For your role
Serving It Right for bartenders
Do bartenders need Serving It Right?
Yes. The program lists bartenders, along with licensees, managers and servers, for liquor primary establishments, and the licence terms require SIR for anyone who sells or serves liquor. A bartender with a valid certificate from a recognized program in another province can work until it expires.
Rules behind the bar
| Rule | What the licence terms say |
|---|---|
| Spirits | No more than 3 oz (85 ml) per person at a time, even in a shared pitcher |
| Draught beer and cider | Up to 24 oz per serving; pitchers up to 60 oz for two or more people |
| Bottled beer | Two standard bottles or one large (up to 24 oz) per person at a time |
| Wine | Up to 10 oz by the glass; a 750 ml bottle for two or more with food |
| Mixing types | A patron may have two different drinks at once if together they’re no more than two standard drinks |
| Bottle service | Staff keep control of the bottle and pour no more than the maximum per person; no whole bottles sold in the last hour of service |
| Pre-mixing | Fine, if the liquor came from original containers bought from the Liquor Distribution Branch |
| Refilling bottles | Never refill an original container |
| Infusions and aged cocktails | Allowed in a different container, labelled with the date, liquor used, other ingredients and who made it |
Your own drinking
No liquor during working hours, including breaks, meal periods and between shifts on the same day. After work you may drink in the service area during the licence’s hours of sale, as long as it isn’t given to you in place of wages.
Who can’t bartend
Minors can’t open bottles, pour or mix drinks anywhere. In restaurants and stadiums, staff aged 16 or older may carry and serve drinks under SIR-certified adult supervision, but someone 19 or older has to make them.
Questions people ask
+Can a bartender have a drink after their shift?
Yes, in the service area during the hours of sale, if they’re of legal age and the drink isn’t a substitute for wages. Not during the shift or on breaks.
+How big a pour can a bartender give?
No more than 3 oz of spirits per person at a time in a liquor primary.
Sources
- Who needs Serving It Right? (responsibleservicebc.gov.bc.ca) · checked October 26, 2026
- Liquor Primary Licence Terms and Conditions handbook, May 2026 (LCRB, PDF) · checked October 26, 2026
- Food Primary Licence Terms and Conditions handbook, May 2026 (LCRB, PDF) · checked October 26, 2026
- Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation, B.C. Reg. 241/2016 (BC Laws) · checked October 26, 2026
Updated October 26, 2026. Not affiliated with the Government of British Columbia, the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch or the Serving It Right program.
Keep going
- Intoxication and over-service: practice quizPractise the intoxication part of Serving It Right: signs to watch for, standard drinks, BAC limits, and factors like food, weight and tolerance. Answers explained.
- Serving It Right practice testFree Serving It Right practice test for BC: 35 questions like the real exam, 80% to pass, every answer explained with the BC rule behind it.
- Serving It Right for serversWhat BC servers need to know: when Serving It Right is required, minors serving at 16, Bring Your Own Wine, sealing wine, the half-hour rule and cutting people off.
- The Serving It Right certificateHow to get your BC Serving It Right certificate: who needs it, the $40 exam, how long it lasts (5 years), printing a lost certificate and renewing.