California Law requires revocation of a state license to sell alcohol if an establishment has three violations within three years of selling alcohol to, or permitting consumption of alcohol by, a person under 21 years of age (ABC’s version of “three strikes”). All ABC Licensees must therefore be extremely vigilant about service to minors. There are also numerous city and county agencies that require responsible beverage service (RBS) training. Those agencies may mandate that you take a RBS class every few years. (You should contact your local agency for information about how often the training is required.)
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) provides RBS training through its L.E.A.D. Training (Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs) Class, which is a free, voluntary prevention and education program for retail licensees, their employees, and applicants. The four-hour classes include instruction on checking various forms of identification, detecting and preventing illegal activity, liability laws, and much more. At the conclusion of the class, there is a quiz on the material that was covered. Each person that fulfills all of the training requirements will receive a card certifying that they successfully completed a L.E.A.D. training course.
L.E.A.D. Training can help reduce the risk of license revocation. To make a reservation, you must find and contact the nearest ABC District Office on the L.E.A.D. Training Schedule. Some offices are listed as “First Come/First Serve” so no reservations are required or accepted. To view the L.E.A.D. training schedule, go to the following website: https://www.abc.ca.gov/education/lead-training/. Other vendors also provide RBS Training for a charge.