Louisiana Bar Card: Who Needs One and How to Get It

Quick answer: If you sell or serve alcohol at a Louisiana bar, restaurant, or store, or work security at a bar, you need a Responsible Vendor server permit, the card everyone calls a "bar card." State law gives you 45 days from your first day of work (La. R.S. 26:934). You take a course of at least two hours from a provider on the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control's (ATC) approved list, online or in a classroom, and pass its exam with at least 70%. The ATC issues the permit, and it lasts 4 years.

This guide covers who needs a bar card, how to get one, what it costs, how to get a copy of your card or look one up, and the rules that come with it. It's a general guide, not legal advice. When in doubt, check with the ATC or your employer.

What the Bar Card Is

Louisiana's Responsible Vendor law (La. R.S. 26:931 to 26:939) calls it a server permit. The ATC calls it a Responsible Vendor (RV) permit, an RV server card, or a bar card. It shows you finished an approved responsible vendor course on Louisiana's alcohol and tobacco laws and passed its exam.

The permit belongs to you, not your employer. As long as it hasn't expired or been suspended or revoked, it's valid with any employer in Louisiana, so it goes with you when you change jobs (R.S. 26:933).

Who Needs One

The law covers servers and security personnel who work for a vendor: a business with a Class A-General (bar), Class A-Restaurant, or Class B retail permit, the permit for selling sealed alcohol to go. A server is any employee who is authorized to sell or serve alcohol or tobacco, or who deals with customers who buy or drink it (R.S. 26:932). In practice, that means:

• bartenders and servers at bars and restaurants
• cashiers who sell alcohol at stores
• security staff, such as door staff who check IDs, where alcohol is the main thing sold for drinking on site

A few people are left out: temporary banquet and catering staff a hotel hires for an event, and workers at events held under a temporary special-event permit. The ATC says owners don't need a permit themselves, though owners who sell to someone underage face the maximum penalties.

Two jobs have stricter timing. Third-party alcohol delivery drivers must already hold a valid server permit before they deliver (R.S. 26:308), and store workers whose only job is filling online grocery pickup orders must be 21 and trained before they start (LAC 55:VII.337).

The 45-Day Deadline

New hires have 45 days from their first day of work to complete an approved course and get the permit (R.S. 26:934; LAC 55:VII.505). If you already hold a valid bar card from another job, it carries over.

Employers have to keep a training record for every server and security worker, with name, date of birth, the last four digits of the Social Security number, and hire date, on the premises for inspection (LAC 55:VII.505).

How to Get Your Bar Card

1. Pick an approved course. Only providers on the ATC's Responsible Vendor provider list count. The list marks each one as online, classroom, or both. Courses run at least two hours.
2. Pass the exam. You need at least 70%. Online exams have at least 25 questions, including 10 required Louisiana questions, with a 90-minute limit, taken in one sitting. If you fail, you get one retest; after that, you repeat the course (LAC 55:VII.511).
3. Your provider reports you to the ATC within 10 days, and the ATC issues your permit (LAC 55:VII.509).
4. Get your card. The ATC currently says online printing of RV permits is unavailable. To get a copy, email ATCRV@atc.la.gov with your full name as you gave it to your course provider, your date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number, or submit a public records request. Some course sites still say you can print your card from the ATC's website, or that the ATC emails it to you; go by the ATC's own notice.

What It Costs

You pay for the course. Louisiana's law and rules don't set a separate fee for the server permit itself; the $50 annual Responsible Vendor fee is paid by the business, per location (R.S. 26:936; LAC 55:VII.505). The law caps course fees at $50 (R.S. 26:936), and the ATC's rule says $25 (LAC 55:VII.509).

Online courses we checked on October 9, 2026 cost $9 to $13: $9 at Seller Server Classes and $12.95 on sale at LIQUORexam.com.

Keep It With You at Work

Whenever you're working with alcohol, your permit and one photo ID must be available on the premises for ATC agents or police to inspect. Not making it available counts as evidence of a violation (LAC 55:VII.507).

