Mississippi · Updated Oct 2026
Mississippi 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
Mississippi does not issue a bartender license, and the state no longer requires ID cards for regular employees, only for owners and managers. The venue holds the alcohol permit, not the bartender. You must be 21 to tend bar, or 18 to wait tables and serve drinks. 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.
Mississippi doesn't require it, but many employers prefer a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol.
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 Mississippi, tipped staff get at least $2.13/hr, and tips must bring them to $7.25/hr.
Mississippi rules
At bars and restaurants with a liquor permit, you can wait tables and serve drinks at 18, but you must be 21 to tend bar or manage. At beer-only places, the state sets no minimum age for employees who sell or serve beer.
Mississippi DOR ABC FAQ Mississippi ABC permit holder guidebook
Mississippi does not issue a bartender license, and the state no longer requires ID cards for regular employees, only for owners and managers. The venue holds the alcohol permit, not the bartender.
Mississippi does not require server training for bartenders or servers. The state ABC Division offers free training sessions for bar staff on request, and employers often require a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol anyway.
Mississippi 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.
Rules change. Last checked October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with the Mississippi Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
Employee age rules come from the state and apply statewide. Some Mississippi counties and cities are still dry, though, so bars there can't sell alcohol.
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in Mississippi.
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 (Mississippi, 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
Mississippi does not issue a bartender license, and the state no longer requires ID cards for regular employees, only for owners and managers. The venue holds the alcohol permit, not the bartender. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
At bars and restaurants with a liquor permit, you can wait tables and serve drinks at 18, but you must be 21 to tend bar or manage. At beer-only places, the state sets no minimum age for employees who sell or serve beer. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
Mississippi DOR ABC FAQ Mississippi ABC permit holder guidebook
Mississippi does not require server training for bartenders or servers. The state ABC Division offers free training sessions for bar staff on request, and employers often require a course such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol anyway.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), Mississippi bartenders earned a median of $13.62 an hour and a mean of $17.55 an hour ($36,510 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $35.74 an hour. Mississippi 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 Coast beach and casino towns like Biloxi and Gulfport are worth checking for spring and summer openings.
No. Mississippi 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.
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