Alcohol laws in Texas can be complex. They vary from state to state, and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) imposes harsh fines and penalties for people who break the laws and rules – whether they mean to or not.
If you’re thinking about securing a job in the alcohol service industry, or you’re not confident in your alcohol law knowledge and want to improve, you can learn the basics of safe alcohol service in Texas below.
Obtain Your TABC Certification
Obtaining your TABC permit through a reputable online provider like TABC Pronto is one of the best and most effective ways to improve your knowledge of safe alcohol service in bars, restaurants, and liquor stores.
While it’s not a legal requirement to have your TABC certification, obtaining it can be worthwhile if you want to be a preferred candidate by employers. It’s also helpful to remain updated with industry information and ensure you’re keeping your customers safe.
This 100% online course is fast and easy to complete and consists of just three modules and a final exam, on which you must achieve 70% to pass. The first module provides helpful information about training steps and TABC requirements and takes 25 minutes or less to complete.
The second module is about minors and alcohol sales, with practical information on alcohol laws relating to minors, recognizing real and fake IDs, and how to respond when faced with a possible underage sale situation.
The third and final module relates to intoxicated people and alcohol sales. In this module, you can learn what intoxication is, how to detect it, and how to monitor customer behavior and intervene. At the end of each module, you’ll be required to answer five questions and get four correct before moving on to the final exam with multiple-choice questions.
Know When to Sell Alcohol
A core part of safe alcohol service in Texas is knowing when you can and can’t sell it. You can sell beer and wine from 7am until 12am on Monday through Friday and from 7am until 1am on Saturday. Service is also allowed from 10am until midnight on Sunday. If you’re working in a licensed restaurant, bar, or similar establishment, you can serve alcohol for on-premises consumption from 10am on Sunday with food until 2am each night if you have a late-hours permit in a permitting city or county.
Know Who to Sell Alcohol to
Knowing who you can sell alcohol to is as important as knowing when to sell alcohol. Patrons at bars, restaurants, and similar, must be at least 21 years old to purchase alcohol in Texas. You can also serve alcohol from the age of 18 if you’ve obtained your TABC certification. Bar workers should never sell or serve alcohol to anyone already intoxicated.
Know the Penalties
The TABC takes public health, safety, and welfare seriously. That’s why they put penalties in place if you break the law while selling alcohol to the general public. If you or the establishment you work for breaks the law, the TABC will consider three different remedies or punishments, including fines, liquor license revocation, and jail time.
Fines are typically for first-time offenses, while liquor license revocation might be imposed temporarily or permanently for multiple offenses. For severe and ongoing violations, bartenders or establishment owners might even serve jail time. For example, if a bartender served an intoxicated patron, they face a personal fine of $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
Learn the Ropes With TABC Pronto
You won’t know everything there is to know about safe alcohol service in Texas right away, but you can with time and training. Enroll in the TABC Certification with TABC Pronto today, and be confident in your ability to serve alcohol safely to the general public.