School’s Back – RAMP Training Returns to the Classroom

Back in 2000, Act 141 established the Responsible Alcohol Management Program (RAMP). This began as a voluntary certification program that provided incentives for licensees to participate in and completed five training components -- Owner/Manager Training, Server/Seller Training, New Employee Orientation, Signage, and Affidavit Request -- for RAMP Certification. RAMP makes training and resources available to licensees and their employees to help them understand and employ responsible alcohol management practices, and training is now mandatory for managers and servers. Originally in-person, the training shifted over the years to online options, but some changes are on the horizon. 

Training Requirements

Section 471.1(g) of the Liquor Code now requires newly-approved managers to complete RAMP Owner/Manager training within 180 days of approval of appointment by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). Owner/Manager Training focuses on those individuals most responsible for determining daily operations and policies of the licensed establishment — the Owner and Manager. Previously, this training could be completed in an online setting directly on the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board website. Beginning October 1, 2021, the first time an individual enrolls in an Owner/Manager Training, he or she will be required to attend the Owner/Manager Training in a classroom setting. Noteworthy is the fact the new RAMP regulations allow the individual to complete subsequent Owner/Manager Training in one of three ways: 1) classroom (in-person, instructor-led), 2) virtual (instructor-led), or 3) online (no instructor). The PLCB approved manager must renew Owner/Manager Training every two years. 

RAMP Owner/Manager Training

Since those employees who already held the position of Owner/Manager at the time RAMP Owner/Manager training first became mandatory were “grandfathered” for certification, meaning they were not required to complete the training, we predict that those who have already completed their first Owner/Manager training in an online setting will not have to complete their subsequent training in the classroom either. Only those who have not completed their first Owner/Manager Training by October 1, 2021, whether online or not, will have to attend their first training in a classroom setting.

And an important reminder: every Owner/Manager who is also a server at the premises must complete the Server/Seller Training as well. 

For information about national and state liquor law matters or general manufacturing and distribution advice, please contact our Liquor Law, Licensing, Manufacturing, and Distribution Practice Group: Liquor Law Department Chair Theodore J. Zeller III, Esquire (tzeller@norris-law.com); David C. Berger, Esquire (dberger@norris-law.com) for Pennsylvania and New Jersey retail and manufacturing licensing; or contact our offices at 610-391-1800.