How Old You Have to Be

• 18 to sell, mix, or serve alcohol for drinking on the premises, which includes bartending (R.S. 26:90).
• Under 18, you can't work in any job where alcohol sales are the main business, such as a bar. The one exception is a musician playing in a band under contract, supervised by a parent or guardian.
• At a store where alcohol isn't the main business and isn't sold for drinking on site, such as a grocery store, a worker under 18 may ring up and bag packaged alcohol under immediate supervision. Class C package stores can't employ anyone under 18.
• Workers whose only job is filling online grocery pickup orders must be 21.

The drinking age is 21, and checking IDs is a big part of the course. LA Wallet is the only digital ID Louisiana retailers may accept, and a business can still ask for a physical ID (LAC 55:VII.401).

Penalties

The ATC can suspend or revoke your server permit, or fine you, if you break the Responsible Vendor rules or sell to someone underage or intoxicated (R.S. 26:935). For selling to someone underage, the ATC lists maximum fines of $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second, and $2,500 for a third.

Selling alcohol to anyone under 21 is also a crime: a fine of $500 to $1,000, 30 days to six months in jail, or both, and not knowing the buyer's age is no defense (R.S. 14:93.11).

Training protects the business too. A certified responsible vendor's permit can't be suspended or revoked for a server's first illegal sale to an underage or intoxicated person in any 12-month period (R.S. 26:935).

Local Rules and New Orleans

The state program generally replaces local server training: businesses certified as responsible vendors, and their servers, are exempt from local server training and licensing rules, except local rules that were already in effect on June 1, 1997 (R.S. 26:937). The ATC suggests checking with your local licensing authority.

New Orleans requires businesses that sell alcohol to have a licensed manager present at all times, and those managers need a city ABO Manager's License ($105 a year). That's separate from the bar card.

Look Up a Bar Card

The ATC's free Responsible Vendor license search lets servers and employers check a permit by last name, the last four digits of the Social Security number, and date of birth. It shows the permit's status and expiration date.

Lost Card or Need a Copy

Email ATCRV@atc.la.gov with your full name as you gave it to your course provider, your date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number, or file a public records request. Leaving out any of those details, or sending the request to the ATC's complaint line, can get it rejected or delayed. The ATC's rules also provide for a replacement after an affidavit of lost permit and a $5 fee (LAC 55:VII.507). The ATC's Responsible Vendor line is 225-925-7293.

How Long It Lasts

Your bar card is good for 4 years. It expires on the last day of the month, four years after the month you finished the course (LAC 55:VII.507): finish in March 2026, and it runs through March 31, 2030. To renew, you pass an approved renewal course and exam. The law and rules don't mention a grace period, so renew before it expires.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a bar card the same as a Responsible Vendor permit?

Yes. Louisiana law calls it a server permit under the Responsible Vendor Program, and the ATC calls it an RV permit, an RV server card, or a bar card. It's one credential, issued by the ATC.

How long do I have to get a bar card in Louisiana?

45 days from your first day of work (R.S. 26:934). Third-party delivery drivers need a valid permit before they deliver, and online grocery pickup workers must be trained before they start.

Can I get a Louisiana bar card online?

Yes. Many providers on the ATC's approved list teach the course online, and the exam is online too: at least 25 questions, a 90-minute limit, one sitting, and 70% to pass.

How much does a Louisiana bar card cost?

Just the course. Online courses cost $9 to $13 when we checked in October 2026. The law and rules don't set a separate fee for the permit itself, and they cap course fees.

How do I print my Louisiana bar card?

The ATC currently says online printing is unavailable. Email ATCRV@atc.la.gov with your full name as given to your course provider, your date of birth, and the last four digits of your Social Security number, or submit a public records request.

How long is a Louisiana bar card good for?

4 years. It expires on the last day of the month, four years after the month you finished the course. Renew by passing an approved renewal course and exam.

Does my bar card still count if I change jobs?

Yes. The permit belongs to you and is valid with any Louisiana employer as long as it hasn't expired or been suspended or revoked (R.S. 26:933).

Bottom Line

If you sell or serve alcohol, or work security at a bar, in Louisiana, take a course from a provider on the ATC's list and pass its exam within 45 days of starting work. Keep your permit and a photo ID at work, look yours up on the ATC's search if you need proof, and renew before the end of the month it expires, four years on. For long shifts behind the bar, see our picks for non-slip work shoes.

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