Age verification and identification checks
What this domain covers
The exam tests how a server or seller establishes that a buyer is at least 21 and how to inspect identification reliably. Nevada does not require carding every customer, but a defense to a sale-to-minor charge depends on bona fide evidence of age. That means a government-issued photo ID that reasonably appears genuine and belongs to the buyer.
Core rules
- Acceptable ID generally includes a state-issued driver's license or identification card, a U.S. passport or passport card, a military identification card, and a foreign passport. School IDs, photocopies, and expired documents are not acceptable.
- Check the date of birth by calculation, not by glancing at the year. Confirm the expiration date, the photo, the physical description, and security features such as holograms or ultraviolet marks.
- A vertical license often signals a driver under 21, but the format alone does not prove age; the date of birth controls. A valid vertical ID held by a 21-year-old is not automatically invalid under state law, though house policy may require a second ID or manager approval.
- If the ID is expired, altered, damaged, or does not match the person, refuse the sale.
Worked example
An ID shows a date of birth of August 15, 2004. Today is August 14, 2025. The buyer is still 20, because the birthday has not yet arrived; refuse the sale. If the same buyer returns on August 15, 2025, the buyer is 21 and the ID is valid, assuming it is genuine and unexpired. A clerk who counts only the year “2004” and subtracts from 2025 may mistakenly conclude the buyer is 21 a day early.
Traps
Doing birthday math too quickly; reversing month and day; accepting an expired license because the photo looks right; accepting a photocopy or a sibling's ID; and treating a vertical license as automatic proof of minority. Another costly error is failing to check the back or the security features when the front has been altered.