SC alcohol server training deadline extended, challenges remain

SOCASTEE, SC (WMBF) - South Carolina servers and bartenders now have until May 1 to complete a newly required alcohol training exam, but workers say getting through the four-hour program comes with its own set of challenges.

Some servers have encountered computer viruses, a lack of reliable technology, spare time, or a quiet space to take the exam.

Others report failing because a dog walked through the background of the video-recorded test, which consists of 25 questions at the end of a nearly four-hour state-mandated alcohol training program.

A new state law that went into effect at the start of the year requires anyone who serves alcohol 10 or more hours a week, and managers who oversee alcohol service, to complete one of three approved programs listed on the South Carolina Department of Revenue’s website.

As of March 8, the SC Department of Revenue has issued 37,548 alcohol server certificates since the law took effect, according to Robert Walden with the agency’s Public Information Office.

Businesses that allow an untrained server to pour drinks face a $500 fine.

Employers who fail to keep a copy of a server’s certificate on file can be fined $100.

Those penalties prompted one Grand Strand pub to move quickly to get staff certified.

At the Old Bull and Bush, the owner said every server has now passed the training.

One bartender said the course is already changing how staff interact with customers.

“The wording we have to use now to specifically ask them for their IDs is an example,” the bartender said. “May I please have your ID? That word ‘have’ is going to be a legal thing for us now, so we have to use those different wordings as well too, which is good to get that education and have them de-escalate situations.”

Tyler Avant, who has worked behind the bar for five years, said the first-of-its-kind training in the state serves a broader purpose.

“I’ve always wondered, so you get a license to drive a car, you get a license to drive a boat, here you’re serving alcohol to people,” Avant said. “I think there should be some kind of accountability for that and having a special license for that.”

Before the law changed, alcohol training was left up to each bar or restaurant.

The state’s standardized exam is now the only way to legally remain behind the bar.

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