• 67 questions

ServSafe Alcohol Test

Unofficial practice: questions in the four areas the program teaches, with a federal source under every answer.

What blood alcohol concentration does 23 U.S.C. 163 use for a per se offense of driving while intoxicated?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 40 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 40 questions, no time limit, 30 right to pass (75%).

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the National Restaurant Association or its ServSafe program. Bank checked October 6, 2026.

Next step Your state's liquor law: pick a stateAlso for restaurant work: manager exam

All 67 questions

Alcohol laws and responsibilities 20

  • A BAC of 0.08 percent means how much alcohol is in the blood? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles
  • A drink specials law that bars 'multiple servings at one time' stops which practice? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Drink Specials
  • Federal highway law withholds funds from any state where buying or publicly possessing alcohol is lawful below what age? 23 U.S.C. 158, National minimum drinking age
  • How does 23 U.S.C. 158 press the states to keep the drinking age at 21? 23 U.S.C. 158, National minimum drinking age
  • How many states prohibit furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors, by APIS's account? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Furnishing Alcohol to Minors
  • In a compliance check on a retailer, who attempts the purchase? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Underage Purchase of Alcohol
  • In which unit do state laws generally state BAC levels? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles
  • Responsible beverage service programs set policies to prevent sales and service to which two groups? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
Show all 67 questions (59 more)

Alcohol laws and responsibilities, continued

  • What blood alcohol concentration does 23 U.S.C. 163 use for a per se offense of driving while intoxicated? 23 U.S.C. 163, Safety incentives to prevent operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated persons
  • What do keg registration laws require? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Keg Registration
  • What does a 'per se' BAC law mean for a driver who is at or above the limit? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Blood Alcohol Concentration Limits: Adult Operators of Noncommercial Motor Vehicles
  • What does an 'internal possession' law prohibit? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Possession/Consumption/Internal Possession of Alcohol
  • What does APIS report about the minimum age for people who serve alcohol in on-premises establishments? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Minimum Ages for On-Premises Servers and Bartenders
  • What is a dram shop liability lawsuit? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
  • What is an affirmative defense? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • When does the federal Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) call a state's server training program mandatory? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
  • Which acts by a person under 21 does the national minimum drinking age law, 23 U.S.C. 158, name? 23 U.S.C. 158, National minimum drinking age
  • Which condition do several states place on servers and bartenders who are under 21? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Minimum Ages for On-Premises Servers and Bartenders
  • Which of these is an incentive some states give retailers that take part in voluntary server training? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
  • Which practice is a drink special that state law may prohibit or restrict? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Drink Specials

Evaluating intoxication levels 21

  • A 12-ounce bottle of strong ale is 10% alcohol by volume. A server keeping count of drinks should count it as how many? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • A 12-ounce regular beer, a 5-ounce glass of table wine and a 1.5-ounce shot of spirits are set side by side. What do they have in common? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • A bartender pours vodka that is 40% alcohol by volume. What size pour equals one standard drink? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • A coworker suggests strong coffee and a walk outside for a heavily intoxicated guest. What does NIAAA say about such measures? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • A guest mentions taking a medicine that causes drowsiness. What does NIAAA say drinking alcohol with such medicines can do? NIAAA, Harmful Interactions: Mixing Alcohol With Medicines
  • A guest stops drinking at last call. What can happen to the guest's BAC afterward? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • A guest switches to light beer to slow down. About how much alcohol do many light beers have compared with regular beer? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • A woman and a man of the same weight drink the same amount. Why will her BAC tend to be higher? NIAAA, Women and Alcohol
  • Alcohol together with which kind of drug raises the risk of an overdose, by NIAAA's account? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • By NIAAA's account, what can even small increases in BAC do? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • For a typical adult woman, about how many drinks in about two hours fits NIAAA's binge drinking pattern? NIAAA, Understanding Binge Drinking
  • How does an alcohol-induced blackout differ from passing out? NIAAA, Interrupted Memories: Alcohol-Induced Blackouts
  • How much fortified wine, such as sherry or port, makes one standard drink? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern that brings BAC to what level or higher? NIAAA, Understanding Binge Drinking
  • One U.S. standard drink is defined by the pure alcohol in it. How much is that? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • Where is most of the alcohol in the body broken down? NIAAA, Alcohol Metabolism
  • Which drinking pattern does NIAAA link to a rapid rise in BAC? NIAAA, Interrupted Memories: Alcohol-Induced Blackouts
  • Which of these does NIAAA list as a factor in how much alcohol puts a person in danger? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Which pour of table wine at 12% alcohol by volume is one standard drink? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • Which serving of regular beer at 5% alcohol by volume is one standard drink? NIAAA, What Is a Standard Drink?
  • Why do coordination and clear thinking slip as a guest drinks, by NIAAA's account? NIAAA, Alcohol's Effects on the Body

