South Dakota · Updated Oct 2026
South Dakota 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
South Dakota does not issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, which it gets through its city or county and the South Dakota Department of Revenue. You can bartend at 18 under certain conditions, such as an owner or employee 21 or older on site; otherwise you must be 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.
Bartenders 18 to 20 must be certified by a program like TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol before they pour or mix drinks. Employers often ask for it at 21 too.
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 South Dakota, tipped staff get at least $5.93/hr, and tips must bring them to $11.85/hr.
South Dakota rules
You can serve or bartend at 18 if the business makes less than half its money from alcohol, or if the owner or an employee 21 or older is on site; otherwise you must be 21. Bartenders aged 18 to 20 must also be certified by a nationally recognized alcohol management program.
SDCL 35-4-79 SDCL 35-4-79.4 SD Dept. of Revenue: alcohol laws and regulations
South Dakota does not issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, which it gets through its city or county and the South Dakota Department of Revenue.
Bartenders aged 18 to 20 must be certified by a nationally recognized alcohol management program, such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol, before they pour or mix drinks. There's no statewide training rule for bartenders 21 and older, but employers often require a course anyway.
SDCL 35-4-79.4 SD Dept. of Revenue: approved alcohol training programs
Employers can pay tipped staff $5.93 an hour, half the state minimum wage, if tips bring them to at least $11.85 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. On January 1, 2027, the minimum wage rises to $12.30 an hour and the tipped base pay to $6.15.
SD Dept. of Labor and Regulation minimum wage U.S. DOL state tipped minimum wage table (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 South Dakota Department of Revenue and your employer before you apply.
Local rules
Cities and counties can pass stricter alcohol rules than the state. Check with the city or county where you'll work, or ask your employer.
State alcohol agency
The agency that licenses and regulates alcohol sales in South Dakota.
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 (South Dakota, Bartenders 35-3011) and SD Dept. of Labor and Regulation minimum wage. 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
South Dakota does not issue a bartender license. The venue holds the liquor license, which it gets through its city or county and the South Dakota Department of Revenue. You can learn the job first, then check whether your employer wants server training.
You can serve or bartend at 18 if the business makes less than half its money from alcohol, or if the owner or an employee 21 or older is on site; otherwise you must be 21. Bartenders aged 18 to 20 must also be certified by a nationally recognized alcohol management program. Employers can set a higher minimum age, so check with the bar.
SDCL 35-4-79 SDCL 35-4-79.4 SD Dept. of Revenue: alcohol laws and regulations
Bartenders aged 18 to 20 must be certified by a nationally recognized alcohol management program, such as TIPS or ServSafe Alcohol, before they pour or mix drinks. There's no statewide training rule for bartenders 21 and older, but employers often require a course anyway.
SDCL 35-4-79.4 SD Dept. of Revenue: approved alcohol training programs
Cities and counties can pass stricter alcohol rules than the state. Check with the city or county where you'll work, or ask your employer.
See local rules ↑ SD Dept. of Revenue: alcohol laws and regulations
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025), South Dakota bartenders earned a median of $14.14 an hour and a mean of $15.36 an hour ($31,940 a year), including tips reported by employers. The top 10% earned more than $18.35 an hour. Employers can pay tipped staff $5.93 an hour, half the state minimum wage, if tips bring them to at least $11.85 an hour; if not, the employer makes up the difference. On January 1, 2027, the minimum wage rises to $12.30 an hour and the tipped base pay to $6.15. 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. Black Hills towns like Deadwood, Keystone and Sturgis hire extra staff for summer, especially around the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August.
No. South Dakota 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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