Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, effective July 1, 2022, RBS training is required by CA Assembly Bill 1221 and Assembly Bill 82 for on-premises alcoholic beverage servers and their managers. The regulations have been incorporated into the California Code of Regulations, Title 4, Article 25, Sections 160-173. 

On-premises licenses, as they pertain to RBS, generally include on-sale licenses and other license types that include on-site alcohol consumption, such as bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, clubs, stadiums, movie theaters, hotels, and caterers.

The following license types are subject to RBS requirements: Type 1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, 99.

Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training is a mandatory program which educates people seeking employment or those who are currently employed as alcohol servers at on-premises licensed locations, such as bars, restaurants, tasting rooms, clubs, stadiums, movie theaters, hotels, and caterers. It provides servers with the necessary knowledge and skills to responsibly serve alcoholic beverages to avoid causing alcohol related harm to their communities.

Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) is ABC’s free voluntary prevention and education program for employees and licensees of off-sale locations such as liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. LEAD provides practical information on selling alcoholic beverages safely, responsibly, and legally, and preventing illicit drug activity on or around their licensed establishment.

Although some local governments currently require alcohol servers working in their jurisdictions to attend a LEAD course, the ABC LEAD program does not fulfill the requirements mandated by AB 1221 and does not qualify as an ABC approved RBS Training.

Yes, you are required to be RBS certified. Cities and counties may apply additional ordinances that further support the efforts of AB 1221 but cannot supersede the standards defined in the act.

Yes. All alcohol servers and managers of alcohol servers are required to complete ABC’s RBS three-step certification process. You must register in the RBS Portal, take training from an authorized RBS training provider, and pass your ABC Alcohol Server Certification Exam within 30 days of your confirmed training. It is not possible to “grandfather-in” prior certifications. To verify your certification status, log into the RBS Portal and view your status on your RBS Server dashboard.

The RBS informational multi-language flyer is available to download in multiple languages. RBS training courses are offered in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The exam is available in English, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. To change the language when you take the exam, select Language next to your name and choose from the available languages.

The RBS Portal can be accessed and is operational across all major browsers on several platforms and operating systems. The supported browsers are the latest versions of Microsoft Edge New, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. You can access the RBS Portal by using these browsers on any operating system, including but not limited to Windows10, MacOS, iOS, and Android.

An alcohol server is anyone who does any of the following:

1. Checks customer identification for purposes of alcoholic beverage service or entry to an ABC on-premises licensed establishment;
2. Takes customer alcoholic beverage orders;
3. Pours alcoholic beverages for customers; or
4. Delivers alcoholic beverages to customers.

An alcohol manager is anyone who trains, directly hires, or oversees alcohol servers at an ABC licensed premises, or who trains alcohol servers how to perform the service of alcohol for consumption for an ABC on-premises licensee. This definition specifically excludes an employee or contractor of another separate ABC licensee who is training alcohol servers for marketing or distribution purposes.

No. The law expressly states that non-compliance by alcohol servers is not a criminal violation (Business and Professions Code Section 25684).

Get certified in the RBS Portal, which has the tools you need to ensure compliance with the mandatory RBS training requirements.

Create an account in the RBS Portal and select the Server role. Registration requires a $3 fee, which is non-refundable. Watch a short video to learn how to become a registered server or manager.

You only need one account in the RBS Portal. Your account is specific to you and must be registered with your legal first and last name. You can have multiple roles (Server, License Administrator, and Training Provider) for the same account.

Yes, you must have an email address to create an account.

Yes, you can update your email address.

To change your email:

1. Log into the RBS Portal.
2. Select your email address and click Profile.
3. Click Edit on the My Profile page.
4. Replace your current email address with your new email address and type the new email address again to confirm.
5. Click Update and then Submit to submit the change.
6. Do not log out.
7. Confirm the change from the email sent to your updated email address. If you logged out after submitting your update, you must log back into the RBS Portal with your username or old email address to complete the email update.

If you do not confirm the new address from the email within 24 hours, it will not be updated.

If you cannot access the email you used to create your RBS account, email onlineservices@abc.ca.gov to request a change.

If you need to edit your name, birthdate, or other personal information, email onlineservices@abc.ca.gov with your request. Changes may require proof of legal identity.

Click Forgot Password? from the Log in page. Passwords must be a minimum of 15 characters and cannot be similar to a previously used password. Password reset is an automated, self-service feature, and our staff cannot view or change your password.

