Kansas · Updated Oct 2026
Kansas 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
Kansas doesn't issue a bartender license; the venue holds the liquor license. State rules do bar anyone with a felony conviction that hasn't been expunged from serving, mixing or pouring alcohol. You must be 21 to mix or pour drinks, or 18 to serve. 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.
Kansas doesn't require it, but many employers prefer a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol. Your city or county may add its own rules.
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 Kansas, tipped staff get at least $2.13/hr, and tips must bring them to $7.25/hr.
Kansas rules
You must be 18 to serve alcohol in a Kansas bar, club or restaurant and 21 to mix or pour drinks. At beer-only bars licensed by a city or county, staff under 21 can sell or serve beer only if at least half the bar's sales come from food.
K.S.A. 41-2610 Kansas ABC employee FAQs Kansas ABC Policy Memo 2001-3
Kansas doesn't issue a bartender license; the venue holds the liquor license. State rules do bar anyone with a felony conviction that hasn't been expunged from serving, mixing or pouring alcohol.
Kansas doesn't require server training for servers or bartenders. Employers often ask for a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol anyway, and the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control division offers training visits for licensed businesses.
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.
K.S.A. 44-1203 U.S. DOL state tipped wage table (rev. July 1, 2026)
Rules change and can vary by city or county. Last checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with the Kansas Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
Cities and counties issue the licenses for beer-only bars and can pass their own alcohol ordinances. Ask your employer or your city or county clerk what applies where you'll work.
K.S.A. 41-2702 Kansas ABC: cereal malt beverage licenses Wichita Ordinance 50-161
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in Kansas.
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 (Kansas, Bartenders 35-3011) and K.S.A. 44-1203. 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
Kansas doesn't issue a bartender license; the venue holds the liquor license. State rules do bar anyone with a felony conviction that hasn't been expunged from serving, mixing or pouring alcohol. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
You must be 18 to serve alcohol in a Kansas bar, club or restaurant and 21 to mix or pour drinks. At beer-only bars licensed by a city or county, staff under 21 can sell or serve beer only if at least half the bar's sales come from food. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
K.S.A. 41-2610 Kansas ABC employee FAQs Kansas ABC Policy Memo 2001-3
Kansas doesn't require server training for servers or bartenders. Employers often ask for a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol anyway, and the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control division offers training visits for licensed businesses.
Cities and counties issue the licenses for beer-only bars and can pass their own alcohol ordinances. Ask your employer or your city or county clerk what applies where you'll work.
See local rules ↑ K.S.A. 41-2702 Kansas ABC: cereal malt beverage licenses Wichita Ordinance 50-161
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), Kansas bartenders earned a median of $13.43 an hour and a mean of $17.20 an hour ($35,780 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $31.74 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.
No. Kansas 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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