to own and operate an alcohol serving establishment. That is different than the individual RBS certification required of all those who serve alcoholic beverages.
To be suitable as evidence for a defense, the identification card must be issued by a governmental agency and have a current description and a picture of the person presenting it which reasonably describes the person as to date of birth weight, height, sex and color of eyes and hair. No defense will exist if the card has obviously been altered or has expired.
In the event an Armed Forces identification card, Passport or Passport Card is provided as proof of identity and lacks a physical description, but does include date of birth and a photo, further proof of identity shall not be required.
A registration certificate issued under the Federal Selective Service Act is no longer considered documentary evidence of age, identity and date of birth.
Green cards and International Driver's Licenses are NOT acceptable forms of ID.
- A valid current driver's license or photo ID card.
- A valid Armed Forces ID;
- A valid U.S. passport or foreign passport (with U.S. travel visa) containing the holder's photograph.
We have over 35 plus years of experience and consider the most reputable and recommended training provider in the service of alcohol certification. Our founder, Robert Pomplun, has been involved in the hospitality industry as an alcohol certification consultant, instructor, manager, and coordinator. Our alcohol training and certification courses with Robert's guidance have benefited tens of thousands of bartenders, servers, managers, owners, and security staff across the nation. Our courses will prepare you and your team with knowledge as the most critical component of responsible alcohol service.
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Beginning July 2021, the Responsible Beverage Service Training Act of 2017, AB 1221, will mandate that all alcohol servers or managers at on-premises establishments must complete a California alcohol server training course. This certification course is often referred to as California responsible beverage server training, California bartender license, or California RBS server permit. Our seller server course strictly follows the guidelines provided by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to train you how to become a bartender in California, or an alcoholic beverage seller server. This alcohol training course is commonly called the California bartender license or California seller server permit. Since 1985, we have diligently offered alcohol training to certify hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses. This course is created by former bar and restaurant managers, bartenders, and servers. Our alcohol training certification incorporates decades of research and renders the rules, regulations, and California liquor laws set by California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for responsible alcohol service.
For over a decade, we have collaborated with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and liability lawyers to create the most reputable and recommended alcohol certification training. We cover topics in our California bartender course about how old you need to be to become a bartender and how to get your bartender license. For reference, we have a web page dedicated to some helpful bartender career statistics in the US. For general information on obtaining a bartending license (not specific to any state), see our Ultimate Guide to Getting a Bartending License.
Advantages to our online course:
- Easily complete at your own pace
- Login and out of course as many times as needed to complete
- Up to 6 months to complete your course
- Only 70% to pass and get your certificate
- Retake final exam until pass if needed FREE
- Immediately download & email your certificate for FREE
The Responsible Beverage Service Training Act - AB 1221, mandates that all alcohol servers, bartenders, and managers at on-premises establishments complete an approved California alcohol server training course and pass the exam at the state's RBS portal. This certification course is often referred to as California RBS training, RBS certification, or California bartending license.
We recognize that you are busy and alcohol training maybe not on the forefront of your mind. We aim to give you accurate knowledge and quickly bring you "up to speed" with the most recent laws. Some of our information may seem common knowledge. But, as you do, we take your profession very seriously. Your decisions, while serving alcohol, could make a dramatic difference in another person's life. With a little of your time and our training, we will get tips to become a safe server. Select your course, click Enroll Now, complete our course, and get your certificate from the RBS portal all within a couple of hours.
This California alcohol seller server course gives you with the tools to sell and serve alcohol in California responsibly. With our course, you will not only protect yourself but the establishment where you are selling and serving alcohol. Additionally, you will learn:
- The effects of alcohol on your patrons
- Keep customers from becoming overly intoxicated
- Intervene when you need to refuse a sale
- Prevent intoxicated customers from disturbing others
- Train Your Staff to Check IDs Properly for Fake IDs
- Prevent second-party sales
- Protect yourself and the establishment from liability