Topic quiz · Intoxication
Intoxication and refusing service: practice quiz
Intoxication and refusing service: practice quiz
About 9 questions, answers explained as you go
Like the real test, you pass with 80%. A new random set every time, from 128 questions.
The rules in 30 seconds
- You must not sell or serve liquor to anyone who is or appears to be intoxicated (Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019, s. 32).
- Watch for clusters of signs: speech, coordination, alertness, eyes, tiredness. One sign alone doesn’t confirm it.
- First signs: slow things down with food, water and low- or no-alcohol drinks. Several signs: stop serving and make sure they get home safely.
- One Canadian standard drink is 17.05 mL of pure alcohol: 341 mL of 5% beer, 142 mL of 12% wine or 43 mL of 40% spirits.
Read the full guides: signs of intoxication and the BAC chart explained.
Study every question
Alcohol, intoxication and refusing service (31)
A guest shows one possible sign of intoxication. What does the AGCO say about one sign?
Answer: One sign alone doesn’t confirm it: keep watching for others
Signs appear in any order or in clusters, and one sign alone doesn’t confirm intoxication. Watch closely.
Which of these is a speech sign of intoxication?
Answer: Slurring or running words together
Slurred speech, unusual loudness or softness, and speech that is too fast or too slow are all signs the AGCO lists.
A guest keeps dropping coins and fumbling with their phone. This is a sign of…
Answer: Reduced fine motor control
Fumbling with money, phones or paper and misjudging distances are signs of reduced fine motor control.
Swaying, stumbling and bumping into furniture are signs of…
Answer: Reduced gross motor control
Trouble standing or walking straight, swaying and holding arms out for balance show reduced gross motor control.
A guest takes a long time to answer and you have to repeat simple questions. This suggests…
Answer: Lowered alertness, a sign of intoxication
Slow responses, trouble following conversation and confusion are alertness signs on the AGCO list.
Besides bloodshot eyes, what eye sign may point to cannabis intoxication?
Answer: Eyelid tremors or dilated pupils
The AGCO notes bloodshot eyes for both, and that cannabis may also cause eyelid tremors or dilated pupils.
Why might an intoxicated guest look drowsy, with a fixed or glassy gaze?
Answer: Alcohol and cannabis are depressants
Both alcohol and cannabis are depressants, so tiredness, heavy eyelids and a glassy stare are common signs.
A guest tells you they used cannabis before arriving. Why does that matter for service?
Answer: Cannabis can add to intoxication and its signs look like alcohol’s
The AGCO says to ask whether guests have been drinking or using cannabis elsewhere. Both affect the same signs you watch for.
A guest shows the first signs of intoxication. What should you do?
Answer: Keep watching and offer food, water or low- or no-alcohol drinks
At initial signs, monitor the guest and slow their drinking with food, water and lower- or non-alcoholic options.
A guest shows several clear signs of intoxication. What does the AGCO say to do?
Answer: Stop serving alcohol and make sure they have a safe way home
With multiple signs, serve no more alcohol under any circumstances, manage the situation, make sure they get home safely and call police if needed.
How does food help when guests are drinking?
Answer: It slows alcohol absorption and tends to slow drinking
Food slows the absorption of alcohol and usually slows the pace of drinking.
Which question can help you judge whether to keep serving a guest?
Answer: Have you eaten, or been drinking somewhere else tonight?
The AGCO suggests asking guests whether they’ve eaten or have been drinking or using cannabis elsewhere.
A guest arrives at the door already showing signs of intoxication. What should door staff do?
Answer: Refuse entry
The AGCO says to train door staff to recognize intoxication and refuse entry to anyone who appears intoxicated.
Under O. Reg. 746/21, the licensee must not permit intoxication…
Answer: On the premises or in adjacent areas it controls
The licensee must not permit intoxication, unlawful gambling or disorderly conduct on the premises or in adjacent areas under its exclusive control.
How much pure alcohol is in one standard drink in Canada?
Answer: 17.05 mL (13.45 g)
A Canadian standard drink contains 17.05 mL, or 13.45 g, of pure alcohol.
Which of these is one standard drink?
Answer: 341 mL (12 oz) of 5% beer
One standard drink is a 341 mL bottle of beer or cider at 5% alcohol.
One standard drink of 12% wine is about…
Answer: 142 mL (5 oz)
A 142 mL (5 oz) glass of 12% wine is one standard drink.
