Responsible Beverage Service Training - a required certification for all California alcoholic beverage servers

Responsible Beverage Service training educates persons seeking employment or who are currently employed as servers of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption. It aims to provide servers the necessary skills to responsibly serve alcoholic beverages and mitigate alcohol-related harm in California communities.

We created our curriculum in strict compliance with the ABC’s requirements with the goal of successful certification for all students and are 1 of only 10 approved in-person providers authorized to teach throughout the state.

Students will engage with the instructor and each other to learn ABC's exam objectives and discuss real world examples during this 4-hour live training. We will move through the material at a comfortably crisp pace with periodic "knowledge checks" and balance the day between potential liability and a touch of humor to keep us engaged. During the training, students will fill in the blanks of our RBS study guide that can be used as a resource during the open-book RBS Certification Exam from the ABC.

This certification program is available to the public live at San Francisco Wine School in person and online. It is also available for private businesses at our venue or yours, in person, online or hybrid.

Background 

Effective 7/1/22, any on-premise alcohol server and manager in California must have a valid RBS certification from an ABC accredited RBS training provider and pass an online ABC administered RBS exam within 60 calendar days from the effective date or their first date of employment. San Francisco Wine School is one of only 10 live training providers authorized to teach throughout this state.  Participation in the program is available in person and live online.

TIPS, ServSafe, and LEAD training and certification taken prior to 2021 do NOT satisfy the requirements for California’s Responsible Beverage Service Certification. Learn more about the Responsible Beverage Service Training Act below.

$95pp* Registration Fee Includes

• 4-hour live training
• Fill-in-the-blank workbook & study guide that can be used for the open note exam
• Practice quiz & review

*This program is also available to private groups!  We'll use the specifics of your business to create a customized training for your team. Contact help@sfwineschool.com for scheduling.

About California's Responsible Beverage Service Training Program Act and Related Certification Deadlines

Passage of California Assembly Bill 1221 in 2017 created the Responsible Beverage Service Training Program Act. The bill required the Alcoholic Beverage Control to create the Responsible Beverage Service Training Program (RBSTP) to ensure servers and their managers of alcoholic beverages are educated on the dangers of serving alcohol to minors and over-serving alcohol to patrons with the intention of reducing alcohol-related harm to local communities. The mandate creates a new training requirement for roughly 1,000,000 alcohol servers and managers of alcohol servers at an estimated 56,000 ABC licensees with on-premises alcohol sales privileges.

Effective July 1, 2022, anyone who checks an ID, takes an alcohol order, or delivers an alcohol order, and anyone who manages these individuals must have a valid RBS certification. To obtain a valid RBS certification each server or manager must:

1. Register with the ABC through their Responsible Beverage Service Portal
2. Complete training with an Approved RBS Training Provider like San Francisco Wine School
3. Pass an online ABC administered RBS exam within 3 tries within 30 days of the training

Deadline for completion of the certification is 60 calendar days from the effective date or first date of server / manager employment. Servers, Managers and Licensees who do not have this certification have been out of compliance since August 31, 2022. ABC enforcement is underway.  Read more about it...

Looking for a computer based, self-study program? Consider the ServSafe Alcohol California Online training program offered through California Restaurant Association

All in-person attendees must be at least 21 years of age.

In addition to taking this ABC accredited RBS training program, each participant is required to register with the ABC before the program start date for an additional $3 fee. They also must pass the ABC's online RBS exam with a score of 70% or higher within 3 attempts after completion of the program to earn the state mandated RBS certification.