California RBS Training Certification

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 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 the 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.

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.

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.
• 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.

An alcohol server, as defined under AB-1221 includes anyone who does any of the following:

1. Checks customer identification for purposes of alcoholic beverage service or entry to an ABC on-premises licensed establishment;
2. Takes customer alcoholic beverage orders;
3. Pours alcoholic beverages for customers; or
4. 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, 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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