Checking identification 11

  • A guest presents a real license that belongs to an older sibling. Which way of falsifying age on APIS's list is this? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • An adult lends a valid license to a 19-year-old to buy beer. Besides the minor, whom do state false identification provisions target? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • An enhanced driver's license from one of the five states that issue them has no star. What does DHS say about that? Department of Homeland Security, REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions
  • How many states prohibit minors from using false identification to obtain alcohol? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • Some state laws protect a retailer who was shown a false ID. What kind of reliance on the ID does APIS describe as a defense? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • What do compliance check studies suggest about why underage buyers often need no false identification? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • What is a 'distinctive license' provision? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • What marking does a REAL ID compliant driver's license or identification card generally carry? Department of Homeland Security, REAL ID Frequently Asked Questions
  • Which detail on a valid identification does APIS say is altered to falsify age? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • Which of these does APIS list among the government-issued identification inspected to check a buyer's age? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol
  • Who is responsible for making sure alcohol is sold only to people legally permitted to buy it? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, False Identification for Obtaining Alcohol

Dealing with difficult situations 15

  • A friend says a passed-out guest only needs to 'sleep it off'. What does NIAAA say? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • A guest at the bar cannot be woken and has clammy skin. What does NIAAA say to do? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • A guest comes back the next morning with a hangover and says driving is no problem now. What does NIAAA say about a hangover? NIAAA, Hangovers
  • A person is unconscious and lying down. What position does NIAAA give to prevent choking? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • How does NIAAA say to position an intoxicated person while waiting for medical help? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • How long a gap between breaths does NIAAA list as a critical sign of an alcohol overdose? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Must a person show every sign on NIAAA's list before help is called? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Some state programs ask servers to promote responsible drinking with an emphasis on which patrons? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
  • What does manager training add to server training, by APIS's account? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
  • What should staff be ready to tell emergency responders about an intoxicated person? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Which breathing rate is on NIAAA's list of critical signs of an alcohol overdose? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Which skin sign is on NIAAA's list of critical signs of an alcohol overdose? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Which topic does server training cover, alongside signs of intoxication and checking identification? NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System, Beverage Service Training and Related Practices
  • While medical help is on the way, what does NIAAA say about staying with an intoxicated person? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose
  • Why is a dulled gag reflex dangerous in someone who has passed out from drinking? NIAAA, Understanding the Dangers of Alcohol Overdose

How this list was compiled: Own questions, sorted by the four things the National Restaurant Association's page says the ServSafe Alcohol program teaches (https://www.servsafe.com/ServSafe-Alcohol/Get-Certified: understand alcohol laws and responsibilities, evaluate intoxication levels, check identification, deal with difficult situations; read 2026-10-06, with the exam figures in https://www.servsafe.com/ServSafe-Alcohol/FAQs). Facts were read on 2026-10-06 in public federal texts: 23 U.S.C. 158 and 163 on govinfo.gov; the policy descriptions of the Alcohol Policy Information System of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov; NIAAA's pages on the standard drink, alcohol overdose, binge drinking, women and alcohol, alcohol metabolism, blackouts, hangovers, mixing alcohol with medicines and alcohol's effects on the body, niaaa.nih.gov; and the Department of Homeland Security's REAL ID questions and answers, dhs.gov. Each question names the text it was written from and links to it. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the public texts named in each question. Nothing is copied or reworded from a ServSafe Alcohol exam, a state supplement, the program's book or another practice product.

How it works

This unofficial ServSafe Alcohol test practice has 67 of our own questions for servers and bartenders. The National Restaurant Association runs ServSafe Alcohol; this page is not affiliated with it and takes nothing from its exams.

Read the full guide

What the ServSafe Alcohol program teaches

The National Restaurant Association's page, read on October 6, 2026, names four things the program teaches: alcohol laws and responsibilities, evaluating intoxication levels, checking identification, and dealing with difficult situations. The questions are sorted the same way. Exam mode uses the Primary Exam's length and pass mark.

What is left to your state and your course

Liquor law is state law. These questions ask only what a federal text says or what a kind of law is, so your state's own rules are not here; some have a page under alcohol server practice tests by state. The course's ways of counting drinks and refusing service are not asked either.

  • One standard drink is 12 ounces of 5% beer, 5 ounces of 12% wine or 1.5 ounces of 40% spirits (NIAAA).
  • NIAAA: cold showers, hot coffee and walking do not reverse the effects of an alcohol overdose.
  • Most enhanced driver's licenses carry no REAL ID star; the Department of Homeland Security accepts them in place of a REAL ID.

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the ServSafe Alcohol exam?

40 on the Primary Exam and 70 on the Advanced Proctored Exam, by the National Restaurant Association's FAQ. Passing takes 30 of 40 (75%) on the first and 56 of 70 (80%) on the second.

Is the ServSafe Alcohol exam proctored?

The Advanced exam and any print exam are, by the program's FAQ. The Primary online exam needs no proctor. The FAQ also says to check with your state or local liquor authority that online exams are allowed in your area.

Are these ServSafe Alcohol test questions and answers from the real exam?

No. Every question is our own, written from federal texts. After you choose, the page shows the right answer, a short reason and a link to the source.

Is there a ServSafe Alcohol study guide PDF?

Not from this site: the course book belongs to the National Restaurant Association. What you can print here, from the score card, is a paper test of our own questions with its key.

How long is a ServSafe Alcohol certificate recognized?

For a three-year period, by the National Restaurant Association's FAQ, which adds that state or employer requirements can vary.

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