California Alcohol Laws Taking Effect in January 2023: What Licensees Should Know

Updated November 8, 2026. This article summarizes California alcoholic beverage laws that took effect on January 1, 2023, as described by ABC at the time. A separate, clearly labeled section at the end notes later changes as of this update. It is general information, not legal advice.

A new year, a new set of rules

Every January, a batch of new California laws takes effect, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is rarely left out. For 2023, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) published a summary of new alcoholic beverage laws taking effect in 2022, January 2023, and January 2024, along with a December 2022 list of code sections changed by 2022 legislation. ABC noted that its summaries help clarify what new statutes mean but are not regulatory, and it advised licensees to consult the statute, regulation, or an attorney before acting.

Most of the 2023 changes were narrow. Many affected manufacturers, specific venues, or particular license types rather than the everyday work of a bartender or clerk. But several are worth knowing for anyone who manages a licensed business, and a few touch directly on service and age rules. This guide groups the January 1, 2023 changes by who they affect and explains what they meant at the time.

One thing did not change in January 2023: the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training requirement that took effect on July 1, 2022 continued to apply to servers and managers at on-sale premises. More on that below.

For music venues: a new Type 90 license

One of the more visible changes came from SB 793 (Wiener, Chapter 468, Statutes of 2022). According to ABC’s summary, the bill created a “music venue license,” designated Type 90, for music entertainment facilities that may be open to all ages while providing alcoholic beverage service only to adults, including beer, wine, and distilled spirits.

For operators, the key idea is that an all-ages room with a bar puts extra weight on age verification. When minors and adults share a space, staff must make sure that only people 21 and older are served and that drinks do not pass from adults to younger guests. Wristbands, separate service areas, and clear door procedures are common tools. ABC’s summary describes additional conditions for the license, and venues considering it should read the full statute.

For theaters and film houses

Two bills adjusted rules for entertainment venues:

• AB 631 (Bloom, Chapter 727): ABC said this bill made nonprofit cultural film exhibition companies eligible for the Type 64 special on-sale general license already available to nonprofit theater companies. Under ABC’s description, such a company is not considered a public premises, may sell alcohol to ticketholders only two hours before, during, and one hour after a bona fide film exhibition, and the license covers a single premises.
• AB 1323 (Haney, Chapter 271): ABC said this bill reduced the seating threshold, from 2,100 to 1,600 seats, for a tied-house exception applying to a type 71 for-profit theater in San Francisco.

The film exhibition rule is a good example of time-limited service windows. Staff at venues with similar conditions need to know exactly when sales may start and must stop.

For breweries, wineries, and distillers

Several 2023 changes affected manufacturers that also serve the public:

• AB 1734 (Bennett, Chapter 175): ABC said beer manufacturer and winegrower licenses under identical ownership may share an overlapping premises where retail sales and consumption are combined, eliminating the need for separate registers. ABC published guidance on identical ownership explaining the conditions.
• AB 2301 (Wood, Chapter 961): beer manufacturers may self-distribute beer they produce to on-sale retail locations they operate within a five-mile radius of their production premises, as specified.
• AB 2307 (Berman, Chapter 962): ABC said this bill increased the number of beer manufacturer branch offices from six to eight and the number that may be restaurants from two to four, while keeping a cap of six on-sale retail licenses.
• AB 2303 (Aguiar-Curry, Chapter 694): the phrase “California agave spirits” may appear on a label only if the spirits are made entirely from agave grown in California without flavoring or color additives.
• SB 298 (Dodd, Chapter 980): ABC said holders of brewpub-restaurant licenses as of December 31, 2019 may exchange them for a bona fide public eating place license, subject to fees and conditions.

For staff in taprooms and tasting rooms, combined premises can make service feel simpler, but the same rules on minors and intoxication apply. Our guide to RBS Certification in California Tasting Rooms explains how training applies in those settings.

Direct shipping by craft distillers

ABC’s summary also described AB 920 (Aguiar-Curry, Chapter 729), an urgency bill effective September 29, 2022, that temporarily authorized licensed craft distillers to ship their spirits directly to consumers until January 1, 2024, with a daily limit of 2.25 liters per consumer. ABC said carriers must obtain the signature of a person 21 or older at delivery, and packages must be labeled “CONTAINS ALCOHOL: SIGNATURE OF PERSON AGE 21 YEARS OR OLDER REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY.” That signature rule is a reminder that age verification follows alcohol all the way to the doorstep.

For venues that host other events

Polling places

AB 2037 (Flora, Chapter 155) amended the Elections Code. ABC said it repealed the prohibition on polling places in establishments whose primary purpose is selling alcohol, so venues with bars, such as a veterans’ club, may serve as polling places only if no alcohol is sold or served while polls are open.

