Michigan · Updated Oct 2026
Michigan 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
Michigan does not issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, not the bartender. You must be 18 or older to serve and pour alcohol. 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.
State law doesn't require it for most bartenders, but bars with a new license need a trained supervisor on duty, and employers often ask for training.
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 Michigan, tipped staff get at least $5.49/hr, and tips must bring them to $13.73/hr.
Michigan rules
At 18 or older you can serve and pour alcohol. At 17 you can sell and serve alcohol only at a restaurant where food and other goods make up at least half of sales, after finishing approved server training, and only when a trained supervisor 18 or older is on duty.
Michigan does not issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, not the bartender.
When a bar or restaurant gets a new liquor license or changes owners, it must have a supervisor trained in an MLCC-approved program on duty whenever alcohol is served. Servers who are 17 must also be trained. State law doesn't require training for other bartenders and servers, but employers often require it anyway.
Employers can pay tipped staff $5.49 an hour if tips bring them to at least $13.73 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. On January 1, 2027, the minimum wage rises to $15.00 an hour and the tipped base pay to $6.30.
MCL 408.934 MCL 408.934d Michigan LEO minimum wage U.S. DOL state tipped wage table (July 1, 2026)
Rules change. Last checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
Age and server training rules come from state law and are the same across Michigan. Your city, village or township must approve a bar's liquor license, so ask your employer about any extra conditions on its license.
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in Michigan.
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 (Michigan, Bartenders 35-3011) and MCL 408.934. 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
Michigan does not issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, not the bartender. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
At 18 or older you can serve and pour alcohol. At 17 you can sell and serve alcohol only at a restaurant where food and other goods make up at least half of sales, after finishing approved server training, and only when a trained supervisor 18 or older is on duty. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
When a bar or restaurant gets a new liquor license or changes owners, it must have a supervisor trained in an MLCC-approved program on duty whenever alcohol is served. Servers who are 17 must also be trained. State law doesn't require training for other bartenders and servers, but employers often require it anyway.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), Michigan bartenders earned a median of $17.68 an hour and a mean of $21.38 an hour ($44,470 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $36.58 an hour. Employers can pay tipped staff $5.49 an hour if tips bring them to at least $13.73 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. On January 1, 2027, the minimum wage rises to $15.00 an hour and the tipped base pay to $6.30. 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. Northern Michigan resort towns like Traverse City and Mackinac Island hire extra staff for summer.
No. Michigan 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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