Checking Identification and Evaluating Age and Identity Documents
This domain tests whether you can accept the right documents, inspect them properly, and do the date math that decides a legal sale. Most exam questions here are about specific documents and specific dates, not general caution.
Accepted IDs in Illinois
Commonly accepted: an Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card; a valid driver's license or state ID from another state; a U.S. passport or passport card; a foreign passport; a U.S. military ID. Not acceptable: expired documents, photocopies, paper or temporary documents without a photo, and an image of an ID on a phone. If you cannot verify, you cannot sell.
The four-step check
- Ask - card anyone who appears under 30, or under your house limit (often 40).
- Compare the photo with the person: facial features, eye color, height.
- Inspect the document: expiration date, date of birth, hologram, ghost image, microprint, consistent fonts, no peeling laminate or altered text.
- Do the math: the person is 21 only if today is on or after the 21st anniversary of the date of birth.
Illinois format cues
Illinois issues vertical licenses to people under 21 and horizontal licenses to those 21 and older, and prints an "UNDER 21 UNTIL" date. Out-of-state formats vary widely, so layout is a cue, never proof.
Worked example
Date of birth 03/15/2005. Today is 03/14/2026. The 21st birthday falls on 03/15/2026 - one day away, so the sale is refused. On 03/15/2026 the same guest may be served. "He's basically 21" is not a defense to a sale-to-minor charge.
Traps
Skipping the expiration date; accepting "my friend is holding it" or a photo on a phone; treating a horizontal layout as proof of adulthood or a vertical one as automatic disqualification without checking the DOB; missing an altered DOB shown by font mismatch or different ink; and skipping the photo comparison on a foreign passport.