ABC RBS AB1221 Frequently Asked Questions

Print or download your RBS Certificate by logging back into the CA RBS Portal to print your state certification. Click here to go to the RBS Portal

Responsible Beverage Servers certificates expire every three years from the day you complete the RBS final exam.

You must pass the RBS final exam is 50 question, and you must receive a score of 70% or better. The final exam is hosted on the RBS Portal website.

We have meet or exceeded the requirements to be an approved California RBS Training Provider. Our provider number is #312-654-990.

The server must have the certificate along with valid ID for liquor service on the premises when they are working and available for inspection.

An alcohol server, as defined under AB 1221 includes anyone who does any of the following:

• Checks customer identification for purposes of alcoholic beverage service or entry to an ABC on-premises licensed establishment,
• Takes customer alcoholic beverage orders,
• Pours alcoholic beverages for customers, or
• Delivers alcoholic beverages to customers

A manager means any person who trains, hires, or oversees alcohol servers at an ABC on-premises licensed establishment, or any person who makes policy or operational decisions about how alcohol service is performed at an ABC on-premises licensed establishment, including but not limited to; when to check identification and when to refuse service to a customer.

California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
3927 Lennane Drive
Sacramento, California 95834
Phone 916-419-2500
California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

Beginning in July 2022, any ABC licensee who has an “ABC On-Premises License” will need to have their staff (alcohol servers and managers of alcohol servers) trained and certified in RBS within sixty (60) days of the date of initial employment. This includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, fast casual dining, tasting rooms (including off-sale locations), hotels, and stadiums.

RBS certification means that the alcohol server has successfully completed training by an ABC approved training provider and passed the alcohol server certification exam (hosted by ABC). Once the server has successfully completed the training and exam, their certification is valid for 3 years.

The alcohol server certification must be renewed prior to its expiration to remain valid. “ABC On-Premises License” means an ABC license that grants the privilege to serve alcoholic beverages to customers who then consume them on the licensed premises.

The following license types have On-Premises privileges: Type 1, 2, 3, 4, 23, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 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, 99.

Once you have purchased our online training course you will have 30 days to complete the training before your course access expires.