The exam costs $3 and is included as part of your registration in the RBS Portal. Once training is confirmed by a training provider, you will have three attempts within 30 days of your confirmed training to pass the exam with a 70% or better. If you do not pass, you will be required to retake training, pay another $3 exam fee, and pass the exam.

RBS training providers are authorized to charge a fee for their training program. The cost of training is determined by the training providers and ABC cannot negotiate corporate or group pricing.

If you have a confirmation of payment but the system is showing your payment as incomplete, please forward your email confirmation from donotreply@fiserv.com to rbstp@abc.ca.gov so we can work to resolve the issue.

Your Server ID number is in the “Server Certificate Details” box on your RBS Server dashboard. It is called “Server ID Number” and is a nine-digit number.

Make sure your registration is complete and you are using the Server ID number from your RBS Server dashboard. You must complete your payment, submit your application, and be able to access your RBS Server dashboard before the Server ID number can be used for training.

No. You must register in the RBS Portal, take training from an authorized RBS training provider, and pass the exam within 30 days of your confirmed training.

If your training provider was not an authorized RBS training provider when you took the training, you will not be able to take the exam. You must register in the RBS Portal, take training from an authorized RBS training provider, and pass your exam within 30 days of your confirmed training.

Select Search from the “Training Provider Search” on your RBS Server dashboard to see a list of all available training providers. Use the filters to narrow your search results. If you do not see any training providers, try using fewer filters. You may need to move down the page to see your search results.

Yes, training is currently available in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese. You can search for a Training Provider by language.

Online training is computer-based and self-paced. It can be taken at any time.

In Person training is instructor-led and offered at specific times. It may be a virtual classroom or on site with the instructor.

The training provider’s website is separate from the RBS Portal and does not use the same log in information. You must create an account in the RBS Portal and register as a Server.

The length of training varies by training provider, but generally takes between 90 minutes and four hours.

Your training provider has 24 hours to confirm you have completed your training course. Once your training is confirmed, you will receive an email from ABC notifying you that you have a message in your message center.  When you log into the RBS Portal, you can click the envelope icon to see the message that the exam is available, and the “Take Exam” button will be active on your RBS Server dashboard. Please contact your training provider if they have not confirmed your training after 24 hours.

Verify your Server ID and last name on your RBS Server dashboard and provide it to your training provider. ABC cannot confirm training, so you must give the training provider your information exactly as it appears in the RBS Portal.

Yes. You must pass your ABC Alcohol Server Certification Exam within 30 days of your confirmed training. A certificate from the training provider alone does not meet the requirement for RBS certification.

You must pass your exam within 30 days of your confirmed training. If you do not pass the exam within 30 days, you will be required to take a new training course and pay a $3 fee to retake the exam. You will have an additional three attempts to pass your exam with a score of 70% or better within 30 days of your confirmed new training. You can take training from the same training provider or a different one.

The exam is self-paced and contains 50 multiple-choice questions. It can take up to two hours to complete.

You have three attempts to pass your exam with a score of 70% or better within 30 days of your confirmed training. If you fail the exam three times, you will be required to take a new training course and pay a $3 fee to retake the exam. You will have an additional three attempts to pass your exam with a score of 70% or better within 30 days of your confirmed new training. You can take training from the same training provider or a different one.

Once your training has been confirmed, click Take Exam and then select Language next to your name. Choose from the available languages. The exam is currently available in English, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

The exam is open book, and you can use the study guide from your training provider. You can also use formal or informal translators to help you take the exam.

Your certification status will be updated when you return to your RBS Server dashboard after passing the exam. In some cases, it may take one business day for your status to update.

ABC is not issuing physical or downloadable RBS certificates. Once you complete training and pass your ABC Alcohol Server Certification Exam, your status on your RBS Server dashboard will be updated to Certified. Your Server ID number and status are located in the “Server Certificate Details” box on your RBS Server dashboard.

Yes, certifications are valid for three years. Your certification must be renewed prior to its expiration to remain valid.

Yes. You will be sent reminder emails 90, 60, 30, and 10 days before you expire. The emails will be sent to the email address associated with your account in the RBS Portal. You will receive a final notification when your certification has expired. If you have been added to an RBS server roster, the License Administrator will also be notified that your certification is expiring.

To renew your certification, you must pay your recertification fee, take training from an authorized RBS Training Provider, and pass the ABC Alcohol Server Certification exam within 30 days of your confirmed training. Log in to your RBS Server account and click Pay Renewal from the Renewal Notice. Once your payment is complete, return to your Server dashboard to search for a training provider.

