Bartending Age Requirements by State

One of the biggest mysteries for some people is “how old do I have to be before I can work at a bar?”

To help clear the confusion I’ve put together this chart which will tell you the exact bartending age requirements for each state.

Now, let me say that just because it’s legal to work at a certain age, there are many establishments that will still only hire people at least 21 years old, no matter where you live. It’s a fairly well known fact that bartenders will occasionally partake in some drinks of their own (illegally) while working.

Since no bar or establishment in the world wants any additional legal trouble for themselves on top of what they already have, and because the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21, most bars will only hire people of legal drinking age.

And just in case you are a neighbor to the north, provinces of Canada are listed as well.