Temporary cannabis events

AB 2210 (Quirk, Chapter 391) addressed temporary cannabis events at ABC-licensed venues. According to ABC, all on-sale and off-sale alcohol privileges at the venue must be suspended for the entire day of the event and may not resume until 6:00 a.m. the day after the event ends, and alcohol consumption on the premises is prohibited for the same period. For background on the risks of combining the two substances, see Alcohol and Cannabis Together: What California Servers Should Know.

Both rules share a theme: when a venue is used for something other than ordinary service, alcohol may need to stop completely. Managers should build those pauses into event plans and make sure staff understand them.

Administrative and fee changes

• AB 2971 (Committee on Governmental Organization, Chapter 296): ABC said this bill made technical amendments, codified the Type 99 designation for rare one-off licenses, eliminated certain duplicative fees, and extended sunset dates for invitation-only event authorizations and for rules allowing beer manufacturers to gift glassware to retailers.
• AB 2921 (Santiago, Chapter 294): ABC said the bill changed the deadline for the ABC Appeals Board to decide an appeal, measured from when the appeal is submitted for decision, and made technical changes on market research.

These changes matter mostly to owners and their advisors, but they show how often the details of the ABC Act shift from year to year.

What stayed the same for servers

For most people working a bar or a register, the core rules entering 2023 were unchanged:

• Business and Professions Code section 25658 prohibits furnishing alcohol to anyone under 21.
• Section 25602 prohibits furnishing alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person.
• Section 25660 provides a defense for reasonable reliance on bona fide government identification.
• Under the RBS Training Program Act, on-sale servers and managers must hold RBS certification, with 60 days from their first date of employment to certify.

ABC’s RBS program page explains how the training and exam work. New hires in January should be scheduled promptly; our guide to California’s 60-Day RBS Rule for New Hires covers the timeline.

A January checklist for managers

1. Read ABC’s summary. Identify which, if any, of the new laws apply to your license type.
2. Update house policies. If you host events, add rules for polling-place days or other special uses.
3. Brief staff. Explain any changes in plain language at a pre-shift meeting.
4. Check RBS status. Confirm that every server and manager is certified or inside their 60-day window.
5. Review signage and records. Make sure required postings are current and records are easy to find.
6. Ask questions early. Your local ABC district office can help clarify how a change applies.

How to follow new laws each year

ABC maintains a chaptered legislation page listing bills that amended the ABC Act each year, with links to the bill text on the Legislature’s website. Reading those summaries every fall, before the January effective date, gives businesses time to plan. Industry advisories on ABC’s website often follow for changes that need more explanation.

Since then: changes as of November 8, 2026

This section describes developments after January 2023. They were not law when this article’s original period began.

• Drug test kits and lids: AB 1013 (2023) required Type 48 bars and nightclubs to offer drug testing devices beginning July 1, 2024, and later legislation added drink lid requirements. Those provisions were originally set to sunset on January 1, 2027. AB 1982 (Lowenthal, Chapter 377, Statutes of 2026) removed that sunset, and ABC’s October 9, 2026 advisory says Type 48 licensees must continue complying. See AB 1013 Drink-Spiking Test Kits.
• Drink-spiking training: AB 2402 (2024) requires approved RBS courses to include drink-spiking prevention and response by January 1, 2027. See Drink Spiking and California RBS Training.
• RBS renewals: certifications are valid for three years, so the first 2022 certifications began expiring in 2025.

Always check the current code and ABC guidance rather than relying on any single year’s summary.

Owners with more than one license type should review each one separately, since a change that helps a brewery may not apply to a restaurant down the street.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find ABC’s list of 2023 law changes?

On ABC’s “New Alcoholic Beverage Laws” page and its 2022 chaptered legislation summaries.

Did the RBS requirement change on January 1, 2023?

No. It had already taken effect on July 1, 2022 and continued to apply.

Can a bar be a polling place?

Under AB 2037, ABC said such venues may be used only if no alcohol is sold or served while polls are open.

The bottom line

California’s January 1, 2023 alcohol law changes were mostly targeted: a new music venue license, rules for theaters, film houses, and manufacturers, and special-use limits for polling places and cannabis events. The everyday rules for servers, check ID, do not serve minors or obviously intoxicated guests, and stay RBS-certified, carried forward unchanged. Reading ABC’s annual summary each winter is the simplest way to stay ahead.

Sources

1. ABC: New Alcoholic Beverage Laws
2. ABC: 2022 Chaptered Legislation Code Section Updates (Dec. 2022)
3. ABC: Chaptered Legislation
4. ABC: AB 1734 Guidance
5. ABC: Type 48 Drug Testing Device and Drink Lid Requirements Extended Indefinitely (Oct. 9, 2026)
6. ABC: Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Program
7. California BPC 25658
8. California BPC 25602

This article is general information, not legal advice.