ABC does not sell your information or distribute it to anyone outside of ABC unless required by law or necessary to process your online request. We may be required to comply with subpoenas and government orders and provide information to the extent permissible by law.

ABC will not contact you by text or email unless you have registered your email address in the RBS Portal. If a training provider contacts you, we recommend you contact them directly rather than responding to a text or email, since contact information can be spoofed. You can view the list of approved training providers on the RBS Portal.

The following license types are subject to RBS requirements: Type 1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, 99.

ABC recommends that everyone who serves alcohol for consumption complete the certification. However, certification is not required in some circumstances, including:

• Alcohol distributors who provide trainings on how to feature products for marketing purposes.
• Academic instructors who teach a college or university course where beer or wine is tasted.
• Salon or barbershop owners or stylists who provide their customers with complimentary beer or wine.
• Employees of a licensed plane or boat (Type 54, 55, and 56).

The following license types are subject to RBS requirements: Type 1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, 99.

Some less common license types that require RBS certification are:

• Instruction alcohol servers for a Type 86 license. Certification is required because the server is serving an alcoholic beverage to the public for consumption on the premises. Each licensee involved in the instructional tasting must ensure their employee or agent is certified because the server at these tastings is acting as an agent of both.
• Club members for a Type 50, 51, 52, or 57 license. Anyone who pours, serves, or delivers drinks, including volunteers, must be RBS certified.
• Employees of a licensed train for Type 43, 44, 45, 46, and 53 licenses. All staff who serve alcohol must be RBS certified.
• Designated employees for a Type 31, 34, or 37 license. These license types must meet the requirements for a one-day license.
• Employees who serve alcohol on-site for a business which is not licensed by ABC. There are limited exceptions to when alcohol can be served without an ABC license. Please contact your local district office to determine whether your business requires an ABC license.

Yes. If you serve alcohol for on-site consumption, you must be RBS trained and certified.

ABC is not issuing physical or downloadable RBS certificates. Once your employee completes training and passes the ABC Alcohol Server Certification Exam, their RBS certification status will be updated to Certified. With a License Administrator account, you can check their certification status by searching their Server ID number and last name as it appears in the RBS Portal.

Yes. Alcohol servers and managers have 60 days from their first date of employment to register in the RBS Portal, take training from an authorized RBS training provider, and pass the ABC Alcohol Server Certification Exam within 30 days of their confirmed training.

Yes. Alcohol servers and managers have 60 days from their date of employment to complete their RBS certification.

No. If the employee has a valid RBS certification in the RBS Portal, they do not need to get certified again. RBS certification is valid for three years and applies to the person, not a specific employer.

No, each alcohol server will need to register for their account individually.

RBS certification can only be completed online. If your employee does not have access to the Internet, you can help them find your local library.

The Department cannot give guidance on this issue, and strongly recommends employees and employers consult labor attorneys that specialize in the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and similar laws under California law which often extend protections to employees further. The time an employee is being trained may be deemed as hours worked since the training is mandatory to remain employed and directly related to an alcohol server’s employment, even if asked to be completed away from the business and not during normal working hours. In addition, certain California laws require employees to pay any costs associated for trainings required to maintain employment. This information is shared not as a mandate that employers pay for the training or compensate employees for their time to take the training, as that would be dictated by decisions by either a court of competent jurisdiction, or the Federal or State fair employment departments. You may visit the Labor and Workforce Agency website or the Labor Commissioner's Office website for more information on job-related trainings.

The training provider has 24 hours to confirm a completed training course. Once training is confirmed, the server will receive an email from ABC notifying them that they have a message in their message center. When they log into the RBS Portal, they can click the envelope icon to see the message that the exam is available, and the “Take Exam” button will be active on their RBS Server dashboard. The server should contact their training provider if their training has not been confirmed training after 24 hours.

Servers have three attempts within 30 days of their confirmed training. If they fail three times or do not pass the exam within 30 days, they must repay the $3 exam fee, retake training, and pass the exam.

ABC does not sell your information or distribute it to anyone outside of ABC unless required by law or necessary to process your online request. We may be required to comply with subpoenas and government orders and provide information to the extent permissible by law.

ABC will not contact you by text or email unless you have registered your email address in the RBS Portal. If a training provider contacts you, we recommend you contact them directly rather than responding to a text or email, since contact information can be spoofed. You can view the list of approved training providers on the RBS Portal.

