California RBS Certification

Click Sign In at the top of the website to return to your California RBS Training course. 

Return to the state's RBS portal website. The RBS portal is where you get your server ID and take the final exam to get certified.

For the RBS website (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov), their password reset is an automated, self-service feature. Our support staff cannot view or change your password. Passwords must be a minimum of 15 characters and cannot be similar to a previously used password.  https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov/reset-password

For your California RBS Training course, click this link and fill in your registered email address. Our system will immediately email a new login password. If you do not see a response from us in your email inbox, be sure to check your spam or junk filter. Forgot Your Password? If you do not get your new password or have trouble using it, please feel free to send us a quick message through our Contact Us webpage.

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.

The 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 within your RBS portal dashboard (https://abcbiz.abc.ca.gov). It is called “ID Number” and is a nine-digit number.

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 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 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 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.

• The downloadable PDF is available from our instructions page before beginning the course & from a button in the menu of your 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.

Yes, a felony conviction only prevents a person from obtaining a liquor license within the state.  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.