Washington MAST Class 12 vs Class 13: Which You Need (2026)
- Mathew Benoit
- 14 hours ago
- 6 min read
Hiring someone who is 19 to work behind your bar is legal in Washington. Letting them pour a beer from the tap is not. That single distinction is the Class 12 versus Class 13 line, and getting it wrong exposes both the worker and your licence.
Washington has required a Mandatory Alcohol Server Training permit since 1995 for anyone who mixes, serves, sells, or supervises the sale of alcohol for on-premises consumption. The rules sit with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board under Washington Administrative Code Chapter 314-17, with statutory authority in RCW 66.08.030 and RCW 66.20.330.
Two permits, one difference that matters: age, and what that age lets you do.
The short answer
A Class 13 permit is for workers 18 and older. They can take orders, deliver drinks, open and pour beer or wine into a customer's glass, and check IDs.
A Class 12 permit is for workers 21 and older. It includes everything a Class 13 allows, and adds mixing drinks, drawing from a tap, supervising Class 13 holders, managing the premises, and running tastings at a grocery store.
If your team member is under 21, they can only hold a Class 13. If they need to touch a tap or supervise anyone, they need a Class 12, and they need to be 21.
What a Class 13 permit actually covers
Under WAC 314-17-105, a Class 13 holder may take orders for alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, deliver those beverages to the customer, and open and pour beer or wine into a customer's glass.
This is the part most operators have not updated. The rule used to limit Class 13 pouring to the customer's table. The LCB amended WAC 314-17-105 to allow Class 13 holders to pour in permitted areas generally, rather than only tableside. Two limits survived the change: it cannot happen in minor-restricted areas, and a Class 13 holder still cannot pour from a tap.
If your onboarding materials still say "at the table," they are describing the old rule. Worth a look before your next compliance check.
What a Class 12 permit adds
WAC 314-17-105 is explicit that a Class 12 permit includes all authorities granted under a Class 13 permit. On top of those, a Class 12 holder may:
Mix drinks
Draw alcohol from a tap
Sell alcoholic beverages
Supervise Class 13 permit holders
Manage the on-premises facility
Conduct tastings at a grocery store
In practice, if a role involves a cocktail, a keg, or authority over another member of staff, it is a Class 12 role.
The jobs people forget need a permit at all
Bartenders, servers, and managers are obvious. Two roles catch retail operators out repeatedly.
Alcohol tastings at an off-premises licensed business. If you run tastings in a grocery store or bottle shop, the staff pouring need a permit, and it is a Class 12.
Filling growlers at a grocery store. Drawing from a tap is drawing from a tap, regardless of whether the customer drinks it on site.
Both are easy to staff casually and expensive to staff wrong.
The 60-day rule, and the one job with no grace period
WAC 314-17-030 gives employers 60 calendar days from an employee's date of hire to get them permitted. That is a genuine grace period, and it is the single most useful thing to build into onboarding: assign the training on day one, not day fifty.
Tasting-room and tasting-event staff are the exception. They must hold the permit before their first shift. There is no grace period at all for pouring at a tasting.
Working without the permit your role requires is not a paperwork problem. Under WAC 314-17-025 it can carry a criminal citation with a fine, jail time, or both, and it exposes the licensee alongside the worker.
When your permit actually expires, which is not when you think
A MAST permit is valid for five years. It does not expire five years from the day you passed.
Per WAC 314-17-020, a Class 12 or 13 permit expires on the first day of the month, five years following the month the student passed the standardized exam. The Washington Administrative Code gives the example directly: complete your course on June 15, 2010, and your permit expires July 1, 2015.
So if you tested on October 20, your permit expires on November 1 five years later, not October 20. It is a small difference that becomes a large one when a shift manager finds out on the wrong morning.
The permit is not renewable. There is no refresher, no shortened re-test, and no grace period once it lapses. To stay permitted you retake an approved MAST course and pass the standardized exam again, which starts a fresh five-year clock. The LCB advises taking the new course roughly 45 days before the current permit expires so there is no window where the person cannot legally work.
Your course provider issues the permit and reports completion to the LCB within 30 days. The board holds the record for five years, and the information stops appearing once the permit has expired.
Turning 21 does not upgrade a Class 13
This one costs people shifts.
A Class 13 permit does not become a Class 12 on the holder's twenty-first birthday. Nothing happens automatically. They keep working under Class 13 restrictions, unable to mix or supervise, until the upgrade is actually made.
If you have staff who joined at 18 or 19, put their twenty-first birthday in the same calendar as their permit expiry. Contact the provider who issued the permit to find out the options, since the answer can depend on how much time is left on the current permit.
Lost permits and name changes
Contact the provider who issued the permit, or submit a replacement form and the appropriate fee to the board. The replacement carries the same expiration date as the original, not a new one. Replacing a permit does not buy you another five years.
Keeping a whole roster permitted
The hard part for an operator is not the course. It is that MAST permits expire on staggered first-of-month dates across an entire team, five years after each person happened to test, with no grace period when one lapses.
At ten staff that is a spreadsheet. At fifty across three locations it is a liability waiting for an inspection.
A company account lets you buy permits in bulk, assign training during onboarding so nobody drifts past 60 days, track who is permitted and at which class, and get alerts before any five-year permit expires. Multi-location operators can track permits by location, and the same roster works through your brand and product courses on the same platform.
Washington MAST FAQ
What is the difference between a Class 12 and Class 13 MAST permit?
A Class 13 is for workers 18 and older who take orders, deliver drinks, open and pour beer or wine, and check IDs. A Class 12 is for workers 21 and older and includes everything a Class 13 allows, plus mixing drinks, drawing from a tap, supervising Class 13 holders, managing the premises, and running grocery store tastings.
Can a Class 13 permit holder pour from a tap?
No. Drawing from a tap requires a Class 12 permit, which means the worker must be 21 or older.
How long is a Washington MAST permit valid?
Five years, but the expiration date is the first day of the month following the month you tested, five years out. Pass your exam on October 20 and the permit expires November 1 five years later.
Can I renew a MAST permit?
No. MAST permits are non-renewable. You retake an approved course and pass the standardized exam again. There is no grace period once the old permit expires, so the LCB suggests retaking around 45 days early.
How soon after being hired do I need a MAST permit?
Within 60 calendar days of your date of hire. Staff who pour at alcohol tastings are the exception and must be permitted before their first shift.
I just turned 21. Does my Class 13 become a Class 12?
No. The upgrade is not automatic. You keep working under Class 13 restrictions until the change is made, so contact your permit provider.
Do I need a new permit if I change employers?
No. The permit belongs to you rather than the employer and stays valid until its expiration date.
What happens if someone serves without a valid permit?
Under WAC 314-17-025 it can bring a criminal citation with a fine, jail time, or both, and it puts the licensee at risk alongside the worker.
Get your team permitted
The Washington MAST permit course is WSLCB-approved for both Class 12 and Class 13, self-paced, with a same-day certificate.
Training a team across the region? See Oregon OLCC, California RBS, and Illinois BASSET, or read our guides to California RBS certification and New York alcohol and workplace training requirements. Browse the full compliance catalog or book a demo.
This article covers responsible service practice and permit requirements. It is not legal advice. Confirm current WSLCB rules before making hiring or training decisions. Regulatory status noted 19 August 2026.