The License Administrator is the person responsible for managing your license online. It must be the licensee, or someone authorized by the licensee to perform functions on their behalf. If the License Administrator is not a licensee, you must acknowledge, understand, and agree that the License Administrator has the authority to act for and on your behalf with respect to any information provided or changes made through ABC Online Services. You also accept full responsibility for, and shall be liable for any violation of law based upon, any information provided or changes made by the License Administrator.

A licensee can authorize anyone over the age of 18 to act on their behalf as a License Administrator.

You can manage your license, renew your license, manage your RBS server roster (if applicable), and invite License Administrator Designees to act on your behalf. Please see our Licensing Online Services page for a list of features available to License Administrators. As new features are developed, you will see them in your account.

Create your account and enter all required information. You will receive an email to confirm your email address. Once your email address is confirmed, you can choose the License Administrator role to complete your registration.

If you already have an account with a Server or Training Provider role, click My Applications, click the New Application button, and choose License Administrator.

You can watch short video tutorials explaining how to Create a License Administrator Account or Add a Role to an Existing Account.

To view your RBS Server dashboard, log into your License Administrator account. Click RBS in the navigation bar. If any of your license numbers are subject to RBS requirements, you will see your RBS server roster. To view your RBS Server dashboard, click Switch Dashboard and select Server Dashboard.

Yes, you can update your email address.

To change your email:

1. Log into the Online Services account.
2. Select your email address and click Profile.
3. Click Edit on the My Profile page.
4. Replace your current email address with your new email address and type the new email address again to confirm.
5. Click Update and then Submit to submit the change.
6. Do not log out.
7. Confirm the change from the email sent to your updated email address. If you logged out after submitting your update, you must log back into the Online Services with your username or old email address to complete the email update.

If you do not confirm the new address from the email within 24 hours, it will not be updated.

If you cannot access the email you used to create your Online Services account, email onlineservices@abc.ca.gov to request a change.

If you need to edit your name, email onlineservices@abc.ca.gov with your request. Changes may require proof of legal identity.

Yes, you can add multiple license numbers to your License Administrator account. You will need the license number and validation code for each license.

No. You can only have one License Administrator for each license number, but you can invite one or more Designees to help manage your license or RBS server roster.

ABC mailed validation code letters to all licensees in June 2022. New codes were mailed to winegrowers and wine blenders in September 2023 and to licensees with caterer’s permits in February 2024. Validation codes expire one year after they are issued. If you do not have a validation code or if it has expired please contact your local district office.

Licensees will receive validation code letters for newly issued licenses shortly after receiving their license.

You must add one license to create your account. Once your account is created, you can add your other licenses. At the top of the licenses table click Add, enter the license number and validation code, and click Add License.

Click Remove and then select the checkbox for the license number to remove it from your account. Once a license is removed, you will not be able to add it again without a new validation code.

A unique validation code is assigned to each license number and can only be used one time. Validation codes expire one year after they are issued. If the validation code you enter does not correspond to your license number, if there is an existing License Administrator for your license number, or if the validation code is expired, you will not be able to add the license to your account. Please contact your local district office for a new code.

To change the License Administrator for your license number, contact onlineservices@abc.ca.gov. The person requesting the change must be a licensee of record for the license number. The new License Administrator must create an Online Services account before they can be assigned to the license.

After you log in to your account, click RBS in the navigation bar to go to your RBS server roster. Click My Applications, New Application, and then Server. Server registration requires a non-refundable $3 fee.

You can watch a short video tutorial explaining how to add a role to an existing account.

Most off-sale license types do not require RBS certification, so you do not need to create an RBS server roster for those license types.

The following license types are subject to RBS requirements: Type 1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 86, 87, 88, 90, 99.

On your RBS server roster, select your License Number. In the “Add a Server to Your Roster” section, enter the Server ID number and the server’s last name as it appears in the RBS Portal. Click Search. Click on the down caret symbol to expand the record.

After you log in to your account, you can click RBS in the navigation bar to go to your RBS server roster. You can watch a short video tutorial explaining how to create an RBS server roster.

A license must be added to your License Administrator account before it will appear on the RBS server roster.

Click Switch Dashboard and choose Manage Licenses to add a license to your account. Only the license types subject to RBS requirements appear on your RBS server roster.

On your RBS server roster, select your License Number. In the “Add a Server to Your Roster” section, enter the Server ID number and the server’s last name as it appears in the RBS Portal. Click Search. Click the Plus icon next to the search result to add the server to your RBS server roster. The server’s information will be added to the RBS server roster below.

