Guides
Compare your options
Side-by-side guides for the choices people ask us about most, with the official sources linked on every page.
Side by side
- Smart Serve vs Serving It RightSmart Serve (Ontario) vs Serving It Right (BC): cost, test, pass mark and expiry side by side, and whether either certificate counts in the other province.
- Smart Serve online vs in-classSmart Serve online vs in-class training compared: cost, time, who runs the classes and how the final test works for each. Both end with an online proctored test.
- Smart Serve vs food handler certificateSmart Serve and the Ontario food handler certificate are different: one covers serving alcohol, the other safe food handling. Who needs which, and why.
Best ways to prepare
By role
- Smart Serve for bartendersSmart Serve for Ontario bartenders: why you need certification, the rules you apply behind the bar, from pours and pricing to cutting someone off.
- Smart Serve for serversSmart Serve for Ontario servers: why you need it, the age rules, checking ID at the table, cutting off service, takeout and delivery, and what you’re liable for.
- Smart Serve for security and door staffDo bouncers and security staff need Smart Serve in Ontario? Yes, if the licensee employs them. Here’s what the rules mean at the door: ID, capacity, intoxication.
- Smart Serve for managers and licence holdersWhat Ontario licensees and managers must do about Smart Serve: who must be certified, proof for inspectors, house policies, staff age and the rules you answer for.