Checking and Accepting Identification
What counts as ID
Michigan accepts a valid Michigan driver’s license or state ID, a valid passport, a U.S. military ID, and a valid out-of-state driver’s license or ID for age verification. Expired, photocopied, cracked, or altered IDs are not acceptable. A Michigan under-21 license is vertical and normally expires on the 21st birthday; after that date it should not be used.
How to check
- Ask for ID from anyone who appears under 30 - a house policy, not a legal safe harbor by itself.
- Compare the photo to the person; check face shape, eyes, and any photo edge lifting.
- Read the date of birth; calculate the 21st birthday, do not eyeball it.
- Check expiration and the “UNDER 21 UNTIL” date.
- Feel the card, tilt it for holograms or a ghost image, and look for font or spacing errors.
Worked example
A customer presents a vertical Michigan license. The DOB says she is 22, but the card expired eight months ago on her 21st birthday. It is not valid. Refuse the sale; do not accept it because the DOB looks old enough. If she has a current horizontal license or passport, the sale may proceed after a full check.
Traps
- Accepting an expired ID “because the birth date is right.”
- Taking a vertical out-of-state ID at face value without checking expiration.
- Letting an older friend vouch for someone with no ID.
- Believing a good-faith check protects you when the ID was obviously tampered with.