State file
Pennsylvania alcohol server card
Officially the RAMP (Responsible Alcohol Management Program). Your manager probably called it RAMP.
August 1, 2026
Pennsylvania requires RAMP training for anyone hired on or after August 8, 2016 who serves alcohol or checks IDs, within six months of being hired. Managers have 180 days and renew every two years. Certifying the establishment itself is a separate thing, and that part is voluntary.
The rule, field by field
Does it cover you?
- Server / waiterYesYes, if you were hired on or after August 8, 2016
- BartenderYesYes, if you were hired on or after August 8, 2016
- Door / ID checkYesYes. Checking IDs counts
- Manager or supervisorYesYes, within 180 days, renewable every 2 years
- Cashier (store, off-premise)Not statedThe state does not name this job either way, so we will not guess.
- Busser / hostNot statedThe state does not name this job either way, so we will not guess.
- DeliveryNot statedThe state does not name this job either way, so we will not guess.
What the other sites get wrong
- Two different things share the RAMP name. Individual training is mandatory. Certifying the establishment is voluntary, except after a conviction for sale to a minor or an intoxicated person, under conditional licensing, with an expanded wine permit, or with an RTD cocktail permit.
- Pages that call RAMP mandatory, and pages that call it voluntary, are both wrong: it depends which of the two you mean.
The courses Pennsylvania approved
This is the state’s own list, not ours. We do not rank it and we do not have a favourite: the ordering rule is published in how we check.
We have not transcribed this state's approved list yet.
We publish the state’s own list, in full, with the price each provider charges. Until we have read it off the state page ourselves, we would rather show you nothing than show you a list we copied.
The state publishes the list here: Pennsylvania LCB (RAMP) and 40 Pa. Code section 5.205
Common questions
Is RAMP mandatory or voluntary?
Both answers you have read are wrong, because two different things share the name. The individual training is mandatory for servers hired since August 8, 2016. Certifying the establishment is voluntary, except after a conviction for sale to a minor or an intoxicated person, under conditional licensing, with an expanded wine permit, or with an RTD cocktail permit.
How long do I have?
Six months from hire if you serve alcohol or check IDs. Managers get 180 days, and their certification renews every two years.
Written by Luciano Canziani. Updated August 1, 2026. Every requirement above was read in Pennsylvania LCB (RAMP) and 40 Pa. Code section 5.205 on August 1, 2026. Check it yourself before you pay for anything: that is the point of publishing it.