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What is the minimum age to sell/serve alcohol in Tennessee?

• The minimum age to sell alcohol in Tennessee is 18

• The minimum age to serve alcohol in Tennessee is 18. No person under the age of 18 years shall be permitted to dispense, serve, or sell alcoholic or malt beverages in any establishment licensed under the provisions of T.C.A. 57-4-101

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The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission

The agency that handles Tennessee liquor licensing and/or bartender licensing rules and regulations in Tennessee is The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The contact information for The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission is listed below. You can contact them to verify that online server certification (bartender license) can be obtained in Tennessee. We have also listed that information where applicable.

The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission
Telephone: (615) 741-1602
Website: http://www.state.tn.us/abc/

Bartending License regulations for sellers and servers in Tennessee

• TN Dram Shop Laws: Yes
• TN Happy Hour Laws:

  Happy hour Laws reference the prohibited practices that result in excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages by consumers.  In Tennessee, no licensee or employee or agent of a licensee shall engage in any of the following promotional practices after 10:00 p.m. (until closing):
  

  • Serve two or more drinks or containers of alcoholic beverages to a consumer at one time.
    
  • Sell, offer to sell, or deliver to any person or group of persons any drinks that are priced less than the price regularly charged for that drink in that size, except at private functions not open to the public; or
  • Increase the volume of alcohol contained in any such drink without increasing proportionately the price regularly charged for such drink.

  Tennessee also prohibits the following:

  • Offering or delivering any free alcoholic beverage or wine to any person or group of
    persons.
  • Offering or delivering unlimited drinks of wine or alcoholic beverages for a fixed price if the actual cost of all ingredients, including the alcohol and all applicable taxes, of the drinks actually served to a customer exceeds the fixed price charged.  
  • Awarding any wine or alcoholic beverages as a prize or free drink or encouraging or conducting any game or contest which involves drinking or uses wine or alcohol as a prize or free drink.

Can bartenders in TN work as a bartender with a felony conviction?
No. If they have been convicted of any felony with 4 years of the date of application, and/or have been convicted of any statute involving the sale of alcoholic beverages, beer, or Schedule I or II controlled substances or any sex-related crime or embezzlement within the previous 8 years, then they do not meet the qualifications for a server permit.