Bartending License Requirements for Kentucky

In Kentucky, there are no state-wide regulations that require a server or bartender to be licensed in order to sell alcohol. Although some states in the nation have this requirement, Kentucky’s serving alcohol laws are a little more lenient.

Important Note: Despite this state-wide law, it’s important to keep in mind that some employers or counties may STILL require bartenders to complete such courses.

You see, although there’s no state-wide law, counties in the state of Kentucky have the right to pose their own serving alcohol laws and regulations. For example, counties such as Bowling Green, Lexington and over 100 more do require a bartending license.

Minimum Age To Serve Alcoholic Beverages In Kentucky

Kentucky, like many other states in the U.S., has different minimum age requirements between serving and bartending. Serving, is very straight forward, and refers to simply bringing a made drink to a patron. Bartending on the other hand refers to actually mixing and creating drinks.

As of March 5, 2022, the minimum age to serve alcoholic beverages in Kentucky is 18 years old as long as the individual is under the supervision of someone 20 years of age or older. At 20 years old, individuals can sell and serve alcoholic beverages without supervision.

Prior to 2022, the minimum age to serve alcohol across Kentucky was 20 years old, but with staffing shortages due to the Covid pandemic, many restaurants were struggling to find workers. Kentucky House Bill 252 changed that though as soon as it went live on July 14, 2022.

The minimum age to bartend in Kentucky is 20 years old while under the supervision of someone 21 years or older.

Kentucky Bartending Training

Due to local ordinances, many counties and cities in the state of Kentucky require server training. Simply put, you may or may not be required to take an alcohol training course. It all depends on which jurisdiction you are located in.

For most cities and counties in Kentucky that decide they do want to require training, the Alcoholic Beverage Control will recommend its S.T.A.R. course which we will cover in detail below.

With that said, local ordinances may carry different course/ training requirements, so we recommend always calling, emailing, or double-checking online. You can find specific county ordinances here and city ordinances here. We will also go into two examples below: Lexington and Bowling Green.

S.T.A.R. – Server Training in Alcoholic Regulations

If your city or county requires STAR training, here are the details:

• STAR is Kentucky specific regarding alcohol laws
• The course is $40 per person (plus 2.75% convenience fee for Credit Cards or $0.35 for ACH)
• Certification is valid for 3 years
• The class is approximately 2 hours long
• Classes and materials ARE available in Spanish

Registrants of STAR will get an email reminder on class times. So make sure you provide the office with an accurate Email address.

STAR Registration Resources

• Online registration can be found here
• To contact the Kentucky Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control go here

Example #1: Lexington Beverage service training Requirements

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government requires individuals who sell or serve alcohol to obtain training. This is important because according to the local government:

“Any server who violates the provisions of RCO [Revised City Ordinances] or KRS [Kentucky Regulations & Statutes] related to alcoholic beverages can be fined, imprisoned, or both.”

The following providers are all approved by Lexington, Ky:

• Serving Alcohol
• S.T.A.R. (covered above)
• T.I.P.S.
• Ready Training
• SureSellNow
• Learn2Serve 
• ServSafe
• State Food Safety
• ABC Server Training

Note: Although all of the above providers are approved, after researching all of the different options, we recommend the course provided by Serving Alcohol. In our opinion it is the simplest to maneuver, a great price, and has great customer support.

Example #2: Bowling-Green Mandatory Server Training

According to Bowling-Green ordinances, an alcohol server is required to be trained and licensed by an approved course provider.

Furthermore, a newly hired server or bartender is required to be certified within 30 days of employment and the license must be renewed every 3 years.

The following providers are all approved by Bowling-Green, Ky:

• Serving Alcohol
• S.T.A.R. (covered above)
• SureSellNow
• T.I.P.S.        
• Learn2Serve 
• Applied Techniques

Note: Although all of the above providers are approved, after researching all of the different options, we recommend the course provided by Serving Alcohol. In our opinion it is the simplest to maneuver, a great price, and has great customer support.

Understanding Wet, Dry, and Moist Counties in Kentucky

As an aspiring bartender in the state of Kentucky, it will be beneficial to you to inform yourself about Kentucky’s alcohol laws, as it is one of the most confusing.

Although the state doesn’t have any specific laws regarding wet/dry requirements, individual cities, counties, and even voting precincts can enact their own laws. Furthermore, there is a lot of gray are in between wet and dry. Let’s take a look at a couple:

• Dry: All alcohol sales are prohibited
• Wet: Alcohol sales are allowed
• Moist: Refers to a wet city located in a dry county
• Limited: Refers to a wet city or county that has laws regarding the amount of seats and percentage of sale that come from food

Confusing? You betcha. And we aren’t even going to get into the granular details around golf courses and wineries.

The good news is that counties are overwhelmingly voting to become wet. As of 2022, only 10 counties are still dry.

To see up to date information regarding your city, county, or jurisdictions wet/dry status you can use the handy tool here.