Server Permit Eligibility

ABC Server Permit Eligibility

The Alcohol Server Responsibility and Training Act of 1995 requires you to have a 5-Year Server Permit issued by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission or “TABC”.

In Tennessee you must meet the requirements to be an alcohol server. It’s your responsibility to know if you qualify. You’re NOT eligible for a server permit in Tennessee if any of these situations apply to you:

  • You’re not at least 18 years old.
  • You don’t have a valid social security number
  • You have had a felony offense involving theft, dishonesty, deceit, or intoxication within the previous 8 years
  • You’ve been convicted of a felony in the previous four years. This is from the date of your conviction.
  • In the previous eight years, you’ve been convicted of any crime relating to the
    • sale, distribution, or dispensing of alcoholic beverages or beer
    • schedule one or two controlled substances, or controlled substance analogues
    • embezzlement
    • any sex-related crime.
  • You’ve had a permit revoked in the previous five years that was issued in other jurisdictions.
  • You had ownership or interest in an establishment in which the license was revoked in the previous 5 years.
Regular DUI does will not prohibit you from getting a permit. Only DUI where you were charged with a felony will prohibit you from obtaining a Server Permit.
If you are on judicial diversion for any of the issues just mentioned, the TABC will not issue a permit until your diversion is completed.
If you have had certain charges or convictions of any kind the TABC will likely ask for Court Disposition Papers. These are the papers from your final court date and can be requested from the courthouse in which your case was heard. Be prepared to provide those documents to the TABC for review.
The TABC does random background checks on permit applications.

If you have not already applied for your application and received your RLPS Identification number go to https://www.tn.gov/abc/rlps.html. You will need your RLPS ID# to continue to the course.

All applicants applying for a permit must enter contact information and upload CLEAR AND LEGIBLE proof of identification in RLPS. Acceptable proof of identification for U.S. citizens and non-citizens is outlined below:

For US Citizens: If an applicant is a citizen of the United States, he or she must provide a social security number and a copy of one (1) government-issued identification.

For non-US Citizens: If an applicant is a non-citizen, he or she must provide two (2) of the following forms of identification, including one (1) U.S. Government-issued photo identification:

  • I-551 (Permanent Resident Card or “Green Card”)
  • I-766 (Employment Authorization Card)
  • I-327 (Reentry Permit)
  • I-571 (Refugee Travel Document)
  • Machine Readable Immigrant Visa (with Temporary I-551 language)
  • I-20 (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant F91) student status-“student visa”)
  • DS-2019 (Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status)
  • I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) Unexpired Foreign Passport
if you have any questions, contact the Nashville TABC at 615-741-1602.