Maine · Updated Oct 2026
Maine 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
Maine doesn't issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, which the city or town reviews before the state issues it. You must be 17 or older to serve or bartend, with a supervisor 21 or older present until you turn 21. 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.
Maine doesn't require server training statewide, but towns can. In Bangor, finish state-certified training within 90 days of starting work.
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 Maine, tipped staff get at least $7.55/hr, and tips must bring them to $15.10/hr.
Maine rules
You must be 17 or older to serve or sell alcohol in a Maine bar or restaurant, and Maine law doesn't set a separate age for bartending. Until you turn 21, you can serve or sell alcohol only when an employee 21 or older who works as a supervisor is present.
Maine doesn't issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, which the city or town reviews before the state issues it.
Maine doesn't require server training statewide, but towns can require it, and Bangor does: everyone who serves alcohol at a Bangor bar or restaurant must complete state-certified server training within 90 days of starting work. Elsewhere, a bar can use its staff's training as evidence that it serves responsibly if it's sued, so employers often ask for it.
Employers can pay tipped staff $7.55 an hour if tips bring them to at least $15.10 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. In Portland, the minimum wage is $16.75 an hour, and tipped staff must get at least $8.38 an hour before tips. On January 1, 2027, the state minimum wage rises to $15.70 an hour and the tipped base pay to $7.85; the Portland minimum rises to $17.75, and tipped staff there must get at least half of it.
Maine DOL minimum wage FAQ U.S. DOL state tipped wage table (rev. July 1, 2026) Portland, ME City Code ch. 33 (Minimum Wage)
Rules change and can vary by city or town. Last checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO) and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
Each city or town votes on whether alcohol can be sold there, including on Sundays, and reviews a bar's liquor license before the state issues it. Ask your employer or town office whether any local conditions apply.
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in Maine.
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 (Maine, Bartenders 35-3011) and Maine DOL minimum wage FAQ. 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
Maine doesn't issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, which the city or town reviews before the state issues it. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
You must be 17 or older to serve or sell alcohol in a Maine bar or restaurant, and Maine law doesn't set a separate age for bartending. Until you turn 21, you can serve or sell alcohol only when an employee 21 or older who works as a supervisor is present. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
Maine doesn't require server training statewide, but towns can require it, and Bangor does: everyone who serves alcohol at a Bangor bar or restaurant must complete state-certified server training within 90 days of starting work. Elsewhere, a bar can use its staff's training as evidence that it serves responsibly if it's sued, so employers often ask for it.
Each city or town votes on whether alcohol can be sold there, including on Sundays, and reviews a bar's liquor license before the state issues it. Ask your employer or town office whether any local conditions apply.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), Maine bartenders earned a median of $23.52 an hour and a mean of $28.14 an hour ($58,520 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $48.01 an hour. Employers can pay tipped staff $7.55 an hour if tips bring them to at least $15.10 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. In Portland, the minimum wage is $16.75 an hour, and tipped staff must get at least $8.38 an hour before tips. On January 1, 2027, the state minimum wage rises to $15.70 an hour and the tipped base pay to $7.85; the Portland minimum rises to $17.75, and tipped staff there must get at least half of it. 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 towns such as Bar Harbor, Old Orchard Beach and Ogunquit hire extra summer staff, and ski areas like Sunday River and Sugarloaf hire for winter.
No. Maine 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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