Georgia · Updated Oct 2026
Georgia 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
Georgia doesn't issue a state bartender license. The venue holds the liquor licenses, one from its city or county and one from the Georgia Department of Revenue, not the bartender. You must be 18 or older to serve or bartend, and your city or county may add rules. Learn the job first. Server training such as TIPS is optional, but many employers like it.
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.
Georgia doesn't require server training statewide, but your city or county may, and many employers ask for a course such as TIPS.
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 Georgia, tipped staff get at least $2.13/hr, and tips must bring them to $7.25/hr.
Georgia rules
You must be 18 or older to serve, sell, pour or take orders for alcohol. Check your city or county's rules too, since local governments license bars separately.
O.C.G.A. § 3-3-24 (Official Code of Georgia, Title 3) Georgia DOR: Centralized alcohol licensing FAQs
Georgia doesn't issue a state bartender license. The venue holds the liquor licenses, one from its city or county and one from the Georgia Department of Revenue, not the bartender.
Georgia doesn't require server training statewide. Your city or county may require it, and many employers ask for a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol.
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.
Rules change and can vary by city or county. Last checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with the Georgia Department of Revenue, Alcohol and Tobacco Division and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
Georgia cities and counties license bars separately from the state and can add their own rules for servers and bartenders. Ask your local alcohol licensing office and your employer what applies.
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in Georgia.
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 (Georgia, Bartenders 35-3011) and U.S. DOL state tipped wage table (July 1, 2026). 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
Georgia doesn't issue a state bartender license. The venue holds the liquor licenses, one from its city or county and one from the Georgia Department of Revenue, not the bartender. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
You must be 18 or older to serve, sell, pour or take orders for alcohol. Check your city or county's rules too, since local governments license bars separately. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
O.C.G.A. § 3-3-24 (Official Code of Georgia, Title 3) Georgia DOR: Centralized alcohol licensing FAQs
Georgia doesn't require server training statewide. Your city or county may require it, and many employers ask for a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol.
Georgia cities and counties license bars separately from the state and can add their own rules for servers and bartenders. Ask your local alcohol licensing office and your employer what applies.
See local rules ↑ Georgia DOR: Centralized alcohol licensing FAQs
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), Georgia bartenders earned a median of $10.98 an hour and a mean of $14.58 an hour ($30,330 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $25.63 an hour. 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. Coastal spots like Tybee Island and St. Simons Island hire extra staff for the summer beach season.
No. Georgia 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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