South Carolina Alcohol Server Training Deadline Extended

Alcohol servers and managers - the deadline to complete alcohol server training has been extended to May 1, 2026.

In May 2025, the State Legislature passed H.3430, which has significant impacts for licensees who sell alcohol for on-premises consumption.

Click on a topic below for more details on how H.3430 impacts your business:

Alcohol server training

Anyone who works at least 10 hours a week serving alcohol for on-premises consumption and managers who oversee alcohol service must complete an approved server training program by May 1, 2026 or within 30 days of employment according to a state law passed last year.

Approved server training programs are listed at dor.sc.gov/abl-server-training .

Alcohol server certificates will be available online.

DOWNLOAD YOUR CERTIFICATE

• Immediately after successfully completing training, servers will receive an alcohol server certificate number from the training provider. Program providers have 10 days to submit this information to the SCDOR.
• To view and download an alcohol server certificate, visit dor.sc.gov/AlcoholServerCertificate. You must have the server’s name and server certificate number.
• ​Your alcohol server certificate should be issued within 2 weeks of you passing an approved training program.
• Servers must maintain a digital or physical copy of their alcohol server training certificate while serving alcohol.

• Licensees must maintain a digital or physical copy of each server’s certificate for the duration of the server’s employment.
  Before submitting training programs for certification, please review the following documents:

• Compliance Checklist: Requirements for Alcohol Server Training Programs

• South Carolina Alcohol Server Training Legal Supplement

• Alcohol Server Training Online Proctoring Supplement

Liquor liability insurance

Businesses open after 5 p.m. to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption are required to maintain a liquor liability insurance policy of at least $1 million unless they qualify for certain mitigation factors. The per occurrence coverage must be at least 50% of the total coverage amount.

| Mitigation factor | Reduction | Supplemental requirements |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Businesses who stop serving alcohol by 12 a.m. (midnight) | $250,000 | You must provide operating hours operating for all seven days of the week. |
| 1. Businesses where all employees have completed an SCDOR-approved alcohol server training program | $100,000 | |
| 1. Businesses that derive less than 40% of total sales from alcohol | $100,000 | You must provide your total gross sales (including alcohol sales) and total alcohol sales (beer, wine, and liquor), for the most recent 12 months. |
| 1. Businesses that use a forensic digital identification system to validate IDs between 12:00a.m.-4:00 a.m. | $100,000 | You must provide the make and model of the system and either proof of purchase or subscription information. |
| 1. Nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United State Code | $500,000 | You must provide the IRS exemption letter certifying your business as a 501(c)(3) organization. |
| 1. Businesses engaged in a single special event | $500,000 | You do not have to apply for this mitigation factor when applying for a special event license. |

Minimum coverage requirements

• A permanent licensee's liquor liability insurance coverage cannot drop below $300,000.
• A special event licensee's liquor liability insurance coverage cannot drop below $150,000.

• The per occurrence coverage must be at least fifty percent of the total aggregate limit.
  Mitigation information may be submitted to the SCDOR by following the instructions below:

• Current licensees who are not up for renewal can submit this information by:

  • Logging into MyDORWAY
  • Scrolling to their ABL account
  • Clicking More Account Options
  • Selecting ABL Mitigation Factors

• Renewing licensees must submit mitigation information prior to renewing.

• New permanent license applicants will submit this information during the application process. Once licensed, they can apply for additional mitigation factors at any time.

• Special event license applicants do not have to apply for Mitigation Factor #6. The SCDOR will automatically apply this mitigation factor when processing your special event license application.

  • If applying for other mitigation factors for your special event, we recommend selecting Mitigation Factor #6 as well to see an accurate calculation of your liquor liability insurance requirements. Qualifying licensees can apply these mitigation factors to their liquor liability insurance policy beginning January 1, 2026.

Collegiate sports venues

Collegiate sports venues that sell beer and wine have new requirements for regulating the location of alcohol sales, the use of forensic identification systems, and more.

Collegiate sports venues must:

• Use forensic digital identification systems, or other means acceptable to the SCDOR, to authenticate identification at the point of sale.
• Perform internal, random checks of sales locations during events to determine that required sales and identification verification procedures are followed.

Collegiate sports venues are prohibited from:

• Selling beer and wine in student sections.
• Selling beer and wine to customers with a vertical ID card.

In addition to those requirements:

• All sales personnel must have completed an approved alcohol server training program by January 1, 2026.
• Collegiate sports venues are now subject to an alternative revenue and penalty structure. READ REVENUE PROCEDURE #25-2

Forensic digital identification systems

Licensees selling alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption between 12a.m.-4 a.m. and all collegiate sports venues must use forensic digital identification systems that meet the SCDOR’s requirements.

Approved forensic digital identification systems must scan the barcode on an ID card and:

• Review the barcode's data against a Department of Motor Vehicles database to determine that the ID card holder is of legal age to purchase alcohol.
• Analyze the barcode and the information contained for typos, jumbled or incorrect information, misplaced data, and secret coding. Digital identification systems that merely validate that the information received from the barcode matches the identification information on the front of the card will not be approved.

Who is required to use approved digital identification systems?

• Any licensee selling alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption between 12a.m.-4 a.m. must use a forensic digital identification system to validate the ID of anyone attempting to enter the premises. (SC Code Section 61-2-145).
• Collegiate sports venues that sell beer and wine must use a forensic digital identification system to authenticate IDs at the point of sale (SC Code Section 61-4-523).

The following forensic digital identification systems have been approved by the SCDOR:

• AgeVisor Mini
• IDScan Veriscan (Premium Package and above only)
• Intellicheck Identity Verification
• Patronscan
• Tokenworks AgeVisor 3
• Tokenworks IDentiFake
• Tokenworks IDVisor Smart Plus
• Tokenworks IDVisor Smart V2 ID Scanner To request approval of a forensic digital identification system not already listed, contact the SCDOR at ABL@dor.sc.gov.

Need help?

Phone: 803-898-5864
Email: ABL@dor.sc.gov

Sign up to receive Alcohol Beverage Licensing emails Have you completed an approved server training program?

download your certificate

Nee​​d more ​help​​​?​

Our FREE ABL Workshops are virtual and cover​ licensing basics, including applications and renewals, special events, and compliance laws.​ ​ See class dates ​and register now >

Our ABL newsletter is a great way for alcohol licensees to have the latest updates delivered straight to their inbox. Sign up now >