Managing a bar or restaurant is a lot of work, and keeping track of your team’s alcohol training is a crucial part of that. In southern Nevada, every employee who serves, sells, or checks IDs for alcohol needs a valid TAM Card® or alcohol awareness card. Missing even one expired ID could lead to costly fines or trouble for your business. Here are four common compliance pitfalls managers run into—and how you can easily avoid them.

Pitfall 1: Assuming Out-of-State Cards Count

Many new hires move to Las Vegas with alcohol server cards from other states like California or Texas. However, Nevada laws are unique, and out-of-state certifications are not here. To stay fully compliant, any new employee must complete an approved Nevada alcohol awareness program and earn an official card. TAM of Nevada is approved by the Nevada Commission of Postsecondary Education to offer alcohol awareness training and is the only provider of official TAM Cards in Nevada.

Pitfall 2: Confusing TAM Cards with Food Handler Card

It is easy to mix up an alcohol awareness card with a food handler card (also known as a Health Card) but these are two entirely different requirements issued by different agencies. The Southern Nevada Health District issues food handler cards, which are required for kitchen staff, servers, managers, and anyone who comes into contact with food, ice, beverages, or utensils. Because many front-of-house roles require staff to handle both drinks and food items, these employees must hold both an alcohol awareness card and a food handler card to legally work. If you’re not sure which roles require which cards, our friendly staff can answer your questions and help point you in the right direction.

Pitfall 3: Relying on a “Grace Period” for New Hires

Some managers believe new employees have several weeks to get certified after starting work. In reality, servers should have their alcohol awareness training completed before they ever handle alcohol on the floor. Allowing uncertified staff to serve drink orders right away puts your business at immediate risk. TAM of Nevada offers online training available 24/7 to ensure your staff is able to get certified ASAP.

Pitfall 4: Forgetting the Four-Year Expiration Date

Alcohol awareness cards in Nevada expire four years from the date they are issued. Busy shift schedules make it easy to forget these dates until a surprise audit happens. This is why it is important to be proactive and keep track of your staff’s alcohol awareness training expiration dates. We can confirm the expiration dates for official TAM Cards issued by our office.

Keeping your team compliant doesn’t have to be a headache. Contact TAM of Nevada today to get help keeping your staff’s mandatory TAM training up to date. We also offer convenient group training where our team comes directly to your location to train your whole staff and issue official alcohol awareness cards on site! Reach out today at [email protected] or 702-545-6664 to schedule an on-site class and get your team compliant with alcohol awareness training requirements.