Click the Trash Can icon next to the server’s name. You can search for a specific server on your RBS server roster by entering their first or last name in the search fields on your RBS server roster list.

Confirm with your server that they have registered in the RBS Portal and have provided you the correct Server ID number and last name. They can find their Server ID number on their RBS Server dashboard. Their last name must be the same as the last name they used when they registered in the RBS Portal.

Yes. If you have created an RBS server roster, you will receive a notification on the first of the month for all servers on your roster expiring within 90 days. You will receive a final notification when your server’s certification has expired.

Yes. To stop receiving notifications, you can uncheck the opt in box for your RBS server roster. If you have a roster for more than one license number, you must opt out for each roster. Any License Administrator Designees with the RBS Server Roster permission will continue to receive notifications unless they also opt out.

A License Administrator Designee is someone the License Administrator invites to help manage licenses or RBS server rosters. If the License Administrator Designee is not a licensee, you must acknowledge, understand, and agree that the License Administrator Designee has the authority to act for and on your behalf with respect to any information provided or changes made through ABC Online Services. You also accept full responsibility for, and shall be liable for any violation of law based upon, any information provided or changes made by the License Administrator Designee.

A License Administrator can invite anyone over the age of 18 to help manage licenses or RBS server rosters as a License Administrator Designee.

You can invite a License Administrator Designee to help manage your license, your RBS server roster, or both. Please see our Licensing Online Services page for a list of features available to License Administrators and License Administrator Designees.

Yes, you can invite more than one License Administrator Designee.

Yes, a License Administrator Designee can be invited to manage multiple licenses for the same or different License Administrators.

No, a License Administrator Designee cannot add or remove license numbers.

Yes, a License Administrator Designee can add and remove servers from your RBS server roster if you assign them that permission.

To invite a License Administrator Designee, choose Manage > Designees from your License Administrator dashboard. Click Add and complete all required fields. Ensure the first and last name are the Designee’s legal name as it appears on government-issued documents.

Select the permissions for the Designee from the Permissions dropdown. Select the Licenses which you are assigning to the Designee from the Licenses dropdown. The permissions and license numbers you select will display under the dropdowns. You can remove permissions or license numbers before you invite the Designee by clicking X.

Click Invite to invite the Designee. The Designee will receive an email to accept the invitation. Once they accept, their status will change from Invited to Active.

If you need to give the Designee different permissions for different license numbers, you must send a separate invitation.

Click Remove and then select the checkbox for the Designee to remove them from your account. Removing a Designee removes their permissions to their assigned license numbers.

Select the License Administrator Designee and choose Edit. You can add license numbers with the same permissions you’ve already assigned to the Designee. If you need to add permissions, you can invite the Designee with the new permissions. If you need to remove permissions, you must remove the Designee and invite them again with the correct permissions.

Yes, a License Administrator can be a License Administrator Designee for a different license number. The License Administrator Designee can view the License Administrator Designee instructions to learn how to add other roles to their account.

ABC continues accepting and processing RBS training provider applications. If you are interested in becoming an approved RBS training provider, apply online in the RBS Portal. ABC is not approving individual trainers but training programs, so you will need to develop your own program and materials in the desired languages you wish to teach. Each language or format is its own program and will need to have its own materials developed.

ABC is not offering a “Train-the-Trainer” course. Anyone who is interested in becoming an approved training provider must apply and submit a training program based on our mandatory curriculum requirements as provided in California Code of Regulations, Title 4, Article 25, Sections 162-166.

Yes. Curriculum standards were updated with the passage of AB 1221. Training providers need to reapply to validate they conform to current curriculum standards. This includes those programs that were previously included on a list maintained by ABC.

Yes, at least one person must be RBS trained and certified for events occurring on or after July 1, 2022. This person must be present at the event and actively oversee the alcohol service for the entire duration of the event. Additionally, this person must also create and implement policies for the event that mandate and foster responsible alcoholic beverage service. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements.

Ask your server for their Server ID and last name as it appears in the RBS Portal. Contact your local district office to verify certification.

The 60-day grace period exemption for alcohol server certification is not applicable to daily licenses.

Catered events are an extension of a permanent on-sale licensee, and their alcohol servers are already required to be RBS trained and certified. If a caterer hires additional help for an event, the licensee must ensure those individuals are certified before serving alcohol.

Yes, all alcohol servers for a catered event licensed by ABC must be RBS trained and certified. Local jurisdictions may have additional requirements.