One standard drink of 40% spirits is about…
Answer: 43 mL (1.5 oz)
A 43 mL (1.5 oz) shot of 40% spirits is one standard drink.
A double of 40% spirits (86 mL, about 3 oz) counts as how many standard drinks?
Answer: 2
One standard drink of 40% spirits is 43 mL, so 86 mL is two.
About how many standard drinks are in a 473 mL can of 5% beer?
Answer: About 1.4
473 mL × 5% = about 23.7 mL of pure alcohol. Divided by 17.05 mL per standard drink, that’s about 1.4.
Compared with a 341 mL bottle of 5% beer, a 341 mL bottle of 10% beer has…
Answer: About twice the alcohol
Alcohol content scales with strength: same volume at double the percentage means double the pure alcohol, about two standard drinks.
The Smart Serve BAC chart assumes the body clears alcohol at about what rate?
Answer: About one standard drink per hour
The chart assumes roughly one standard drink processed per hour, and notes real rates vary from person to person.
Which of these is NOT a factor that affects blood alcohol concentration?
Answer: The colour of the drink
Smart Serve lists factors such as body size, body fat, food, medications and other drugs, metabolism, health, hydration and fitness. The colour of a drink isn’t one.
An intoxicated guest asks for “one more for the road.” What do you do?
Answer: Refuse, offer a non-alcoholic drink and help arrange a safe ride
You can’t serve someone who is or appears intoxicated, whatever their plans. Help them get home safely instead.
What does the AGCO recommend managers tell staff about refusing service?
Answer: Management will back them when they refuse service to minors or intoxicated guests
The AGCO recommends written house policies and telling staff management will support them when they refuse service.
Which house policy does the AGCO recommend to discourage intoxication?
Answer: Limit the number of drinks sold to one person at a time
The AGCO suggests limiting drinks sold to one person at a time and discouraging drinking games.
What does the AGCO recommend about staff drinking on the job?
Answer: Prohibit it for all staff and managers
The AGCO’s house policy sheet recommends prohibiting drinking on the job for all staff and managers.
You’re delivering beer and the customer at the door is slurring and swaying. What do you do?
Answer: Don’t hand over the liquor
Delivered liquor may go only to a person who does not appear to be intoxicated.
Which practice does the AGCO suggest to help prevent intoxication?
Answer: Promote low- and non-alcoholic drinks and price them competitively
Offering and promoting appealing low- and non-alcoholic options at good prices helps guests pace themselves.
Under Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health (2023), how many drinks a week is “low risk”?
Answer: 1 to 2
The 2023 guidance sets low risk at 1–2 standard drinks a week, moderate at 3–6 and increasingly high at 7 or more.
For bottle service areas, what does the AGCO suggest?
Answer: A separate policy, such as pour spouts and staff or security nearby
The AGCO suggests a separate bottle-service policy: pour spouts, staff or security nearby and removing bottles if guests don’t comply.
Questions people ask
+How many signs of intoxication before you stop serving?
The AGCO describes a staged approach: at first signs, monitor and offer food, water and lower-alcohol drinks; with multiple signs, stop serving alcohol entirely. The legal line is “is or appears to be intoxicated”.
Sources
- Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (e-Laws) · checked October 26, 2026
- AGCO: Information sheet, recognizing intoxication · checked October 26, 2026
- AGCO: Information sheet, house policies · checked October 26, 2026
- Health Canada: Low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines (standard drink) · checked October 26, 2026
- Smart Serve Ontario: BAC Chart · checked October 26, 2026
Updated October 26, 2026. Not affiliated with Smart Serve Ontario or the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
Keep going
- Signs of intoxicationThe signs of intoxication Ontario servers must watch for, from AGCO guidance: speech, coordination, alertness and eyes, plus what to do at each stage.
- BAC and standard drinks, explainedBlood alcohol made simple for Smart Serve: what a standard drink is in Canada, what raises BAC, Ontario’s 0.05 and 0.08 limits, and how to count drinks.
- Smart Serve practice testFree Smart Serve practice test: 33 questions like the real final test, 80% to pass, with an explanation and the Ontario rule behind every answer.
- Checking ID and minors: practice quizPractise the Smart Serve ID questions: when to ask for ID, acceptable ID in Ontario, spotting fake ID, minors in licensed places and 18-year-old staff.