Alabama · Updated Oct 2026
Alabama doesn't require a state bartender license, but you still need to know how to do the job. Here's your path from zero experience to your first shift, plus the rules and pay to know.
Quick answer
Alabama doesn't issue a bartender license. The ABC Board licenses the bar or restaurant, so the venue holds the liquor license, not the bartender. You must be 21 to bartend; at 18 you can only wait tables at certified restaurants. Learn the job first, then check which server training applies where you'll work.
Your path
Take Bar Ready online: tools, pours, spirits, cocktails, service and how to get hired.
Watch every lesson in full to unlock each course's certificate of completion in your dashboard. It shows employers you trained. It isn't a license.
At a venue in the ABC Board's Responsible Vendor Program, pass its approved course and exam within 30 days of starting. Many other employers ask for alcohol training too.
See local rules ↓Put your training and certificates on your resume and apply to bars and restaurants near you.
Pour, serve and earn tips. In Alabama, tipped staff get at least $2.13/hr, and tips must bring them to $7.25/hr.
Alabama rules
In Alabama you must be 21 to bartend, and generally 21 to serve alcohol. The exception: at 18 you can serve drinks as a server or busser at a restaurant or hotel restaurant certified in the ABC Board's Responsible Vendor Program, as long as you don't pour or mix drinks and someone 21 or older from the business is on site.
Ala. Code §28-1-5 (as amended 2023, SB135) Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-6-.10
Alabama doesn't issue a bartender license. The ABC Board licenses the bar or restaurant, so the venue holds the liquor license, not the bartender.
Ala. Code §28-1-5 (as amended 2023, SB135) Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-5-.02
Alabama doesn't require training for every bartender. If you work at a venue certified in the ABC Board's Responsible Vendor Program, which restaurants must join to hire servers under 21, you must pass its approved course and exam within 30 days of starting work. Many other employers ask for alcohol training anyway.
Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-12-.04 Ala. Code §28-1-5 (as amended 2023, SB135)
Alabama has no state minimum wage, so federal rules apply: employers can pay tipped staff $2.13 an hour if tips bring them to at least $7.25 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference.
U.S. DOL state minimum wage laws U.S. DOL tipped minimum wages
Rules change and can vary by city or county. Last checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC Board) and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
A bar's liquor license needs local government approval before the ABC Board issues it, so local rules can differ. Ask your employer or city hall whether any local rule applies to bar staff.
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in Alabama.
Open the official websiteYour employer can also tell you which rules apply where you'll work.
Pay
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (Alabama, Bartenders 35-3011) and U.S. DOL state minimum wage laws. BLS wages include tips reported by employers. What you earn depends on the venue, your shifts and your location, and isn't guaranteed.
Jobs
Open bartender listings near you on Indeed. Barback and server openings are worth a look too: they're a common way behind the bar.
The question we hear most
Questions people ask
Alabama doesn't issue a bartender license. The ABC Board licenses the bar or restaurant, so the venue holds the liquor license, not the bartender. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
Ala. Code §28-1-5 (as amended 2023, SB135) Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-5-.02
In Alabama you must be 21 to bartend, and generally 21 to serve alcohol. The exception: at 18 you can serve drinks as a server or busser at a restaurant or hotel restaurant certified in the ABC Board's Responsible Vendor Program, as long as you don't pour or mix drinks and someone 21 or older from the business is on site. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
Ala. Code §28-1-5 (as amended 2023, SB135) Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-6-.10
Alabama doesn't require training for every bartender. If you work at a venue certified in the ABC Board's Responsible Vendor Program, which restaurants must join to hire servers under 21, you must pass its approved course and exam within 30 days of starting work. Many other employers ask for alcohol training anyway.
Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-12-.04 Ala. Code §28-1-5 (as amended 2023, SB135)
A bar's liquor license needs local government approval before the ABC Board issues it, so local rules can differ. Ask your employer or city hall whether any local rule applies to bar staff.
See local rules ↑ Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-5-.02 Ala. Code §28-3A-11
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), Alabama bartenders earned a median of $13.45 an hour and a mean of $15.49 an hour ($32,220 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $26.68 an hour. Alabama has no state minimum wage, so federal rules apply: employers can pay tipped staff $2.13 an hour if tips bring them to at least $7.25 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. Pay varies by venue, shifts and location.
Experience is up to each employer. Learning the fundamentals first, and being able to show you finished training, helps you stand out when you apply. That's what step 1 is for.
Search job boards like Indeed for bartender, barback and server openings in your city, check the websites and social pages of bars you'd like to work at, and drop off a resume in person when it's quiet. Barback and server jobs are a common way in. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach hire extra staff for the summer beach season.
No. Alabama doesn't require bartending school. An online course lets you learn the tools, pours, cocktails and service at your own pace.
No. We don't place students in jobs. Bar Ready shows you what the job involves and how to get hired, with a resume guide and template and what to expect when you apply. Then you apply to bars and restaurants near you.
Bar Ready is self-paced, so you go as fast as your schedule allows. After that, timing depends on your local rules and the jobs near you.
No. Your Bar School certificates of completion, one for each Bar Ready course, show employers you finished our training. They aren't a government license or permit, and they don't replace TIPS, ServSafe or any state or local requirement.
Step 1 is learning the job. Start Bar Ready online today, at your own pace.
Bar Ready · 100% online · $197 one-time · Certificates of completion
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