Checking Identification and Verifying Age
Core concepts
Age verification is a procedural skill. Accept only valid, unexpired, government-issued photo identification that your jurisdiction recognizes: typically a driver's license, state or provincial ID card, passport, or military ID. Know the accepted list for your area and the documents you must refuse, such as expired IDs, photocopies, employee badges, or foreign IDs your rules exclude. Learn to read the date of birth and the expiry date and to calculate age against today's date, not the year alone. Understand the vertical or under-21 layout many licenses use, and the common security features (holograms, raised text, UV marks, ghost images) so you can spot tampering.
Master the three-step check: look at the photo and compare it to the person, feel or tilt the card for security features, and read the birth date aloud while calculating. Return the ID only after you have confirmed it. Understand your obligations when an ID appears altered or borrowed: refuse service, do not confiscate unless local law permits, and involve a manager. Know that accepting an ID from a third party or serving a minor's friend on the minor's ID is a violation.
Traps
Questions often present a plausible but invalid ID: expired last month, a paper temporary license without a photo, an out-of-country ID not on the accepted list, or a card whose photo does not match. Another trap is the "looks old enough" shortcut; appearance is never a defense. Also watch for guests who present an ID belonging to a sibling or who argue that a parent approved the purchase.
Rule of thumb
If any element fails (photo match, expiry, accepted type, security feature, age calculation), do not serve. When in doubt, refuse politely and call a manager; a mistaken refusal is a minor inconvenience, a mistaken sale is a violation.