How to Become a Bartender in Missouri: Training and Permits

To become a bartender in Missouri, you need to be at least 21, secure any employee liquor permit your city requires, and be ready for the training and tax obligations that come with the job. Missouri does not issue a statewide bartender license, so the requirements you actually have to satisfy are a mix of state age law, city-level permits, federal tip reporting, and, in many cases, an employer expectation that you have completed the state’s free server training.

You Must Be 21 to Mix or Pour

State law draws a bright line: no one under 21 may mix drinks or serve across the bar in Missouri.¹ That covers every core bartending task, from shaking cocktails to pouring a draft beer.

Workers between 18 and 20 can still hold jobs in places that sell alcohol, but with real limits. At a licensed retail location, an 18-year-old can stock shelves, arrange displays, run the register, take payment, and bag alcohol for carryout. They cannot deliver alcohol away from the premises. At a restaurant where at least half of sales come from food, an 18-year-old can wait tables and bring drinks to guests, but still cannot mix drinks or serve across the bar.¹ If your 21st birthday is a few months away, one of those roles is a reasonable place to build experience while you wait.

Serving anyone under 21, or continuing to serve someone who is visibly intoxicated, is a misdemeanor for the individual server, and the business itself risks having its liquor license suspended or revoked.²

Complete SMART Server Training

Missouri does not legally require alcohol server training, but the state runs a free program called State of Missouri Alcohol Responsibility Training (SMART), and most employers expect you to have it. SMART is an interactive online course operated by the University of Missouri’s Wellness Resource Center and open at no cost to anyone who works for or owns a Missouri establishment licensed to sell alcohol.³

The course covers your legal obligations when serving alcohol, how to spot fake IDs, and how to recognize signs of intoxication. The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control also considers SMART participation when deciding how to handle a retailer’s violations, and the training may reduce liability insurance premiums for the business.⁴³ Because it’s free and online, finishing it before you apply is worth doing regardless of whether a specific employer asks.

Check Whether Your City Requires an Employee Liquor Permit

This is where Missouri gets confusing. The state does not issue individual bartender licenses. Many municipalities do, and a permit from one city carries no weight in another. If you switch jobs across a city line, you start over.

Kansas City

Kansas City requires an Employee Liquor Permit for anyone who handles or sells alcohol. The application fee is $38 if the city runs your criminal background check, or $16 if you use an approved private background investigation company. You apply in person at the Regulated Industries Division office, and you need a valid state-issued driver’s license or ID plus a document verifying work eligibility, such as a Social Security card, U.S. passport, or permanent resident card.⁵

St. Louis

St. Louis handles alcohol regulation through its Excise Division. Every employee who handles, sells, or assists in selling alcohol must have a completed Liquor License Personnel Data Form on file with the city, and the Excise Division also requires a Criminal Record Check Form for employees.⁶ Contact the Excise Division for current fees and processing times.

Other Cities

Smaller municipalities and unincorporated areas may or may not require their own permits. Before you start a new job, call the local police department or city clerk to ask whether an employee liquor permit is required and how to apply. Do not assume your last city’s rule carries over.

What the Permit Application Looks Like

Details vary by city, but Missouri municipal liquor permit applications share a common shape. You’ll generally need to bring:

A government-issued photo ID, typically a driver’s license or state ID card.
A work authorization document such as a Social Security card, U.S. passport, permanent resident card, or employment authorization card.
Your employer’s name, address, and liquor license number.

Most applications ask you to disclose any criminal history. Be accurate. Discrepancies caught by the background check lead to denials, and re-applying after a denial is harder than getting it right the first time. Many cities require you to appear in person, and fingerprinting is common.

A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you, but the type of conviction matters. Felonies, violent crimes, and offenses involving fraud or theft draw the closest scrutiny. Sex offenses and outstanding warrants are typically disqualifying across jurisdictions. If your record is a concern, call the issuing office before paying any fees so you know where you stand.

Understand Dram Shop Liability Before Your First Shift

Missouri’s dram shop statute lets injured people sue a licensed alcohol seller when the seller knew or should have known they were serving someone under 21, or when they knowingly served a visibly intoxicated person. The plaintiff must prove this by clear and convincing evidence, a higher bar than the usual civil standard.⁷

Under the statute, “visibly intoxicated” means impairment shown through significantly uncoordinated physical movement or significant physical dysfunction. A blood alcohol reading alone is not enough to prove visible intoxication, though it can come in as supporting evidence.⁷ The liability sits with the business, but it reaches you: an establishment facing a dram shop suit may terminate the server involved, and a pattern of incidents makes you hard to hire elsewhere. This is the practical reason employers want SMART-trained staff.

Know Your Pay and Tip Rules

Missouri’s minimum wage reached $15.00 per hour in 2026. Tipped employees, bartenders included, must receive a cash wage of at least $7.50 per hour, which is 50% of the full minimum wage. If your tips in a pay period don’t bring your total to $15.00 per hour, your employer must make up the difference.⁸

Before your employer can claim any tip credit, they have to tell you the amount of your direct cash wage, the tip credit they’re claiming, that the credit can’t exceed your actual tips, and that you keep all tips except in a valid tip pool. An employer who skips that notice loses the right to claim the tip credit and owes you the full minimum wage before tips.⁹

Reporting Tips to the IRS

Every dollar in tips is taxable, whether it’s cash on the bar or a credit card add-on. You must report your tips to your employer by the 10th of the month following the month you earned them. Tips earned in March are due to your employer by April 10; if the 10th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.¹⁰

One narrow exception: if your total cash tips from a single employer in a calendar month are under $20, you don’t have to report them to that employer for withholding. They’re still taxable income you must include on your annual return.¹⁰ Non-cash tips like gift cards or event tickets don’t get reported to your employer, but you owe tax on their value and report them on Form 1040. Keep a daily log. If you earned tips that were never reported to your employer, use Form 4137 to calculate the Social Security and Medicare tax on that income.

Consider a Food Handler Card

Missouri has no statewide food handler card requirement for bartenders. Some local health departments do require food handler training for anyone who prepares or serves food and beverages, and bartenders usually qualify because they handle garnishes, ice, glassware, and ingredients. Check with the health department in your city or county. In the Kansas City area, for example, the city and Jackson County have separate food handler permit requirements.

Even where it isn’t required, many bar managers expect new hires to hold a food handler card. The certification usually runs $10 to $20 through approved online providers and stays valid for about three years. Getting it before you apply removes one more thing for a hiring manager to hesitate about.

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes Section 311.300
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes Section 311.310
3
Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Alcoholic Beverage Server Training
4
Partners in Prevention. SMART – Partners in Prevention
5
Kansas City, Missouri. Application for Employee Liquor Permit
6
City of St. Louis. Excise Division Documents
7
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes Section 537.053
8
Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
9
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 15 – Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
10
Internal Revenue Service. Tip Recordkeeping and Reporting