Requirements for a New York Bartending License
Written by Staff Writer
Many states have laws governing the sale of alcohol that cover the whole state. Other states, like New York, allow specific jurisdictions to decide whether a bartender needs alcohol server certification. This being the case, you may wonder whether it's worth taking alcohol awareness training or even if there is a bartending certification exam.
The short answer is there isn't a formal exam in the Empire State. However, the state of New York offers the Alcohol Training Awareness Program (ATAP).
This voluntary education program helps beverage workers, including bartenders, serve alcoholic beverages safely and responsibly. ATAP certification is commonly referred to as a bartender certificate or license.
Provided you have completed all lessons and quizzes, you can download your certificate immediately. And, more importantly, you can get hired in this lucrative and competitive industry.
Here's what you need to know.
What the Law Says
Before learning how to get a bartending license in New York state, you need to know a bit about the law that governs the sale of beer, wine and spirits, as well as the various ways it affects the parameters of your job.
A 1934 state law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (ABC Law), created a unified standard of service for the Empire State. An updated 2015 version of the law further clarified its mission. It emphasized the support and promotion of the food, beverage, hospitality and tourism industries and how the sale of alcoholic beverages plays a big role in their strength.
More specifically, the law codifies standards that servers, bartenders and other beverage workers should follow to support the law's mission.
The New York State Liquor Authority (NYSLA) has control over all state-level alcoholic beverage regulations, though there is space for additional local laws. While the ABC Law stops counties from prohibiting alcohol sales, there are a few "dry" municipalities.
What About Dram Shop Laws?
It's worth mentioning that the Empire State has what's known as a "dram shop” law. Bars, restaurants and other eateries that sell alcohol are known as dram shops.
New York General Obligations Law Section 11-101 covers the state's dram shop regulations. These laws hold dram shop businesses and even employees liable if a person gets intoxicated in their establishment and then causes injury or harm as a result of that intoxication.
Injured persons or their families can sue the intoxicated person and the shop owner for damages under these laws.
Protecting Yourself
In-depth training clearly spells out your responsibilities as an alcohol seller or server. ATAP can also protect you from legal liability. It may even reduce civil penalties by 25% in case of accidental violations under Alcoholic Beverage Control Law 65.6 & 65.7.
More plainly said, learning on the job usually plays a role in anyone's career development in the food and beverage industry, but taking an online course teaches you the bartending license requirements in an easy-to-access online format.
This puts you on the fast track to employment while protecting you from some of the challenges that can come from working in the industry.
Challenges Facing Bartenders, Servers and Others
When potential sellers or servers take the ATAP online, they learn the ins and outs of how to sell or serve responsibly. One of the first skills you must learn to pass the bartending licensing exam is how to spot the signs of intoxication.
Signs of Intoxication
These can include:
- Slurred speech
- Bloodshot or glassy eyes
- Slow response times to questions
- Being argumentative
- Stumbling and other trouble walking
- Moodiness, including anger or tears
- Carelessness with money
- Cognitive impairment
Intoxication comes with great consequences, particularly when it's combined with a vehicle.
Learning How to Prevent Intoxication
As a frontline worker, you must know these and other signs of intoxication. You must also know what to do to prevent patrons from becoming intoxicated in the first place. More importantly, you must know how to prevent someone who is already drunk from getting drunker.
Preventing drunk drivers from causing accidents and even fatalities is one of the main goals of the ATAP. Industry workers who know all the signs of intoxication and what to do to prevent overservice make the communities they live in safer.
Age Requirements
Each state has its own rules about how old someone must be to serve alcoholic beverages, either as a bartender, cocktail server or food server, or as a seller in convenience stores and elsewhere.
According to the Alcohol Policy Information System, industry professionals must be at least 18 years of age to serve all types of alcohol in the Empire State, including:
- Beer
- Wine
- Spirits
Workers who are 18 years old can legally serve adult beverages as food servers, hosts, catering professionals and more.
It's also important to point out that while someone might be old enough to serve or sell beer, wine and liquor, they may not be old enough to drink it. The U.S. drinking age is 21 across the board, thanks to the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act of 1984.
That said, many inexperienced sellers of beer, wine and spirits don't know the protocols involved for determining if someone is of legal drinking age.
Getting certified teaches you to spot the signs of a potential underage drinker. You can serve beverages on the job with confidence, regardless of how much industry experience you already have.
The Role of Bartending School
Because of the sometimes transitory and competitive nature of the industry, many would-be servers think that the best way to prep for a job in is to attend a school.
The reality is that there is no requirement to attend a formal school program to take advantage of these opportunities. However, it is strongly suggested that would-be pros obtain an ATAP.
Beer, wine and spirits training that's approved by the NYSLA unifies the standards for serving alcoholic beverages throughout the jurisdiction. Many employers require their alcoholic beverage workers to hold a current certificate.
Even if your employer doesn't require you to complete ATAP, it still makes you far more attractive as an employee. Knowing how to spot intoxication and how to prevent illegal beverage sales or overservice will help you protect your job from unnecessary lawsuits.
Why You Should Train with Us
As you can see, getting a bartender license in New York prepares you for the legal and ethical aspects of the job. Our online courses covering responsible service of beer, wine and spirits comply with service laws in multiple states across the country, including this one.
The State offers two kinds of ATAP certification: on- and off-premise. On-premise training helps bartenders, servers, hosts and other front-of-the-house restaurant employees to meet their needs. Off-premise, or seller training, allows gas station attendants or liquor store clerks to sell alcoholic beverages that patrons will consume off-site.
We offer both kinds of education 100% online. Our programs are NYSLA-approved across the state. Our on-premise and off-premise programs prepare you to:
- Avoid serving to minors
- Recognize intoxication
- Know the short- and long-term effects of liquor
- Make estimates about a person's blood/alcohol levels
- Check IDs properly
- Minimize business liability
- Protect your community
- Enforce the legal age for serving alcoholic beverages
- And more
The coursework takes at least two hours to complete. When you finish, you can download your certificate immediately. You are not required to finish the program in one sitting. Our convenient online format allows you to take breaks as needed and come back whenever is best for you. Train at your pace from any internet-connected device.
There is no final exam required. Rather, you'll take a quiz at the end of each section, which you must pass with a 70% or higher. Your certificate is good for three years. You'll need to renew your credentials every three years by taking the course again.
Get started with your New York bartending certification training today!